From the San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, January 26, 2005:

Bush adds $80 billion to wars' costs; Afghanistan, Iraq tally would pass $300 billion if OKd

But what to make of this, dated a whopping three months earlier (Friday, October 1, 2004), from the Washington Post's analysis of the first Presidential debate between candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry:

Few Factual Errors, but Truth Got Stretched at Times

Kerry suggested that the United States has spent $200 billion on Iraq, largely because it supplied the bulk of the troops. This was an exaggeration because it combined the amount already spent -- about $120 billion -- with money that is expected to be spent in the coming year or requested by the administration.

In case you're interested in researching more of Candidate Kerry's various lies and deceptions, rest assured that various media outlets displayed an eerie amount of non-prescience last fall. Why not comb through the following links, as well? They're each chock full of documentation of Kerry's $200 billion mendacity...

Distortions and Misstatements At First Presidential Debate, Bush and Kerry both have problems with the facts at their meeting in Coral Gables, (FactCheck.org)

A Primer for Tonight's First Debate, Both Bush and Kerry Have Set the Stage With Some Misleading Claims, (Washington Post)

Some key claims in debate and how they really stack up, (Knight Ridder/The Seattle Times)

Reality Check: Distorted Debates, (WCCO TV)