The return of deficit/debt politics draws nigh

FRONT PAGE: "Deficit Projected To Soar With New Programs: 10-Year Estimate of $9 Trillion Is Latest Hurdle for Obama Agenda," by Lori Montgomery, Washington Post, 26 August 2009.

The article with the numbers: $1.58T (with a T!) in 2009, and about the same in 2010. Then back--or so the prediction goes--to levels that still are way above anything Bush had ($700-750B range, where Bush's '08 was only $459B (a quaint number in perspective.

This year's deficit, as a percent of GDP, would be our highest since WWII.

This is why compromise on health care is inevitable, although it will be fascinating to watch how the second wave of H1N1 alters the national debate.

Interesting times, to say the least.