That's right. In spite of the stimulus bill, in spite of TARP, in spite of the GM/AIG/Wall Street bailouts, the first Obama budget (2010) has closed the deficit by 13%, according to Bloomberg.

The excess of spending over revenue totaled $90.5 billion last month, smaller than the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and down 13 percent from $103.6 billion in August 2009, according to a Treasury Department report issued today in Washington. The gap for the fiscal year that started in October was $1.26 trillion compared with $1.37 trillion last year at the same time.

This is not to say that all is hunky-dorry in budgetland, yet:

The economic recovery has helped generate more tax revenue for the Treasury, even as the Congressional Budget Office forecasts the deficit this fiscal year will reach $1.34 trillion, the second-largest on record. The Obama administration faces the challenge of trying to limit the shortfall while stimulating an economy with joblessness close to 10 percent.

Now remember this when the debate over tax cuts ratchets up beyond what it is right now and Republicans refuse to admit that tax cuts for the wealthy balloon the deficit even more with no pay-fors. John Boehner's admission that he would support the compromise that extends tax cuts without the benefits for the super-rich folks has the GOP in a lather, scrambling.

Here's hoping the Democrats don't screw this up.

I concur.

So, why not officially make August Stupid American Month. It already is the month when we are asked to care about every crazy conspiracy theory, every half-baked idea and every bit of idiotic drivel falling from the lips of fools who walk among us. Perhaps if we officially recognize all this crazy talk as the babbling of the stupid then the Country could get the crazy shit out of our collective system.

Howie Klein's question (his whole rant is first-rate):

What are normal, well-adjusted people to think about the confused mixed signals that emanate from the deranged and damaged minds of today’s Republicans?

Is anyone else burned out on da stupid yet?