Highest federal budget deficit EVER!

I'm continually amazed by the number of people (many of them good friends and acquaintances) who vote Republican for one overarching reason: They can't abide "Big Government." Remarkably, Big Government for these people isn't synonymous with a Big Deficit. For a good many Republican voters the deficit represents considerable pork that makes its way directly or indirectly to their tables, but what about rank and file Republicans? Remember so many years ago now, during the Clinton Presidency, when we had a budget surplus? Why isn't everyone outraged by news such as the following?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal budget deficit soared to $454.8 billion in 2008 as a housing collapse and efforts to combat the economic slowdown pushed the tide of government red ink to the highest level in history.

The Bush administration said Tuesday the deficit for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was more than double the $161.5 billion recorded in 2007.

It surpassed the previous record of $413 billion set in 2004. Economists predicted a far worse number next year as the costs of the government's rescue of the financial system and the economic hard times hit the government's balance sheet.

Some analysts believe that next year's deficit could easily top $700 billion, giving the next president a formidable challenge.