So, Now Bigger Is Better? (washingtonpost.com)

Big government is back -- with a Republican label.

Federal spending, measured as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP), declined every year from fiscal 1991, when the Cold War ended, through fiscal 2000, the final full year of the Clinton administration. It fell from 22.3 percent of GDP to 18.4 percent in that decade, but began edging back up in the first year of Bush's presidency and is projected to hit 19.6 percent this year.

While the administration and Congress have fostered the impression that the war against terrorism is to blame for rising federal spending, Fortune magazine writer Jeff Birnbaum has observed that "only about a third of the additional spending this year can be attributed to the war on terror. The rest is testament to a fact that predates Sept. 11: The era of big government has returned."

But it is big Republican government, with security, military, and business friendly agencies expanded and safety net and environment and services agencies sharply cut.