Michael Kinsley has it mostly correct as he wonders about all that debt we’re ringing up. But he seems to have missed the hue and cry in opposition to the stimulus plan:

The reasons that made it a bad idea to run up all that debt haven’t disappeared just because something even worse came along. Almost no one in Washington is talking about this.  . . But even if the stimulus is a magnificent success, the money still has to be paid back. The plan of record apparently is that we keep borrowing, spending and stimulating, faster and faster, until suddenly, on some signal from heaven or Timothy Geithner, we all stop spending and start saving in recordbreaking amounts. Oh sure, that will work.

Well, of course, virtually every Republican who voted against the stimulus and many, many conservative pundits and think tanks have been making this point all along. The spend-a-thon is going to leave us with two options (or a combination): massive tax hikes or inflating our debt away. This is the “cure is worse than the disease” argument which the Obama administration has given the back of the hand to. Failed theories! Do nothingism!

It is delightful to have Kinsley join the chorus of those who have been worried about this all approach all along. Perhaps he should attend the “fiscal responsibility” summit next week. (I know, you can’t make this stuff up.) Had they had it last week there would have been a way right up front to save $787B plus interest.