Yeah he was the electoral darling, who crafted a centrist win for the Grand Old Party...
Problem was, even though the debt handwriting was on the wall no one was uncomfortable enough to break some eggs.
The idiotic cheerleading and brainless following that took place, here and elsewhere, during those years is as much to blame as anything else. The voters, the supporters of the GOP, gave those people carte blanche, and they ran with it. Now, hungover and out of power, they blame the people THEY elected and supported.