Here's a little blast from our not-so-recent past that should be trotted out the next time one encounters a Republican pontificating about the economy and sound budgets:
WaPo, Feb 5, 2007
Bush Budget Projects A Surplus by 2012
Democrats Say Plan Would Grow Debt
The budget that President Bush will submit to Congress today shows the federal deficit falling in each of the next four years and would produce a $61 billion surplus in 2012, administration officials said. But to get there, Bush is counting on strong economic growth, diminishing costs in the Iraq war and tight domestic spending to offset the cost of his tax cuts.
Democrats yesterday criticized the five-year budget plan as overly optimistic, and predicted that extending the tax cuts past their 2010 expiration date would dig the nation deeper into debt rather than produce a budget surplus. Republicans countered that the tax cuts are critical to maintaining a healthy economy and that a balanced budget is not possible without them.
Refresh my memory: how many Republican Reps/Senators criticized this budget as unrealistic, unworkable, and based on unsound economics? I believe the answer is "none, of course".