Opinion of Bill Clinton

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

[TNF]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Poor killer extraordinaire: HP.

[windjammer]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

You like Lenin and Robespierre, so please, you can't reproach him for being a mass murderer (and it's not the case).

[Antonio the Sixth]

One of the luckiest presidents in American history. Had his tenure not coincided with eight years of relative international stability, economic prosperity, and insanity from the opposition party, people may have noticed that he wasn't especially competent.

This.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

One of the luckiest presidents in American history. Had his tenure not coincided with eight years of relative international stability, economic prosperity, and insanity from the opposition party, people may have noticed that he wasn't especially competent.

Basically. It's striking how little he achieved in office.* I don't find Obama to be particularly impressive, but at least he's done things...

_{*The results of caving in to the Opposition and/or vested interests do not count as 'achievements.'}

[DINGO Joe]

One of the luckiest presidents in American history. Had his tenure not coincided with eight years of relative international stability, economic prosperity, and insanity from the opposition party, people may have noticed that he wasn't especially competent.

And yet in the hands of a lesser president (GW) it all went to crap.

It was an especially opportune time demographically to run some surpluses and the failure of his successor makes our future demographic economic challenges exponentially harder.

[Cassius]

HP. Aside from his extensive adultery (and various potentially shady dealings that we don't have to go into again), he really wasn't a particularly effective President. Of course, he had a slick PR operation, and was confronted by tactically inept opponents, but his Presidency could have crumbled at a number of points, though luckily for him, it didn't. Whilst I give him some credit for balancing the budget and instituting a kind of welfare reform, somehow I don't see this happening if the Republican Congress (whose leadership had campaigned heavily upon balancing the budget and other such reforms) hadn't been elected in 1994.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

One of the luckiest presidents in American history. Had his tenure not coincided with eight years of relative international stability, economic prosperity, and insanity from the opposition party, people may have noticed that he wasn't especially competent.

Basically. It's striking how little he achieved in office.* I don't find Obama to be particularly impressive, but at least he's done things...

_{*The results of caving in to the Opposition and/or vested interests do not count as 'achievements.'}

The 1993 budget is an accomplishment worth boasting about. Significantly raising taxes on the wealthy was no small achievement in the context of the golden age of neo-liberalism.

[TDAS04]

Still a major FF.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Who doesn't love Bubba

[Grumpier Than Thou]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Let's not forget that there was only so much political capital the Democrats had at their fingertips in this era.  Before the '92 election, the Democrats had lost the White House in three landslide elections in a row.  Sure, we had both houses of Congress for most of those years (tainted by a 'conservative coalition'), but Democrats never had the opportunity to get through a full agenda because the momentum just wasn't there.  Even Clinton tried pursuing health care reform, passing a middle-class tax cut, allowing gays to serve in the military, etc., and either the public or Congress was against him every time.  Then, of course, the Republicans had control of Congress for six of eight years of the presidency.  There simply wasn't a mandate for either side.

I think Clinton doesn't have a stainless record and I think he should have done many things differently, but for the Washington climate at the time, he was quite an effective president who kept an insane Congress (only slightly more reasonable than the Tea Party) in check.  His accomplishments weren't large, but they were many, but most of them are sadly forgotten about (1993 budget, minimum wage increase, crime bills, gun control, medical leave, EITC, SCHIP, child tax credit, Head Start funding increase, etc.).  I think that if we were living in the 90s right now, many of the same Obama fanboys here would be the ones kissing Clinton's feet and lauding him for the good economy that we'd been able to enjoy.

[Comrade Funk]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

You like Lenin and Robespierre, so please, you can't reproach him for being a mass murderer (and it's not the case).

[Oldiesfreak1854]

HP overall, but has some FF qualities (like charisma).

[Dancing with Myself]

One of my favorite Democratic presidents.

FF

[TNF]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

You like Lenin and Robespierre, so please, you can't reproach him for being a mass murderer (and it's not the case).

>implying that wiping out reactionaries intent on continuing their enslavement of their respective nations is anything like killing innocent people in bombing raids

Stay dumb, liberalism

[ElectionsGuy]

I don't think he did the right thing all of the time, but he was at least a good man. FF

[Oakvale]

Passing NAFTA is laudable but some of the other half-decent stuff he did (welfare reform etc) only came about as a result a Republican Congress, really. Also kind of a scumbag. HP.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

You like Lenin and Robespierre, so please, you can't reproach him for being a mass murderer (and it's not the case).

>implying that wiping out reactionaries intent on continuing their enslavement of their respective nations is anything like killing innocent people in bombing raids

Stay dumb, liberalism

Ugh, come on TNF. I like you, but come on man .

[traininthedistance]

Lean FF, for the reasons ably given by Scott and DeadFlagBlues' response to Sibboleth.

One of the luckiest presidents in American history. Had his tenure not coincided with eight years of relative international stability, economic prosperity, and insanity from the opposition party, people may have noticed that he wasn't especially competent.

This is true, but... who has been a competent president lately?  I can't help but grade on a curve here.

[nolesfan2011]

HP (NAFTA, welfare "reform", Wall Street deregulation, mass murder of Sudanese/Iraqis/Serbs, promotion of predatory loaning practices & the .com bubble, needless focus on balancing the budget, etc.)

this and the drug war too

[free my dawg]

This is sage

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'm proud of you, awkward conservative-True Leftist alliance.

[H. Ross Peron]

FF overall, although somewhat overrated.