I found no virtue in the war. Just pointing out that as far as America's financial situation goes, the real financial issue is gigantic social spending programs that long predate both Bush and the war, and will long outlast them.

If someone is going broke spending 90 percent of their money helping the poor, blaming the ten percent he spends on cigarettes and other vices doesn't get to the heart of the matter as far as making ends meet.

It's called "math," and I assumed I made the case clearly enough by showing the numbers. I guess not.

The huge majority of our deficits are from social programs that have grossly outgrown every prediction for them by those who founded them, and account for most of the Federal Budget.

If the war in Iraq vanished tomorrow, the issue of Social Security and Medicare deficits would still be just as serious.