There is plenty of blame to spread and only one solution

Reagan promised to increase military spending, cut taxes and balance the budget.  You can perhaps do two out of three, but not all of them without drastic spending cuts which did not happen.  Thus "balance the budget" took the hit.

IMO, the article is dead on when it comes to pointing out the failures of the Republican policies - war-mongering neo-cons, tax-cut deficits and bailing out and ceding control of our finances to Wall Street and the international bankers.  However, there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides, and what the article did not point out is how much Obama's socialistic big spending, big government programs will accelerate and increase our deficit and financial collapse.

You cannot spend your way out of a problem created by overspending to begin with.  You cannot simultaneously try to be the world's policeman and also offer cradle to grave nanny state benefits for a huge portion of the populace (and we really should be doing neither). Neither can you tax your way out of a deficit that is so bloated.  And neither can you tax-cut your way to prosperity.

As the second installment you posted stated "the old approach -- balanced budgets, sound money and financial discipline -- is needed more than ever."

Right now, neither party offers that solution.  The republicans are firmly in the hands of Wall Street and the neo-cons, while the Democrats have become the Socialist Party while still embracing war-mongering and selling out to Wall Street and the global elite.

It is going to take a very rude awakening and a leader as well as a country that is willing to pay the price of years of austerity that it will take to make up for the tens of trillions of overspending mistakes. There are very few such leaders to be found (Ron Paul is the only one that I can think of) and I doubt that the public at large has the backbone it will take to stay the course and pay the price needed.