The deficits under Bush were manageable. And he tried to face the entitlement problem, but got no help from the GOP Congress. He should have done better on the deficit, but it was not the problem it is has become since 2009.
Debt exploded under Bush and now under Obama it is just about uncontrollable. I don’t now how much longer the world will allow us to export trillions of dollars a year but when that stops, we collapse just as hard as the USSR did. Already India, China, Russia and others are stopping their use of dollars for international purchases. The clock is ticking and the red light is flashing. Were Germany to leave the Euro and issue D. Marks the dollar would be toast.