Re: Bush the big spender
We've essentially gone from $300B budget surpluses under Clinton to $300B deficits under Bush. A good argument can be made that the weak economy is responsible for deficit spending but seriously, fiscal conservatism is a thing of the '90s, now long gone. Bush has set the tone in the Beltway and now everyone is sharing the booty. I think that the lack of fiscal conservatism and its resulting real and psychological effects is one of the main reasons both Wall Street and Main Street have lacked confidence and are doing poorly.
In other words, Bush has been bad for the economy.