Hi j-t,
Obama has brought it up as much as anyone!!
The Republicans will use whatever is to hand to reduce the size of government. Reducing government is the issue. Believe me, when surpluses appear, they will use those also:
"We must lower taxes because the government is taking in too much revenue. We need to give the people back their own money!!"
It just makes sense to disqualify it as a Republican "issue". It is a pretend issue for Republicans.