The escalating cost of the war in Iraq has helped push the federal deficit to a record $427 billion this year. The Congressional Budget Office made the new budget forecast Tuesday as the White House announced it would seek $80 billion more to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the new request, the White House has now sought over $280 billion for the two wars. When one of President Bush’s most prominent economic advisors, Lawrence Lindsey estimated before the Iraq war that the cost could reach as high as $200 billion, he was forced out of his job. Before the Iraq invasion, the White House estimated the war would cost between $50 and $60 billion.