The GOP has fought, with varying degrees of success, for less government spending. So this has got to be galling:

White House Says Republicans Co-Own Legacy of $19 Trillion Debt

To be sure, the GOP hasn't been as fiscally responsible as we would wish, but the Obama administration's attempt to force them to take ownership of the debt that was created by rampant spending by this administration is outrageous.

The Obama administration has spent more than all previous administrations combined, with Republicans fighting a losing battle against such spending for seven bitter years.

Here is the story , as the Obama White House sees it, from Market Watch:

The White House on Tuesday said the legacy of a new record amount of debt — $19 trillion — should be shared with Republicans.

“To understand the long-term trends here, we have to take a look at what exactly happened when the last Democratic president was leaving office. He was passing off budget surpluses as far as the eye could see to his successor,” Josh Earnest said at the daily White House briefing.

President George W. Bush proceeded to put in place tax cuts for the wealthy and launched a ground war in the Middle East “all without paying for it,” he added.

That led to the Great Recession that put enormous pressure on the federal budget, Earnest said.

“Digging out of that economic downturn leading our economy to recovery and doing it all in fiscally responsible way will be a hallmark of the president’s legacy,” the spokesman said.

Obama has cut the deficit as a percentage of GDP by 75% during his two terms in office, Earnest said.

Where to begin?

It's true that the country experienced prosperity under President Clinton, who left the economy in apparent good shape. Clouds were gathering before he left office, but, after a slow start and the economic travails caused by September 11, George Bush had a fairly prosperous presidency until the end. Rather than the collapse being caused by an unpaid for war, it was caused by the utter bursting of the housing market. (Go see "The Big Short;" there may be some things that offend a conservative, but it is still a good primer on what happened.)

As for digging out from the recession, President Obama supported a stimulus that didn't stimulate the economy, which is still sluggish. Thank the sequester, which the Obama administration loathed, with reducing some spending.

It is just like this White House to blame the GOP for a catastrophic mess of its own making.

I realize that the GOP leadership in Washington has left much to be desired–witness the uprising of anger against it.

Still, it is despicable to portray them as partners in the bad parts (are there any other kind?) of President Obama's rotten legacy.

An adult in the highest office in the land would be nice.

Let's hope our next president is an adult and honest enough not to pull these stunts.