Hey James, you cannot compare Obama's financial predictament to the solid situation Harper inherited from the Liberals. Harper should never have cut the GST. The economists of every stripe agree on this point. Instead, he decided to pander to empty-headed conservative voters who would rather have larger deficits than pay for entitlements with slight tax increases. The Conservatives pretend to be prudent guardians of the state purse, but it was the Liberals who brought the debt down from 80% of GDP to 30% of GDP. Where is Paul martin when you need him?