Mitch Daniels: The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Official In American History

From Citizens Against Government Waste, a purportedly non-partisan organization that conveniently ignores factual reality to support only Republicans:

"Throughout his career, Mitch Daniels has understood the need for fiscal discipline. Now, more than ever, we need people like Mitch Daniels in the [Indiana] governor's seat. Faced with a $1 billion state budget deficit this year, our children and grandchildren will be left with an enormous burden that cannot easily be repaid."

Last I checked, Mitch Daniels as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, personally oversaw the worst budget deterioration in American history. Daniels was the principle architect of budget policies that, took a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion in 2000 and turned it into a projected deficit of $4.4 trillion today by the time he left the White House to run for governor in 2003. That is a$10 trillion deterioriation. To put it another way, in the 29 months Daniels served as the nation's top budget official, the nation's budget picture deteriorated by more than $12 million a day, every single day, 7 days a week. Just think how much bigger Daniels could make the $1 billion deficit in Indiana...