In a New York Times editorial, Nicholas Kristof (requires login) blasts President Bush's 2004 budget, calling it "high risk intellectual dishonesty" and claiming that he is "half as honest as with the American public as Clinton was," by omitting small details, like multi-billion dollar expenditures in Iraq. These words are sure to arouse some ire in Republican camps, where the name Bill Clinton is synonymous with Mephistopheles. Kristof echoes claims made by Paul Krugman, Princeton University economist and Bush administration critic, that the US is heading down the dubious path already forged by countries like Argentina and Japan in the late 80's. Will reckless spending and massive deficits cause a "crisis of confidence" in the American economy? Whether "trickle down economics" will eventually bail us out of the growing hole of national debt or cause the whole system to come crashing down around us, the American taxpayers deserve an honest assessment - and President Bush isn't giving it.