Politics & Power Quote by Geraldine Ferraro

Ferraro’s line is a scalpel disguised as small talk: “for one thing” and “one of the wonderful things” set up a mock-celebratory tone that immediately flips into indictment. The wit isn’t ornamental; it’s defensive offense. By pretending to praise “wonderful things,” she forces the listener to feel the absurdity of calling deficits a gift. It’s political sarcasm deployed as a credibility test: if you’re still nodding along after “wonderful,” you’re missing the point.

The intent is to weaponize contrast. Clinton “left us” surpluses; “we now have” deficits. That grammar quietly assigns ownership and blame without needing a lecture on fiscal policy. “Left us” suggests stewardship and inheritance, the idea that governing produces a ledger you hand to the next administration. “We now have” implies consequences arrived quickly and collectively, but the earlier clause makes clear who changed the trajectory. Ferraro is arguing that budget outcomes aren’t abstract numbers; they’re the visible residue of priorities.

The subtext is also generational and moral: deficits “we’re going to be facing into the future” aren’t just inconvenient, they’re burdens shifted forward. She’s framing fiscal policy as an ethics issue, not a technocratic one, tapping voter anxiety about irresponsibility and broken promises.

Context matters: post-1990s, when the rare achievement of U.S. budget surpluses became a political trophy, Ferraro is defending the Democratic claim to competence while needling Republican-era tax cuts and spending decisions that helped reverse the balance. It works because it turns nostalgia into a warning: remember that surplus? Notice who spent it.