AEI – hardly a liberal institution – knocks down any notion that George W. Bush is comparable to Ronald Reagan on fiscal matters:
Ronald Reagan sought – and won – more spending cuts than any other modern president. He is the only president in the last forty years to cut inflation-adjusted nondefense outlays, which fell by 9.7 percent during his first term. George W. Bush, in contrast, increased real nondefense spending by at least 25.3 percent during his first term.
Moreover, President Reagan believed that the federal government had usurped private, state, and local responsibilities and consequently thought the budgets of most departments and agencies should be cut. Following are comparisons of budget cuts during each presidential term going back to the Johnson administration:
*tPresident Reagan cut the budget of 8 agencies out of 15 during his first term and the budget of 10 out of 15 during his second term.
*tPresident Clinton cut the budget of 9 out of 15 agencies during his first term but cut none during his second term.
*tPresident George W. Bush has cut none of the agencies’ budgets during his first term.
No president since Johnson has been so supportive of big government as George W. Bush. Why are fiscal conservatives still supporting him?
The Dish 