Part VI: Conservative Republican Presidents: Unfit To Govern: The Barack Obama Administration

President Obama took office in January of 2009 and immediately had to deal with the worst economic recession and record job losses since the great depression, rising unemployment and the meltdown of the financial industry of Wall Street. That was only the beginning. The President also had to deal with the largest federal deficit spending spree ever and the largest ever increase in the national debt by the Bush administration. No American President faced such a wide range of serious problems since President Franklin Roosevelt. At this time in the Obama Presidency one can not compare records because he has not even completed one full term in office. However, we can report what is known. His economic policy has turned the economy around despite republican opposition. The economy is creating jobs instead of loosing them and the GDP is in positive growth and stronger than predicted. Budget wise the Presidents first fiscal year budget that ended 9/30//10 can be compared to Bush's last fiscal year budget that ended 9/30/09. Total federal spending for Bush's last fiscal year budget was $3.52 trillion. Total federal spending for Obama's first fiscal year budget was $3.456 trillion, a reduction in federal spending of 1.6% over Bush's last year. Deficit spending for Bush's last fiscal year budget was $1.416 trillion. Deficit spending for Obama's first fiscal year budget was $1.294, a decrease in deficit spending over Bush's last year. The national debt at the end of Bush's last fiscal year budget was $11.909 trillion, up $1.885 trillion from his previous fiscal year. The national debt at the end of Obama's first fiscal year budget was $13.561 trillion which resulted in an increase of $1.652 trillion in the national debt but down from Bush's last fiscal year. President Obama is the only administration in the past 50 years where year to year total federal spending was down and it happened despite all the problems he inherited. Once again, like the Clinton administration it is another democratic administration that acted instead of talking hype. When Obama's first term is completed he will then have to be judged on the merits when compared to previous administrations. Obama's second fiscal year budget ends on 9/30/11 and then a comparison can be made between his first and second fiscal year budgets. It is to early to judge if President Obama is fit or unfit to fiscally govern the nation and its people but we will have the answer in due time. We can say his first fiscal year budget is encouraging. RECAP AND CONCLUSION: History has already been written and recorded concerning the administrations of Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43. The CBO has recorded and published the final numbers shown herein. Those numbers tell of a fiscal disaster that occurred on the republican watch even though they did not face the problems Clinton and Obama faced when they took office. All three said they were going to balance the federal budget and never even came close. All three said they would reduce federal spending but increased spending instead. None of the three republican Presidents had a true economic plan such as Clinton did and none of the three made a commitment to even balance the federal budget. The nation became a debtor nation on Reagan's watch. President George W. Bush was the worst. Not only was his deficit spending and debt creation horrific, he handled the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan out side the budget process, a slap in the face to the nation and its people. He also did not have the nation share the burden of the cost of those wars. It fell completely on our men and women in uniform. If it was not for the Clinton administration living up to its fiscAl responsibilities and reversing the record deficit spending and debt of those three republican Presidents there is no telling where we would be today. One can understand the reason republicans hate to talk about the Clinton administration, it would remind the people just how well Clinton handled our fiscal problems and how well the country and its people did on his watch. Conservative Republican Presidents? The record proves there is no such thing. And that really says it all.