Is the size of the U.S. national debt a pressing issue?

[politicallefty]

I don't think so. Most on the right seem to fixate on the actual number as opposed to its relation to GDP. As long as GDP grows at at least an adequate pace and the deficit continues to drop, it's really not urgent at all. As it is, the budget deficit has indeed been dropping rapidly.

As others have mentioned the Bush years, my problem isn't necessarily with the deficits themselves. My complaint is that you should not be running up sizable deficits during times of relative economic well-being. The Clinton surpluses should been maintained and used to pay down the debt and/or set aside for a rainy day fund. You do not cut taxes and start two wars. Were it not for the unnecessarily consistent Bush deficits, we probably could have weathered the Great Recession a lot better than we did.