Four years ago, Barack Obama campaigned for president on a promise to cut annual federal budget
deficits in half by the end of his term. Then came financial calamity,
$1.4 trillion in stimulus measures and a maddeningly slow economic
recovery.
Now, despite small annual improvements, the deficit for the fiscal year
that ends on Sunday will surpass $1 trillion for the fourth straight
time. Against that headline-grabbing figure, Mr. Obama’s explanation —
that the deficit he inherited is actually on a path to be cut in half
just a year later than he promised, measured as a percentage of the
economy’s total output — risks sounding professorial at best.
The fiscal imbalance on Mr. Obama’s watch, however much a result of
economic and demographic factors beyond his control as well as his own
policy choices, has increased the nation’s accumulated debt by about 40
percent and has saddled him with one of his biggest vulnerabilities.
Facing off against Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama is on the defensive over deficits and debt nearly as much as he is over unemployment.
Dealing with deficits is the one major issue in which voters in polls
regularly register more confidence in Mr. Romney than in Mr. Obama. It
is also a flash point in the partisan war over the size and scope of
government.
Mr. Romney and his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, the
chairman of the House Budget Committee, often campaign with digital debt
clocks ticking off the rising liabilities. Their television
advertisements highlight the issue; one appeals to women about the debt
burden being left to their children.
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