Commerce Secretary Don Evans did an online Q&A today at the White House web site, and tried to put President Bush's current spending strategy into perspective:

Jon, from Queens writes: Does the record deficit worry you? How will it be paid off and by whom?

Don Evans
Thanks for your question Jon. Budget deficits are appropriate and
understandable in war or recession and we've had both. The current deficit is
manageable and we are determined to bring it down. It is projected to peak in fy 004 at 4 1/2 percent of GDP. But it is something that we will continue to monitor losely. The President 's budget for the next year limits non-security increases to ess than one percent. Thanks to the economic growth fueled by the tax relief nd spending restraint America is on a solid path to cutting the deficit in half to bout 2 percent of GDP in the next five years.

Spending increases unrelated to the war on terror, in President Bush's budget for next year, is less than a percent, says Evans. Maybe it just seems like more.