Last night President Obama reminded us that “one year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt.” Later, he imagined what some on the right would argue: “That if we just make fewer investments in our people, extend tax cuts for wealthier Americans, eliminate more regulations, and maintain the status quo on health care, our deficits will go away. The problem is, that’s what we did for eight years,” under President George W. Bush. So you can imagine how relieved I was to hear the president tell us toward the end of his speech that “We can argue all we want about who’s to blame for this, but I am not interested in relitigating the past.” I guess what he meant to say was, “I am not interested in relitigating the past. Starting … right … now!”
