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Not going to completely give in on that one. Clinton balanced the budget just fine, and this guy cannot be compared to the big spenders of the past....he is in a league all of his own.
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Whether or not Clinton really did balance the budget, and how much of that "balancing" was based on SS revenues and inflated projections from overstated corporate earnings is subject to debate, but is also not entirely the point.
I will conceded that the spending during this Presidency has been particularly high, and even that a significant part of it is at the President's bidding... But it's kindof like saying "All the other serial killers only had 50 victims each... this guy's killed a hundred!" ...
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BTW the congressman from Alaska who got the cash for that bridge to nowhere is a Republican and I think he chairs the Transportation Committee.[/reply]
Actually only reinforces my point. I grew up in WV. You know, the home of the Honorable Robert C. "I've never seen a pork project that wouldn't go well with some BBQ sauce and a side of cole slaw..." Byrd. I'm quite sure that on perusal for every Republican "bridge" you'll find a similar Democratic project... The thing did pass the House 412/8 and the Senate 89/11, y'know. Hardly a partisan vote.
No question the projects that have gone through Congress and met with the Prez's approval in the past 5 years have made the deficit situation significantly worse. Don't even get me started on the Medicare mess (IMHO, *neither* party's proposal was a good idea...).
But in order for things to get "worse", they have to be "bad" to start with... and that (as is my point) is a decidely bipartisan issue with a LONG history. Pork (and the associated overspending) knows no political party lines.
And I find it hard to believe that either of Bush's Democratic opponents would have fared significantly better. The programs and their details might have been different, but I bet the purse strings would have been quite loose for them as well.
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Yes, I too now have a
Blog. Don't laugh.