Budget deficit sets record even after cooking the books.

[Atash Hagmahani]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008077214_apbudgetdeficit.html

The next president will inherit a record budget deficit of $482 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate.
A Bush administration official said the deficit was being driven to an all-time high by the sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to 130 million households in an effort to keep the country from falling into a deep recession. A $482 billion deficit approaching billion would easily surpass the record deficit of $413 billion set in 2004.
Government officials confirmed the $482 billion figure Monday on condition of anonymity because the new estimate had not been formally released. Administration officials were scheduled to do that at a news conference later in the day.
The new figure actually underestimates the deficit, since it leaves out about $80 billion in war costs. In a break from tradition - and in violation of new mandates from Congress - the White House did not include its full estimate of war costs.