Given I disagree with your premise that the cost of GWB's Iraq war was not kept off the books
You say it was kept off. It was added to the national debt. The Democrats point at the cost of the wars every chance they get,,,,,and they obviously know 'what book it's kept it'.
We are talking about tax cuts and collections. Not spending. Those are 2 separate issues.
Spending, after all, is just a measure of much of the collections are going right back out the door.
We are talking about what is coming in the door.
Nobody wants to talk about the Bush tax cuts because either 1.) they can't stand the truth or 2.) they are clueless.