Flag-UP....you are corrcet when you say that Bush is no fiscal conservative. He has tried to please alot of people all at once I suppose. To be fair though, Healthcare is really out of his area of control. Healthcare reform must be done at the congressional level. In my opinion, it must start with tort reform. any time the government manages any social program, it becomes a Frankenstien monster.

The surplus issue is one that is easy to spin into the way you see it today. As a number, it is huge. If you figure it based on a percentage of GDP it is no anywher near the largest in history, that number came in the early 1940's (guess why).