Fox News is calling out big spender Bush. Apparently he's increased the size of government at twice the rate of Bill Clinton.

In the three years since Bush took office, discretionary spending -- money that is not tied to long-term entitlements, including defense, domestic security, education and transportation -- has grown by 31.5 percent. [...]

Overall, federal spending grew on average by 7.6 percent in each of the last two years, more than double the 3.4 percent average annual growth under the Clinton administration. [...]

Total federal spending in 2003 topped $20,000 per household for the first time since World War II, Riedl said, and is set to grow another $1,000 per household in 2004.

For all my anger at tax and spend Democrats, Bush is turning out to be a tax cut and spend Republican. I've heard some grumblings that perhaps a Democrat president is what we need for fiscal responsibility. The theory holds that with a Republican Congress and a Democrat in the White House (or vice versa), there is less of chance of huge spending increases because of all the gridlock. The GOP holds both Houses of Congress and the White House, yet they seem to have the door to the federal treasury open wider than any President since the 1960s.

As a Libertarian, in 2000 I bought into Bush as being the lesser of two evils. Now I'm having buyer's remorse.