They'll get by with a little help

I haven't seen any evidence that the GOP is smart enough to take back Congress in 2010 all by itself. But if it has enough help, who knows? Some groups are targeting five House Republicans with attack ads on their reluctance to vote for cap-and-trade. Good. Keep reminding voters who is for and who is against this job-killing piece of garbage that won't even affect global warming. Democrats seem set to go it alone on health care reform. Even better. Show us which party is really serious about growing government. And, best of all (for the GOP, of course, not the country):

A half-hour after President Obama tapped Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for another term, the White House budget office released new figures today on the federal deficit.

The hard-working Rich Wolf provides this context: For 2009, the deficit is now projected at $1.58 trillion. There will be a $5 trillion increase in red ink over the next five years and a total of $9 trillion over 10 years.

The long-term numbers are worse than previously forecast. Rich says the White House numbers show the deficit declining only $739 billion during the next decade and never falling below 3.7% of the economy.

Republicans lost their way in recent years, straying from conservative principles to embrace big spending and too much government. But they are absolute pikers when it comes to the party that has been perfecting its statist approach for decades. Despite the GOP's best e