huge, sudden deficit reduction? hmm...

Amazing how the Administration can generate good news just in time for elections. Still, we went from the biggest deficit ever to a deficit "improvement" without any noticeable change in spending or any tax hikes?

Why is all this not computing?

Josh Marshall says:

The budget deficit last year was $318 billion.

In February, the White House 'estimated' (I use quotation marks because this is a standard trick for the Bush White House) the budget for 2006 would be $423 billion.

Today they released a new estimate that it would be $296 billion.

In other words, between February and July tax cuts reduced the deficit by a whopping $127 billion.

Would you fall for this?

Meanwhile, Think Progress notes that this will still be the 4th largest deficit of all time. The other three?:

1. 2004 (George W. Bush) $413 billion
2. 2003 (George W. Bush) $378 billion
3. 2005 (George W. Bush) $318 billion

Does W really think this is a winning issue, or that we're gonna buy the idea that we should be celebrating and congratulating him for merely turning a $284 billion surplus into a $296 billion deficit, instead of a $423 billion one?