Recently President Obama has endured a wave of perilous political attacks from the right on his fiscal record and, particularly, the federal deficit. Despite the Right’s desperation, however, the notion that this is “Obama’s deficit” collapses at the very moment one begins to take it seriously.

We don’t like to be heavily influenced by the usual Blogosphere chorus line, but one of the top stories on the Huffington Post today is so spot on that I just couldn’t help myself.

They point out a study soon to be released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities which finds that President Bush is a whole lot more responsible for the government’s $1.4 trillion annual deficit than President Obama. In fact, a full 41% of this year’s spending increases emerged directly out of the Bush administration in the form of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This contrasts with a meager 18% increase that has arisen from Obama’s own initiatives.

What a SHOCKER!!!!!! I know, but Republicans have run a muck on the airwaves recently blasting off about the deficit in an effort to derail many of Obama’s central policy priorities — especially health care reform.  Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), for example, recently called the Obama Presidency an era of “fiscal recklessness and irresponsibility,” which is “shocking to the American taxpayer.” Hmmm…Senator Gregg….then what would you call the Bush Presidency?

I admit, just as much as anyone, that we have a problem. Bush has spent us into oblivion by giving out a huge tax break to the rich, subsequently waging two wars, one of necessity and another of stupidity and, then, sending the bill to the middle class and future generations. The question moving forward, though, is what party is better equipped to solve it. Bush and Cheney’s Republican Party that administered the “Decade from Hell” or Obama’s Democratic Party whose record is still largely unknown?

Well, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the Democrat and Republican health care bills (as the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein puts it):

“The Democratic [health care] bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan.”

…..the Democrats are  already proving they can do more than the Republicans with less money….simply by crafting smarter policy and not being afraid to make bold changes to a broken system.

Think about it.