Title: Flashback: Obama in 2008: Adding $4 Trillion to National Debt ‘Unpatriotic’ Source:
CNS News URL Source:http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article ... obama-2008-adding-4-trillion-n Published:Aug 24, 2011 Author:Matt Cover Post Date:2011-08-24 11:52:10 by Happy Quanzaa Keywords:Obama-doma-ding-dong, Obamanomics in Action, Obamatuer Hour Views:1031 Comments:2
(CNSNews.com) – Although the national debt under President Barack Obama has increased $4 trillion since he took office in 2009, as a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush for adding $4 trillion to the national debt, saying it was “unpatriotic” and also “irresponsible” to saddle future generations with such a large national debt.
“The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion dollars for the first 42 presidents -- number 43 added $4 trillion dollars by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion dollars of debt that we are going to have to pay back -- $30,000 for every man, woman and child,” Obama said on July 3, 2008, at a campaign event in Fargo, N.D.
“That's irresponsible. It's unpatriotic,” said candidate Obama.
However, in less than three years in office, Obama has driven up the national debt by $4 trillion himself.
According to Treasury Department figures the national debt was $10.62 trillion ($10,626,877,048,913.08) when Obama took office on January 20, 2009. As of August 22, 2011, the most recent date for which data are available, the national debt stood at $14.6 trillion ($14,612,435,498,338.62) and rising.
When Bush entered the presidency in January 2001, the national debt was $5.72 trillion ($5,727,776,738,304.64).
Due to the recent debt-ceiling deal, the national debt under Obama will exceed the current $14.6 trillion level, running up more debt in three years than his predecessor Bush accumulated in eight years.
