Amid the hoopla surrounding the political conventions, Dave Boyer of the Washington Times offers a stark reminder of one of the next president’s critical challenges.

The White House predicted Friday that the federal government’s budget deficit for the current fiscal year will hit $600 billion, an increase of $162 billion over last year’s and a final sour note on President Obama’s watch.

While the figure was expected, the increase represents a reversal from previous years, in which budget deficits had steadily declined from the massive $1.4 trillion annual deficit early in Mr. Obama’s first term during the recession.

In March, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected a $534 billion deficit in fiscal 2016, which ends on Sept. 30.

Shaun Donovan, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the new projection is actually $16 billion lower than the $616 billion deficit estimated by the administration in February.

He said deficits are expected to remain below 3 percent of gross domestic product through the next decade. …

… Under Mr. Obama, the total national debt has climbed to $19.3 trillion; it was about $10.6 trillion when he took office in January 2009.