i think Clinton would have been scary and a failure if left to his own devices (and the likes of carville, stephanopoulus, hilary) and it is good for him that Newt came along and forced him back to the middle/ centre right where the country is naturally .... they managed to get some good things done together ( like welfare reform) and REDUCE THE DEFICIT !! Since leaving office, i think Clinton is doing some very interesting & commendable things as well. I didn't pay too much attention to politics back then either....
I thought Bush actually had reverence for the office and had some class as President. i don't think he was fairly portrayed, he isn't stupid. i did not like karl rove and his divisive political style. I think rove accelerated and institutionalized the hyper partisanship that is crippling the US today. Bush spent too much and grew government too much an distend to rove too much. i think bush responded well to 9/11 , and a LIMITED move against afghanistan would have been sufficient. I think he sincerely believed Saddam had wmd. I don't think that was justification for invasion but i don't think the invasion was for different reasons. Once he started the action, which was approved by Congress btw, he got really bad advice from the likes of Bremer.
i think bush did some good things like battle aids in africa. and i also think that he will do some interesting things now that he is out of office. he is a young man still. i believe that he took the liberation of women in afghanistan, for example, very very seriously.
may be a contrary view but (and this has fuck all to do w fox bcuz i don't watch fox anyhow) i don't think Bushs economic policies led to the crash in 2008. they were a result of out of control leverage (speculation without downside to the speculators) and a decline in credit standards across the system (fostered by securitization and gse's) . these were systemic ... and started as far back as the community reinvestment act, glass steagall being repealed, greenspans loose policies, the marriage of public sector unions and combined benefit pensions, etc.... it really was an indictment of government overall NOT capitalism because capitalism was over ridden by government intervention and i am afraid that we haven't learned our lessons
the broader issue is that the whole system is corrupt. professional politicians and their staffs have too much power and can bestow too much favour / influence , therefore they are subject to too much lobbying and owe their patrons too much. there is a perpetual revolving door now where they all get rich when they leave, simply for having access to their successors and for knowing how to game the system, not for producing anything. The USG is the biggest spender of money on the planet and it also has (for now) the biggest printing press ... and that is a honey pot which regrettably is just too powerful
I think Obama was woefully under qualified for the job and his personal operating philosophy and personal style are wrong for the job (just read abt how reclusive he really is, he doesn't connect w cabinet members, or congressional leaders, never mind the rank and file). He is not a leader he is a punisher, a demagogue and a very blatant opportunist.
i believe in people inherently being good and productive ... and the tea party is an example of that. i believe the OWS movement is worth getting involved with, or at least my understanding of what the authentic bit of that movement is... under 30's going, what the fuck is in it for us? we played by the rules and the opportunity ahead of us is diminished and getting worse .... i find this challenge to society fascinating. i find the institutional left , scary beyond belief.
