Suffering by comparison

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

I think even Obama realized that when Bill Clinton took the podium at the press conference everyone suddenly got a case of the "gee, we sure miss Bill Clinton". You could tell Clinton really wanted to be back in the saddle.

Heck, even I started missing the Clinton administration. Especially when Obama said "hey, this policy stuff is hard, I'm outta here!" and ducked out the back door.

Do you miss the Clinton years? Should Obama be putting Clinton in such a publicly prominent position?

Comments

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

There was a lot for me to dislike about Clinton, but in the wake of GWB, I must say I missed him.

[ygrii-blop.livejournal.com]

I miss Clinton the way a terminal cancer patient might miss a simple broken leg.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

Hehehe.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Eh, I miss the days when Democratic Presidents were merely souped-up Mafia Don rapists bent on creating a One World Order to corrupt us by using our pwecious bodily fewids against us. As opposed to the current GOP considering Obama a hybrid of Slaanesh, Tzeentech, Nyarlathotep, and Dr. Facilier.

[weswilson]

Your Geek-fu is strong...

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

He raised taxes and thus reduced the debt.

He's got the right idea.

[ofbg.livejournal.com]

As apparently the only conservative to comment at this early time in the post, I gotta say, the republican congress reduced spending (welfare reform and others) thereby reducing the debt.


Also, Clinton benefited from the still expanding economy left by Reaganomics.

Ok, all at once, pounce!!

[vnsplshr.livejournal.com]

Do you know that scene in Star Trek Generations... when Kirk gets offered the big chair by the guy who wrecked his dad's Ferrari 250GT Spyder in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

I always thought casting him in that role was a mistake. He was so much better in Spin City.

[prader.livejournal.com]

I've been saying that, between Bush and Obama, I miss Clinton for at least a year now.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Clinton relished a good fight. Obama runs from them.

[squidb0i.livejournal.com]

I sure don't miss the AWB, but the economy was better then and I was younger and hotter so.. does that count?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

You live in Nevada you are prly hot most of the time :D

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

Sure, why not?

[singlethink.livejournal.com]

People will remember Obama as the president who got little accomplished with a democratic house and senate. People will remember Clinton as the president who got a lot accomplished (including interns, zing!) with a Republican house and senate.

The reason I was rooting for Clinton (Hillary) over Obama is because I believed that Obama was too young to have the political pull in Washington to get things done. Turns out I was right. I also liked Clinton's touring around the country. He did a good job of making the Republicans look bad while Obama, for all his time in the media, cant make the demonizers into the demons.

[evildamsel.livejournal.com]

Obama doesn't lack pull. He lacks stones.

[penguin42.livejournal.com]

People will remember Obama as the president who got little accomplished with a democratic house and senate

huh.

Clitoncare failed. Obamacare passed.
Clinton passed DADT. People are angry that obama hasn't repealed it fast enough.

IMO it's a mixed bag both ways. I think a lot of this "omg clinton" is really just blind nostalgia.

[stewstewstewdio.livejournal.com]

Here we go again. Chasing the status quo of the past. Don't think for a moment that Obama isn't using the Clinton administration as a template to move forward.

Clinton had his share of political woes at the time as well. This was a completely different country at the time of Clinton. If Clinton were President today, I would be very surprised if things were done any differently than they are now.

The guy was witch hunted by Ken Starr and crew for crissake. This amid a pretty successful presidency.
http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-03.html

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

Clinton has only himself to blame for the impeachment. When you're the President you should keep it in your pants or at least have the intelligence to have an affair with someone mature enough to keep it a secret. Giggling schoolgirls who boast about getting their "Presidential kneepads" aren't exactly good security risks. :P

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

I don't think I miss Clinton. In a sense that I seldom like to look too much in the past.

But, question to you now. Did you miss Reagan during the Bush years?

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

Reagan will always be missed. You only get Presidents like him once in a great while.

Bush was doing a decent enough job in his first term but the second was basically one big clusterf*ck.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Sorry but electing Obama over the Bad Dream Team of McSame & Caribou Barbie was definitely the better choice.

Hell I miss Reagan - especially the later years when it was obvious the lights had gone out upstairs and you woke up with the delightful sense of mystery wondering if he'd triggered armageddon with the Evil Empire yet.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

yes but when your choices are between a kick in the nuts and a punch in the face the guy who used to give you charlie horses looks pretty appealing.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

Reagan, Clinton and Obama, three of the best presidents the Republican party has ever had or probably ever will.

[3fgburner.livejournal.com]

Me? Miss Clinton? See my icon.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Eh, Clinton is highly overrated as he benefited from serving during the 2nd and largest of the current string of bubbles (Dot Com Boom).

Basically we had stagflation in the 70's and then the Fed/Treasury started on a program of monetary expansion. Fortunately for everyone this happened to coincide with the largest period of growth in human productivity ever witnessed as computer technology finally matured to become useful so a lot of that monetary expansion was neutral in terms of inflation, especially early on.

But as always when you start printing money out of nothing you end up with bubbles, first the Savings and Loan bubble, then the Dot Com bubble, then the double whammie of the Housing and Sub Prime bubbles. Of course no politician has ever been willing to suffer the pain of allowing the bubble to deflate naturally and then let sustainable growth take hold so they just keep printing more money and blowing up ever bigger bubbles until someday one that we can't recover from pops.

Still, while Clinton gets more credit for the robust economy he had than he deserves he does need to get some credit for being smart enough to learn after the drubbing the Democans took in 94 that his election was not a mandate from the American people to remake America into a social democratic welfare state, this is a lesson Obama seems to be incapable of learning and unless the Republicrats are dumb enough to nominate Palin or some hardcore social conservative like Huckabee then it is going to cost him his office.

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

I was speaking more to Clinton's ability to lead/govern. He was lucky in many respects but he also had the ability to make it look like good ideas where his all along even when he opposed them. His comments about the payroll tax cuts being similar to him embracing tax rate cuts on dividends (etc.) in the mid-90s.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

I think the whole thing was just a terrible visual for Obama. Whatever the merits of the policy, passing the buck to Clinton and then heading off to a Christmas Party was boneheaded. In my opinion, it diminished him. You can do this sort of thing in private or over some minor matter, but when you are selling something like this compromise you cannot compromise. The president has to actually put in some effort and be willing to stand there and argue his position and use his influence to persuade the legislators. And it isn't like Obama can't do that, he can. This further diminished him, it seems to me.

[pattyoplenty.livejournal.com]

To me, it shows where Obama's priorities were at the moment. It was more important to attend a party, then to attend to his business.

[major-dallas.livejournal.com]

Why stop at Clinton? Truth be told, I really miss President Washington ::sigh::

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Haha, this.