Obama Blames Bush for Deficits

When President Barack Obama faces a difficult question about-for example-the deficit, he engages in a time honored tactic. Obama blames his predecessor, in his case President George W. Bush, for the problems he "inherited."

This tactic was on display during the press conference in an exchange with CNN's Ed Henry.

"HENRY: You've been very critical of President Bush doubling the national debt. And, to be fair, it's not just Republicans hitting you. Democrat Kent Conrad, as you know, said, quote, "When I look at this budget, I see the debt doubling again."

"You keep saying that you've inherited a big fiscal mess. Do you worry, though, that your daughters, not to mention the next president, will be inheriting an even bigger fiscal mess if the spending goes out of control?

"OBAMA: Of course I do, Ed, which is why we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit. Look, if this were easy, then, you know, we would have already had it done, and the budget would have been voted on, and everybody could go home. This is hard.

"And the reason it's hard is because we've accumulated a structural deficit that's going to take a long time, and we're not going to be able to do it next year or the year after or three years from now. What we have to do is bend the curve on these deficit projections. And the best way for us to do that is to reduce health care costs. That's not just my opinion. That's the opinion of almost every single person who has looked at our long-term fiscal situation."

The problem is, as Hotair's Ed Morrissey points out, that's not entirely true.

"While the deficit jumped in the last year of the Bush administration, thanks to the spending on the bailouts, deficits had declined since 2004 until then. Bush had structured his budgets to get back to balance in the next few years - although without considering the huge mandates in Medicare and Social Security.

"Obama's plans don't count those mandates, either - but they blow up the deficit-"

There used to be a story, no doubt apocryphal, about a newly sworn in President finding two sealed envelopes on the desk in the Oval Office. The first was marked: "To be opened during first crisis." The envelope contained the advice: "Blame your predecessor." The second envelope was marked: "To be opened during second crises." The envelope contained the advice. "Prepare two envelopes."

The point of the story is that shifting blame to the previous guy, while it works at first, will not work forever. AIG, for example, is entirely Obama's child. Also, one successor gets to blame you for his problems. Besides, constantly complaining that "But George really did it" is kind of school-boyish and not very Presidential.

Source: Video: Obama on blaming Bush for deficits, Ed Morrissey, Hotair, March 25th, 2009