Politics / George W. Bush Bush's Biggest Error: He Asked Nothing of Us Broder: No sacrifice during war? Your grandkids will pay By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted Jan 17, 2009 9:33 AM CST Copied President George W. Bush, leave the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 16, 2009, for Camp David, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Soon after 9/11, a reporter asked George Bush how much ordinary Americans would be expected to sacrifice. Bush’s reply? “People may not be able to board flights as quickly.” That was it. Bush declared a war without asking anything of anyone save the enlisted and their families, and that, in David Broder’s mind, was “the greatest moral failing” in a presidency full of moral failings. Bush never even asked for higher taxes. Instead, he pushed through extravagant cuts, then borrowed from overseas to fund the resulting deficits. That “upside down logic” filtered into the private sector, fueling the credit bubble. Now in the face of this crisis, we have a deficit of $1.2 trillion, all because Bush declared war without paying for it. “Your grandchildren will be paying for that misjudgment.” (More George W. Bush stories.) Report an error