McClellan debuts with dissembling about budget:

“In his first briefing as the President’s press secretary yesterday, Scott McClellan revealed an ability to spin just as ably as his predecessor, Ari Fleischer. Just as Fleischer and others in the administration have done, McClellan incorrectly suggested yesterday that tax cuts played no role or a small role in the the growing federal deficit, which the Office of Management and Budget said yesterday will be over $450 billion this year.

Asked about the new deficit figures, McClellan said the following: ‘Now, we had a recession. We also had declining revenues because of that. And we had a war on terrorism. That’s what led to the deficit that we are in today.'” Spinsanity [props to walker]