PRESTOPUNDIT

Reality Check. Analysts have concluded that the U.S. Government faces a 44 trillion dollar deficit in the coming years, a number derived by simply doing the math, adding up all projected obligations, then subtracting from that projected revenues. As Radley Balko points out, 44 trillion dollar is one-and-a-half times the GDP -- of the entire world.

UPDATE: Bush's budget busting State of the Union Address. Quotable:

President Bush last night proposed an ambitious package of domestic spending that will drive up discretionary expenditures far more rapidly than his recent predecessors. The State of the Union initiatives that he wants passed this year include more spending for the Department of Education, a new assistance fund to help manufacturers recover from their recession and funding for a major, long-term expansion of NASA's space budget. Early projections indicate passage of Mr. Bush's proposals will increase non-defense spending well beyond the 4 percent to 5 percent the administration has budgeted for the current fiscal year, nearly double the average annual increases of about 2.5 percent by President Clinton during his two terms. "One thing that Bush tends to do in these State of the Union speeches, which tends to be counterproductive, is that he has adopted the Clinton style of presenting this shopping list of these programs that will solve every problem that afflicts America," said Stephen Moore, who heads the Club for Growth which has cheered Mr. Bush's tax cuts while denouncing his spending increases. "That only reinforces the concern that he is a big government Republican," Mr. Moore said last night ..

"A year ago at this time, the president talked about 4 percent spending growth and we're about to finish this fiscal year with 9 percent spending growth once the omnibus spending bill passes," Mr. Riedl said .. conservative strategists here say that if he does not show some toughness on spending soon, his core conservative support is going to erode.

The White House is betting that is not going to happen because Mr. Bush has shored up his base support by delivering on several key issues of importance to conservatives .. "Our support in our conservative base remains strong because we have delivered on their issues," said a Bush campaign adviser.

Well, that seals it. I've just been read right out of the conservative "base" of the Republican party.

Oh, and there is this:

The politics of Mr. Bush's fiscal policies generally follow in the footsteps of President Reagan who also slashed taxes, sharply boosted defense spending and allowed federal spending to rise from $600 billion in 1980 to nearly $1 trillion by the end of his presidency amid soaring deficits ...

Please somebody -- anybody -- tell me what is "conservative" about any of this?