Is the U.S. Economic Decline Obama´s Fault?

An unsigned comment on Ben Smith's Politico story about Mark Sanford's marital infidelity is representative of the attitude many critics have toward Barack Obama:

This is a great story to chase to avoid taking about the failures of Obama's economic package. Warren Buffet declares Obama's economy is in shambles and no sign of being fixed. More and more people believe Obama will tax them to death and the coming depression is Obama's fault. Too much spending and too much taxing.

Posted By: | June 24, 2009 at 02:50 PM

Our current economic recession began in December 2007, long before Barack Obama became President on January 20, 2009. Most economists agree further decline was inevitable, regardless of who became the U.S. leader. Obama does favor higher taxes on the wealthiest members of society. Republicans, by contrast, tend to pursue policies that shift the tax burden to the middle and lower classes or to future generations. When talking in broad generalities, many people favor the reduction of government spending. Yet, few (if any) politicians publicly declare the specific government programs they wish to cut. If the American people are unwilling to support politicians who will reduce government spending, then the moral obligation to future generations is for current citizens to pay more in taxes. The author of the above comment seems unwilling to face that reality.