The current total outstanding U.S. public debt is over $14.0 Trillion. This huge mountain of debt was accumulated over many decades under the leadership of various presidents.

The graphic below shows the amount of debt accumulated by US presidents:

Click to enlarge

Source: Der Speigel

As shown above, the largest amount of debt was accumulated by the previous president George W.Bush during his term in office primarily due to big tax cuts for the rich and increasing government expenditures.

In early 2009, while attending a diamond-studded $800-a-plate crowd in New York Mr.Bush said:

“This is an impressive crowd – the haves and the have-mores,” quipped the GOP standard-bearer. “Some people call you the elites; I call you my base.

In May this year, the former Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and current Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin made the following claim in an interview to Fox News:

“Look at the debt that has been accumulated in the last two years,” Palin, a Republican, told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren on May 31, 2011, as her bus rolled down the highway. “It’s more debt under this president than all those other presidents combined.”

This statement is factually incorrect. Hopefully the Republican party will be able to field a better vice-presidential candidate for the 2012 election.