Deficits Restrict Obama as His Promises Come Due

From The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Obama has an opportunity granted almost none of his predecessors. Because of the economic crisis, he is meeting an unusual array of promises almost immediately, including heavy investments in energy and other priorities.

But the unprecedented largess granted through the $825 billion economic-stimulus bill may bind his hands later. The growing deficit will make it difficult, if not impossible, to fulfill spending promises that total hundreds of billions of dollars.

And it could stir political tensions with congressional Republicans and voters nervous about a binge of deficit spending.

This burst of spending so early in his presidency could also hobble Mr. Obama politically in the years to come as the country's soaring budget deficit demands cutbacks in social programs and even potential tax increases.

With this year's budget deficit expected at $1.2 trillion, not counting the stimulus spending, the next administration must also wrestle with skyrocketing costs to simply service the national debt. Interest payments on the national debt came in at more than $412 billion last year, or over 9% of the total budget.