Couple of things about this post, Andrew.
1) Axelrod was correct. Adding trillions to the debt while turning a surplus into a $1.1 trillion deficit is absolutely not conservatism.
2) No one realized there would be such a massively expensive and devastating recession beginning in 2008.
3) Much of the current deficit and debt comes from Bush era policies: the wars, the recession and the Bush tax cuts.
4) You wrote: "Axelrod also hit Bush for adding three trillion dollars to the national debt, calling it 'madness' and 'massive.'" Technically, Axelrod said, "run up the deficit another three trillion dollars in the next four years." There's a massive difference between the deficit and the debt. Running up a $3 trillion deficit in four years would, in fact, be madness.
5) By the way, the Obama administration has reduced the deficit from $1.4 trillion (much of this 2009 deficit was from Bush spending) to $914 billion (projected).
Just so we're all clear.