John Hall: “I wish I could say I was surprised, but unfortunately it represents the same missed opportunities and misplaced…”

“I wish I could say I was surprised, but unfortunately it represents the same missed opportunities and misplaced priorities that have highlighted this administration. First of all, I would have to say for a President and an administration that claimed to be fiscally responsible and who constantly accuse Democrats of being fiscally irresponsible, it's really shocking and deserving of mention that this President, George W. Bush, has been responsible, his administration, responsible for the five biggest deficits in American history. Here they are. We all remember, of course, at the end of the 1990s when President Bush took over from President Clinton that we had a surplus, and we were, in fact, paying down some of the national debt for a change. But due to his tax policies and his overspending and his penchant for borrowing, our President and his administration have run up, in 2003, a deficit of $378 billion; in 2004, a deficit of $413 billion; in 2005, $318 billion; 2008 actually is the next figure here, $410 billion; and for 2009 is a projected $407 billion budget. We can't keep this up.”