Blame Game Roundup: Where Pundits And Politicos Are Pointing Fingers On The Debt Crisis

It’s Bush’s Fault:

Used By: Everyone

Blaming President George W. Bush for our current woes has been a longtime go-to talking point on the left, but even some on the right are adopting it as it becomes increasingly clear that the debt the nation currently faces has as much to do with Bush-era wars, tax cuts, and bailouts as it does with any policy under President Obama. And unlike President Obama, President Bush is far less likely to actually interrupt his cozy retirement and defend himself publicly, making him the perfect sock puppet on which to lay the blame.

While it may not be shocking to hear that Chris Matthews grilled a Tea Party member on Bush-era defense spending, or that, in calling for a Federal Reserve audit, Rep. Ron Paul also decried said spending, but that the Bush tax cuts have become a recurring topic on cable news shows certainly demonstrates a willingness to at least reintroduce the 43rd President into the conversation– even by the 44th.

Take, for example the extended exchange between Juan Williams and Sean Hannity, where the two try to parse out exactly why the left is so upset with the deal, and how Bush era spending contributed to the problem.

While it’s hard to pick a winner out of this illustrious bunch, as with the debt crisis itself, the clear loser here is the American people, as there’s no reason to believe that all if this is not true simultaneously. What if Bush-era spending did send the economy into a tailspin, giving us this summer’s impossible Congressional struggle (thanks to both the Democrats and Republicans), which led the world to lose trust in our system? If it’s all true, we can at least thank the month of August for providing a respite in between now and what threatens to be an even more dangerous strawman-laden, time-wasting, finger-pointing fall bonanza to come.

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