Yep, that $1 Trillion stimulus really worked well. So did the hundreds of billions spent on green jobs investments over at the DoE. Should have raised taxes early in his term when he had the chance.
If you look at the government's data, table 1.2, under the On-Budget Surplus / Deficit Column, you can see that Obama since 2008 has managed to double GW Bush's worse year in terms of a deficit. And everyone, including the OMB, believes the 2012 and onward projections to be fantasy. The reason you will need to use the data tied to GDP is because the comparison needs to have consistency from year to year in terms of how much money the federal government spent as a percentage of the country's gross economic performance. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals
If Obama was really smart he would not run again. He has already made history. The next president will not be able to kick the can down the road. There is nothing, but hard choices facing the next president and congress and they will be hated and even despised, by all sides as they begin to raise taxes and cut entitlements.
If Obama loses in November 2012 parts of Los Angeles, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Newark, NYC, Philly, DC, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and New Orleans may burn. Between the election and the inauguration a state of emergency could be declared and the transition of power delayed for the first time in our history. I'm not saying Obama wants that to happen. But he won't likely do much to prevent or stop it. It may figure into the election as a sort of Sword of Damocles, a threat.