How’s this for transparency and accountability?:

In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections. [emphasis added]

Yup, wouldn’t want voters to be thinking about how much the Democratic congress is spending too close to election time. Meanwhile, the Republican Policy Committee puts the current debt into perspective: