Where were the deficit hawks?

We hear and read that health-care reform must yield to deficit control. We are told that those of us who support universal coverage for all Americans as both a moral right and a fiscally prudent policy are mortgaging our children’s future. Where were these concerns when many of the same people voted to support a war in Iraq that will cost this nation well in excess of one trillion dollars? Where were these concerns when many of the same people voted for George W. Bush’s tax cuts that will cost $3.9 trillion over ten years? My guess is that many of them are simply contrarians who want President Obama to fail, and they have found a poll-tested slogan to fire at his most progressive priorities.