THANK YOU RONALD REAGAN... YOU FUCK UP!!!! | 51 comments (51 topical, 5 hidden)
a few years back (none / 0)

in college I had a professor that had a PHD in economics. Economics was the major he had from undergrad to PHD. He was a banker and a very smart man.

 By the time I was done with his course I went from not caring about Regan(I was to young to remember him) to hating him.

  I don't think Bush Sr did a bad job but at least an ok job. He was at least smart enough  to stay out of Iraq.

Now Jr is a fuckup of an epic level. I don't think we could have done it without all the dumb shit the three before him started. His was a failed reign of stupidity 20 years in the making.

by mattish on 06/28/2009 10:29:18 PM EST

Bush sr. (none / 0)
I never had a problem with him.  I mean he made some bad decisions, what president hasn't.  But what really broke him was the "no new taxes" and then he raised taxes, which was FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE...

I find it funny, we as Americans want good healthcare, education, infrastructure, a competitive market place, basically we want a stable country with social programs that take care of the average Joe... But what people fail to realize is those things cost money and lowering taxes ALL THE TIME, doesn't necessarily help... ESPECIALLY in the middle of a recession.  It seems we want all those things, but we want someone else to pay for it. in the past 20-30 years, thus far... let's see how Obama does.  Clinton was the best President, who just happened to put a shit stain on his presidency with a blowjob with another woman, otherwise, I don't see too much of an issue.

by Erauprcwa on 06/28/2009 10:43:31 PM EST

[ Parent ]
that is basically how I feel about Bush Sr. (none / 0)

 He was a forgettable president which is a good thing. If you can pull off 4-8 years of minimal reasons for someone to bring you up, you did a good job. That means that although you didn't do anything great you also didn't have any major screw ups.

My main issue with Clinton is the pro business stuff he did. I could care less about the blowjob.

by mattish on 06/28/2009 10:59:24 PM EST

[ Parent ]
There's a difference... (none / 0)
...between being "pro-business", which can be a good thing if you support consumer protections, and being "pro-corporation", which is often not a good thing.  Corporations assign the privileges and rights of human beings to bottom-line focused organizations while relieving the people involved of responsibility for their actions.

Clinton was certainly pro-business, but he was also pro-corporation.

by EveningStarNM on 06/28/2009 11:08:37 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Clinton was medicore *at best* (none / 0)

He wasn't moderate, he was a corporatist. His economic team was terrible, and their pro-deregulation insanity directly led to our current economic mess.

Also, he passed the Telecom Act of 1996 which is part of why our media is terrible, and the consequences of that are enormous.

Finally, he kicked "free trade" into high gear and helped to gut the economic base of our country so that it could become the "would you like to Super Size that sir?" service economy with qualitatively lower jobs. Not to mention the fact that he did nothing for our crumbling infrastructure/public transporation and nothing to restore some balance between workers and employers.

I know, I know, there was a hostile Congress, but that only goes so far.

by Tom Hanc on 06/28/2009 11:46:39 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I recently read (none / 0)

that NAFTA was bad for Mexican, American and Canadian workers, as stupid as that sounds. From my understanding of it the businesses got all the benefits and the workers all took a screwing.

 I would call him a great president but I think the internet bubble was a major part of what helped the economy along so well for so long. So I don't think he played that much of a role in the economy and the deregulation that he helped along may make up for any good of the 90s.

by mattish on 06/28/2009 11:58:11 PM EST

[ Parent ]
the 90s (none / 0)
was a great time for progression of the United States.  With the internet(s) (:-) cell phones, music, cars, etc... it really push our economy into overdrive and really promoted consumer spending and entrepreneurship in this country which lead to a lot of big new business... Starbucks, to name a few.  

I guess Clinton did ride a wave of new technology which the American people and the world just HAD to get their hands on.    

by Erauprcwa on 06/29/2009 12:35:51 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Clinton's Rating (none / 0)
It depends on your point of view.  If you compare him to Bush -- or to any Republican, for that matter -- Clinton was a fucking economic genius.  But if you compare him to other presidents in general based on the effects of his policies and actions (and discounting the effects of the internet boom, which he failed to moderate), he was, as you say, mediocre at best.  But mediocre is not a bad thing to be if the alternative is the mess we have today.

by EveningStarNM on 06/29/2009 12:03:25 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I see what you're saying (none / 0)

But ushering in of "free trade" has been disastrous overall (unless you're high up at some multinational corporation), and the deregulation wasn't genius, it was also disastrous.

Most of his rhetoric was better and he was much better on most social issues, I'll give him that.

by Tom Hanc on 06/29/2009 12:21:50 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Clinton's mistakes (none / 0)
Deregulation was a boneheaded mistake.  He thought that Gore would be elected and that deregulation could be moderated or reversed.

And free trade was all the rage then, even though people did contrast it to fair trade.  But everyone thought, "Hurry up!  Globalization is coming!  We've got to drop our drawers immediately!"

And, as I mentioned, he failed to moderate the internet boom, and a bubble was created that burst.

He failed to moderate his policies.  He failed to moderate powerful directional trends in the economy, which always ends in disaster.

And he failed to get opposing points of view.

Wouldn't it be great to be a German -- or almost any European -- right now?  Seeing the United States on the wane while Europe makes tremendous investments in green technology industries while we sit on the sidelines, sending our money and our labor overseas...

It's got to be a dream come true for them.

by EveningStarNM on 06/29/2009 12:51:49 PM EST

[ Parent ]
It's scary (none / 0)
I'm increasingly happy with my decision to never have kids. Not that I'm suggesting others shouldn't (people with kids get defensive when I say *I* won't want them, which is stupid).

by Tom Hanc on 06/29/2009 01:14:52 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I agree (none / 0)
Im not that impressed with Clinton.

Hes great for comedians though

A conservative believes nothing should be done for the first time

by C D on 06/30/2009 04:57:40 AM EST

[ Parent ]
good point (none / 1)
 And fits how I feel better really. I wish there was more pro-small business less pro-corporation.

by mattish on 06/28/2009 11:52:25 PM EST

[ Parent ]

THANK YOU RONALD REAGAN... YOU FUCK UP!!!! | 51 comments (51 topical, 5 hidden)