To the Editor:

There are those critical of then-U.S. Sen. Obama for referring to President Bush as irresponsible and unpatriotic for increasing the budget deficit $4.9 trillion during his eight years in office.

I don’t disagree with that position since initiating, not only one war, but two while cutting taxes by over a trillion dollars is indeed irresponsible. This does not even take into account the unfunded Medicare prescription drug program. In addition, his administration intentionally did not include the war costs in the overall federal budget.

In this writer’s opinion, tax increases should be mandated by a constitutional amendment should this nation enter a war.

President Obama, on the other hand, is criticized for a $4 trillion debt increase in his first term. The majority of this debt is directly attributable to vast decreases in revenue due to the recession as well as stimulus spending to stabilize the economy.

Would it be reasonable for a person to consider President Obama irresponsible and unpatriotic for the role he played in stabilizing and improving the economy? I think not.

John Graham
Woolwich