Highest deficit since World War II

A year ago the relatively high federal government deficit was a major concern to Democratic politicians.

The Dems weren't complaining about the deficit after the $787 billion economic stimulus bill boondoggle was signed into law eight months ago, but now the problem is too big for them to ignore, as the Wall Street Journal reports:

The Treasury said the U.S. ran its biggest budget deficit since World War II, a record that promises to complicate Democrats' efforts to enact their agenda.

The Treasury Department reported that the deficit for the 2009 fiscal year ended Sept. 30 came in at about $1.4 trillion, or about 10% of the U.S.'s gross domestic product.

From health care to economic recovery to the Afghanistan war, the government's gloomy fiscal condition is constraining Democrats. Deficits also are looming large as a political issue in the 2010 campaign, as voters fret about the long-term consequences of mounting debt.

"I don't think I've seen this level of concern since 1992, when Ross Perot said we need to look under the hood and fix the engine," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said in an interview Friday. "Government, individuals and businesses are all looking at their debt loads and recalculating."

But the paper goes on to explain that the Democrats are still blaming George W. Bush for the deficit.

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