Things aren't always as they seem. Republicans posture about fiscal responsibility, and that's certainly become a major part of the rightist mythology. But rightists hate government social programs more than they hate deficits. A wartime deficit is doubly positive for rightists because it provides a double pretext to gut social programs--"sorry, no money, got a war to pay for, you know, national security and all that". Social programs can be portrayed as subtly unAmerican because they'd undermine the war effort.

It's beyond belief that nobody in the Bush Administration remembers the slogan that was the undoing of Bush The Elder: "It's the economy, stupid!". So it's worth asking what's in it for them. I think that the advantage is that Bush the Lesser needs to restructure the American economy to support permanent war. Consider technology, which we're told is the cornerstone of our shiny new 21st century military. It's interesting that while technology is generally in the toilet, the only areas consistently hiring are southern Maryland and northern Virginia (home of the three-letter agencies, where the job ads always say "lifestyle polygraph required"), and LA's defense industry gulch. Employment patterns are shifting to defense on the cheap--defense doesn't have to compete on salary for tech workers as it had to just a few years ago, saving enormous amounts of money for the government while it builds a high-tech military. While an improved economy would bring in more tax revenue, it would also increase the cost of the war effort.

And there you have it...no need to thank me, just send money--I used to be a tech worker myself. Gee, thanks, George.

--Robert