Apparently, the facts won’t stop the Obama campaign from repeating the same disproved claim that Obama has overseen the slowest spending growth since Eisenhower. First Carney, then Obama, and now the campaign’s website are trying to convince voters that Obama does not have an exorbitant spending record, this time citing their flawed study and two liberal columnists as “independent fact checkers.” We’ll take Carney’s advice and won’t “buy into the BS.”

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: The Obama Campaign Is Still Trying To Deny The President’s Rampant Spending. “The Obama campaign’s Web site displays a modified version of a chart to this effect that originally appeared in a column by Rex Nutting for MarketWatch. The charts lists as among its sources: ‘Congressional Budget Office (CBO), nonpartisan analysis for the U.S. Congress.’” (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)

• Their Reference To Support From “Independent Fact Checkers” Is A “Tendentious Assertion.” “This sourcing to the CBO — though it was not CBO’s analysis that formed the basis of this claim — and the reference to ‘independent fact checkers’ gives this page a patina of authenticity. But it remains a tendentious assertion.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)

WaPo’s Fact Checker: “The Obama Campaign Web Page Is Cleverly Worded To Make It Appear As If ‘Independent Fact Checkers’ Support The Claim That Spending Has Grown Slower Under Obama Than Any President Since Eisenhower.”  (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)

• But Campaigns Can’t “Anoint A Supportive Columnist As A ‘Fact Checker.’” “Two wrongs don’t make a right. And while campaigns love to cite fact-checking organizations, that does not give them license to anoint a supportive columnist as a ‘fact checker.’” (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)
• The Obama Campaign Cited As A Fact Checker The Original “Opinion Article That Had Been Found Deficient By Fact Checkers And Other Analysts.” “To have any credibility, the White House should be citing a real analysis by the Congressional Budget Office or career officials at the Office of Management and Budget — not an opinion article that had been found deficient by fact checkers and other analysts.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)

WaPo’s Fact Checker: Fact Checkers Are “Unanimous” In Their Agreement That MarketWatch’s Data Is Flawed. “So, in sum, the conclusions of ‘independent fact checkers’ are unanimous, even though we reach a similar destination through different routes: The data used in the MarketWatch analysis is flawed in a number of ways — the starting point is wrong, the ending point is misleading and it is not inflation adjusted.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Facts About The Growth Of Spending Under Obama, Part 3,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 6/6/12)

Obama Must Be Using “Magical” Math To Support His Spending Claim

The Columbus Dispatch: “President Barack Obama’s Recent Boast To The Nation That He Is Frugal Spender Again Points Out That This Administration Is Setting Policy For The Nation Based On Magical Arithmetic.” (Editorial, “President Pennypincher?” The Columbus Dispatch, 6/6/12)

• The Columbus Dispatch: Obama’s Term “So Far Has Seen A 41 Percent Increase In The National Debt, Which Now Totals Nearly $16 Trillion.” “At a campaign rally on May 24 in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama proclaimed: ‘Federal spending since I took office has risen at the slowest pace of any president in almost 60 years.’ That’s quite a claim for a president whose term so far has seen a 41 percent increase in the national debt, which now totals nearly $16 trillion.” (Editorial, “President Pennypincher?” The Columbus Dispatch, 6/6/12)

Politifact: “Obama Is The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents.” “So by this measurement — potentially a more important one — Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested.” (Louis Jacobson, “Nancy Pelosi Posts Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/11)

Federal Outlays Have Increased By 20.4 Percent Since Obama Took Office. The federal government spent $3.1 trillion in FY2008 in inflation adjusted dollars. Under Obama, in FY2012 the federal government spent $3.8 trillion dollars. (“Table 1.3 – Summary Of Receipts, Outlays And Surpluses Or Deficits In Current Dollars, Constant (FY2005) Dollars, And As Percentages Of GDP: 1940-2016,” Office Of Management And Budget, Accessed 5/16/12; “Budget Of The United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013,” Office Of Management And Budget, 2/13/12)

• Obama Proposed FY2013 Budget Calls For Increasing Government Spending Well Above Historical Norms. From 1969 To 2008 The Federal Government Spent An Average Of 20.6 Percent Of GDP, Obama’s Proposed FY2013 Budget Calls For Spending 22.8 Percent Of GDP By FY2022. (“Table 1.2 – Summary Of Receipts, Outlays And Surpluses Or Deficits As Percentages Of GDP: 1930-2016,” Office Of Management And Budget, Accessed 5/16/12; “Budget Of The United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013,” Office Of Management And Budget, 2/13/12)
• Since President Obama Took Office, The Federal Government’s Workforce, Excluding The Postal Service, Has Increased 6.8 Percent, Adding 140,700 Jobs. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 5/8/12)

“Government Spending As A Share Of The Economy Has Hovered Around 24% During The Obama Administration…Elevated From The Historical Average Of 20.7% Over The Past 40 Years.” “Government spending as a share of the economy has hovered around 24% during the Obama administration, several percentage points higher than under President Bush, according to Congressional Budget Office data. It’s also elevated from the historical average of 20.7% over the past 40 years.” (Tami Luhby, “Did Obama Really Make Government Bigger?” CNN Money, 1/25/12)

President Obama Has Racked Up The Three Largest Deficits In U.S. History. “The U.S budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 is $1.299 trillion, the second largest shortfall in history. The nation only ran a larger deficit for the 2009 fiscal year, which included the dramatic collapse of financial markets and a huge bailout effort by the government.”(Erik Wasson, “Treasury Announces 2011 Deficit Is Second Highest In History,” The Hill’s ”On The Money”, 10/14/11)

• FY2009: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.413 Trillion, The Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2011: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.299 Trillion, The Second Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2010: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.294 Trillion, The Third Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)

“Obama’s Spending Blueprint For The Budget Year That Begins Oct. 1 Projects A Deficit For This Year Of $1.33 Trillion. That Would Mean Four Straight Years Of Trillion-Dollar-Plus Deficits.” (Martin Crutsinger, “The Fight Begins: Obama’s Budget Going To Congress,” The Associated Press, 2/12/12)