Chart of the day

(Click to enlarge)

Why is this chart so noteworthy, you ask? After all, the fact that our national debt is headed for levels in excess of 100 percent of GDP isn't exactly news, right? Well, this chart happens to be taken from a column on the left-wing TalkingPointsMemo website arguing that projected levels of red ink are "non-exceptional."   

Evidently that's the new talking point: debt levels unseen since the midst of World War II should be considered no big deal.

Further note that the charts presented are from the Office of Management and Budget, which falls under the purview of the White House. However, a CBO analysis of the OMB's numbers indicates that they are very, perhaps wildly, optimistic.