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the heat of TV camera lights, but behind the scenes — in the committee rooms and oak - paneled bars of Washington D.C. —
    it is clear that the process for managing the nation ’ s fi nances is badly broken. When Bush 43 came into offi ce in 2001, the federal debt was $5.6 trillion. He ’ ll leave the next president —
    and every other American citizen
    — nearly twice as much.
    Meanwhile, the real state of the union — or at least the popular perception of it — can be seen by rifl ing through the headlines of the nation ’ s mainstream media:
    December 4, 2007: “ Economy moves to fore as issue for 2008 voters, ” writes the Wall Street Journal .
    March 4, 2008: “ Record High for Oil Socks Economy ” states the Chicago Tribune . Gas prices, too, have been weighing heavily on consumer balance sheets.
    May 16, 2008:
    “ U.S. Consumer Confi dence at Lowest
    Since 1980. ” reports the Financial Times , noting that 1980
    was the last year in which concerns about infl ation played a major role in a presidential election.
    June 30, 2008: “ Expect U.S. economic woes to linger into 2009, ” warns the Christian Science Monitor .
    July 1, 2008:
    “ It ’ s a Murphy
    ’ s Law Economy,
    ” says
    the Baltimore Sun , referring to the bursting housing c01.indd 17
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    18 The
    Mission
    bubble, suggesting that “ whatever can go wrong ” in the economy “ will. ”
    Beginning with revelations that the investment bank Bear Stearns was nearly insolvent, in the summer of 2007, the average citizen learned new terms like subprime and infl ation and woke up to the fact that something wasn ’ t right with the economy.
    Enter our fi rst protagonist.
    The Fiscal Cancer
    “ Who is David Walker? ” Steve Kroft asked on CBS ’ s March 4, 2007, episode of 60 Minutes , “ and why should we care? ”
    GAO: This non-
    According to Kroft, “ He ’ s the nation ’ s top accountant —
    partisan agency
    is the audit,
    the comptroller general of the United States. He ’ s totaled up the evaluation, and
    government ’ s income liabilities and future obligations and con-investigative arm of cluded that our current standard of living is unsustainable unless the U.S. Congress
    some drastic action is taken . . . and he ’ s not alone. ”
    and is in the
    In his capacity as the comptroller general of the United legislative branch
    of government.
    States, David Walker was head of the U.S. Government It exists to help
    Accountability Offi ce, better known as the GAO. The offi ce is improve the
    in the legislative branch of government and, as Walker stated in performance and
    the documentary I.O.U.S.A , is charged with “ improving trans-accountability
    of the federal
    parency, enhancing government performance, and assuring government for
    accountability for the benefi t of the American people. ”
    the benefi t of
    Three months before the
    60 Minutes episode aired,
    the American
    we ’ d had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Walker and people, according
    came to see that we shared similar concerns for the state of to its most
    recent mission
    the economy. Over the next year of fi lming and producing statement. At the
    I.O.U.S.A., we talked to him in numerous locations around helm of the GAO
    the country. This fi rst interview was at his offi ce at the GAO in is the Comptroller
    Washington, D.C.
    General of the
    “ I was set to be career military, ” says Mr. Walker. “ I had United States,
    which is a 15-year
    appointments to the Naval and Air Force Academies but I position appointed
    couldn ’ t go at the last minute because I had a bad left ear by the President.
    and it kept me out of my military career. I knew it was only c01.indd 18
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    Chapter 1 The Real State of the Union 19
    a matter of time before I decided to serve my country in some way. And I ’ ve been fortunate to have three presidential appointments — one from Reagan, one from Bush 41, and this one from Clinton. It ’ s been