I'm not an economic historian, but I play one on TV

Doesn't this remind you of another President? I think his name was Hoover.

In S.D., Bush Faces Test of Fiscal Responsibility (washingtonpost.com) "I am determined to fund the great priorities of our government while exercising the spending restraint that will return America to the path of a balanced budget as soon as possible," Bush said.

His policy of fiscal restraint sure worked, didn't it.