Why don’t we cut our deficit to the point where we don’t have to care what a bunch of overrated accountants, who rated the mortgage backed securities which caused the banking system to crash as AAA, think about anything.

When you don’t borrow half the money you spend you don’t have to care about your credit rating. The easiest way to do this is to cut spending.

“At the time Bush took office the economy had grown at a 1.1% annualized rate over the previous three quarters to March 31 of the first year of Bush presidency [64] (see Early 2000s recession). Bush had his tax cut plan approved by Congress in June.

Overall real GDP grew at an average annual rate of 2.5%. Between 2001 and 2005, GDP growth was clocked at 2.8%. The number of jobs created grew by 6.5% on average. The growth in average salaries was 1.2%. Growth in consumer spending was 72% faster than growth in income. Investment in residential real-estate soared, growing 26% faster than average.[11][63]

Despite growth levels below previous levels, a March 2006 report by the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee showed that the U.S. economy outperformed its peer group of large developed economies from 2001 to 2005. (The other economies are Canada, the European Union, and Japan.) The U.S. led in real GDP growth, investment, industrial production, employment, labor productivity, and price stability.[65]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_policy_of_the_George_W._Bush_administration#Economic_growth

After the Dems got the control of the house in 2006… and the economy went into the drain