Despite all the bullshit Bush billboards that say, "Miss me yet?" (NO!) Bill Clinton is the president I really miss. Beats the worthless P.O.S. we have now.

I hope the 52% who voted for this glib jerk learned something.

I've long suspect that he's not going to run for a second term, but I thought that he'd at least finish out this one.

I miss Clinton. And Bush, even though I didn't vote for him. . I imagine, were I old enough, I might even prefer Carter over Obama. The (debatable) leader of the free world ducked out of work early for a party. Unbelievable, and that's all that can be said about that.

>>I imagine, were I old enough, I might even prefer Carter over Obama

Probably not. I'm old enough to remember Carter. He was a lot like Obama, both exude self righteous incompetence. Though I don't remember Carter being as thin skinned as Obama is.

Patrick, I would take dubya over this moron any day of the week. Clinton had absolutely no spine. The last good prez we had was Ronnie, and Carter was an absolute f'ing joke, but was still better than the moron that ran on an empty slogan and obtained the votes of the idiocracy because the rinos ran mccain. And I agree with momof4, the fact that he called a press conference and bailed out for a party says loads about the imposter in chief.

Reagan was not a good president, so sorry. He single-handedly tripled the national deficit, for one thing. For another, foreign relations were never worse.

I don't like Obama in the least, and never did. I didn't vote him and I'm proud of the fact. Some of my liberal friends are experiencing a bit of "buyer's remorse." Sadly, for them, I am one to say, "I told you so."

Bush, however, was worse, and may be ranked as the worst president in our generation. People tend to blame Obama for the bailouts, which is ignorant, since those were promised under Bush. Could it be another Rovian ploy designed to harm the next president? I wouldn't be surprised. Rove is that clever...and that evil.

I was born during LBJ, who was the best president of my lifetime. After him comes Clinton, Nixon (yes, Nixon, who was a master at foreign relations), Ford, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Carter, Obama, Dubya.

LBJ and WJC were the only two good presidents and Kennedy was head and shoulders above them both.

Say good night, Gracie.

LBJ, you've got to be f'ing kidding me? Reagan ran up deficits that were no where near today's, and those deficits brought down the soviet union, oh but foreign relations were horrible now weren't they? Hmmmm, first time nuclear weapons were significantly reduced, hell whole class was eliminated. The only thing you can blame dubya for is Iraq, and he was only doing what that puss clinton should have done when saddam tried to assassinate bush 1. But your are not a liberal are you patrick? Not one thing you post has any left wing bias now does it?

I loved Nixon but in hindsight we should have left china isolated. F'ing commie bastards are supplying the idiots here with their cheap walmart shit at the cost of american jobs. And Patrick, if you were old enought to be on your own and not in some teenage dream zone, you would realize that the early 80's post 82 were the most prosperous time EVER in this country. It was the first time we had felt good about ourselves since Kennedy, and that was due pretty much to who was in charge. History has already embraced Reagan as one of THE best presidents ever, but dont let that fact ruin your liberal bent

Enh, we haven't had a decent President in this country since Calvin Coolidge.

Nor a halfway decent candidate since Goldwater.

(Which is intensely frustrating, let me tell you, to those of us who were too unborn to know that personally.)

Ron writes: Reagan ran up deficits that were no where near today's

I know. You thanking Bush for that? And yes, Obama, too.

Ron writes: , and those deficits brought down the soviet union

Oh, bullshit! LOL! What ignorance.

Ron writes: , oh but foreign relations were horrible now weren't they? Hmmmm, first time nuclear weapons were significantly reduced, hell whole class was eliminated. The only thing you can blame dubya for is Iraq,

This is a fairy tale. Bush authorized the bailouts, thank you. I can and do blame them on both Bush and Obama. But somehow, you seem to think that Bush is blameless in this? Were you in a coma for the last two years of the Bush presidency?

Ron writes: and he was only doing what that puss clinton should have done when saddam tried to assassinate bush 1. But your are not a liberal are you patrick? Not one thing you post has any left wing bias now does it?

"Waaaah! You don't agree with everything I say...you're a liberal! You, liberal, you! So, THERE! "

Quite frankly, Ron, you are in over your head. You have no understanding of politics. Your bias and ignorance is sickening. You have shamelessly, ignorantly or dishonestly (I'm betting the latter) revised documented fact, and basically embarrassed yourself with this distortion of recent history.

But you can always resort to your witty comeback, "You're a liberal!" I'm sure I'll be seared by such a scathing rebuke for at least twenty seconds.

Uh, no Ron, you silly. Clinton's eight years were more prosperous than Reagan's, who not only tripled the national deficit, but increased taxes on the two lowest income quintiles, while lowering them for the top two.

And I haven't even had to bring up the fact that Reagan was a belligerent asshole.

Patrick, you are obviously the one that doesn't know shit about history or politics, but please do stay in your make believe world and leave reality to those of us who have lived a bit longer than you have and have seen the ugly times and the good times cycle through. Clinton inherited prosperity because of reagan you moron. Ever heard of the "peace dividend". God you are stupid.

Tell me mr enlightenment, how do you feel about taxing the "rich" more than others, I suppose you are all for that too?

Ronald Reagan is responsible for beginning the longest peacetime expansion of the economy.

Reagan was "responsible" for running up the deficit only because he was working with a completely Democratic congress that was hostile to evey idea the man had. However, he used his veto pen to force concessions from the Democrats. They wanted to essentially capitulate to the Soviets and take for granted that belligerent expansionist communism was a permanent feature of the landscape. They wanted to raise both taxes and spending.

Reagan got them to cut taxes (like JFK did) to spur economic growth, but in exchange for that, they got to spend. They managed to word the spending such that it exploded in the out years.

Reagan also got them to expand the defense budget, forcing the Soviets to spend themselves into oblivion to defeat a program that didn't exist (SDI - aka 'Star Wars').

This is a fairy tale. Bush authorized the bailouts, thank you. I can and do blame them on both Bush and Obama. But somehow, you seem to think that Bush is blameless in this? Were you in a coma for the last two years of the Bush presidency?

No, Patrick - you're living in the fairy tale. Bush authorized precisely ONE bailout - TARP. Obama is responsible for Spendulus, Spendulus II, Quantitative Easing, QE2, the Automotive Bailouts, etc.

And it must be you who was in the coma, because the last two years of Bush's presidency the Congress was controlled by the most partisan Democrats to ever walk the earth, and they would not even allow Republicans to enter the room when they were crafting policies. And Bush, ever believing he could "change the tone" let them get away with it.

If Bush had told Pelosi and Reid to go fuck themselves with 16 feet of curare-tipped wrought iron and vetoed everything they sent, we probably would not have had the crash at all. Instead, we would have had an investigation into Spitzer's destroying of AIG, and into the lending practices at Fannie and Freddie.

Bush's complete loss of self-confidence after 6 years of continuous attack from the professional left is what caused the near-collapse of western civilization.

Yes, Democrats starting with Carter and running all the way through to Pelosi are to blame for the economic condition the world finds itself in today.

I used to call the "because of Reagan" refrain "The Republican Mantra," and it goes like this: "If anything good happened in the Clinton administration, it's because of Reagan; if anything bad happened in the Bush administration, it's Clinton's fault, and if it's anything bad about Bush or Reagan, it's all lies."

As for "The Flat Tax," which you seem to be advocating, I'd be all for it. As long as the rich lose their tax shelters, off-shore accounts and other various cheats that aren't available to the poor.

Also - this little episode makes my prediction from earlier this year seem prescient. Obama's setting himself up for an early departure from office. He's already planting the excuses.

He's just not having fun any more, so he wants to quit and go do something else. If I'm honest, I'd rather have Clinton than Obama.

Patrick -

As far as taxation goes, I'd repeal the 16th amendment and do away with all personal taxation at the federal level. The federal government can figure out how to raise money from the states, and they can quit spending money on anything beyond their Constitutional mandate.

Hello, Brian. A little disingenuous of you to make TARP sound like one bailout, when it amounted in excess of 500 billion dollars, to over 800 firms. That's quite a one bailout.

Technically, you're correct, however, your phrasing is misleading. Personally, I'm against all bailouts. Let the law of jungle apply to banks who wish to privatize profit but socialize losses. If they fail, I think America can emerge from it, stronger and wiser for it.

Also, regarding bailouts, if we must have them, Obama should have appointed an accountant for every firm getting them. This accountant would oversee every single penny and every expenditure would have to go through him. No bonuses, no golden parachutes. You don't get a bonus for a bad performance. And if some of these CEOs go "Boo-hoo-hoo! It's not my fault. I did my job right. It was the other guy's fault!" I have this to say, "How many lower level employees get bonuses when the company is on the verge of bankruptcy? When the company goes bad, despite their efforts, for good or ill, low level employees suffer. CEOs can join them."

Interesting idea about taxation, Brian. Some friends of mine think there should only be a sales tax, taxed only on what you spend. The rich, of course, who can afford to import, would still find ways of getting away with not paying their fair share. But it's an idea...

Personally, when Obama leaves, I'll be saying, "Good riddance." I'm looking forward to it actually.

This will surprise no one, but when I refused to support Obama, my liberal friends, through nothing I said (other than that Obama is inexperienced and liberals would not support a white candidate with Obama's history and connections), called me a racist.

I'm looking forward to them being on the receiving end of the same treatment when the Obama Kool-Aid drinkers subject them to their own perverse standards. "You don't support Obama! That's cuz yer a racist!"

I'll be laughing in their self-righteous faces.

Spitzer's destroying of AIG

In what world did Spitzer force AIG's Financial Services division to sell credit default swaps on massive CDOs backed by subprime mortgages in the most inflated real estate market of all time? AIG's terrible bets on the CDSs were what destroyed them.

When I'm president, the Christmas parties will wait until I get there.

Brian, I have to say, I'm laughing heartily over your assertion that the collapse was due to Bush's loss of self-confidence. You make it sound like he was making decisions on his own. And even if the pampered frat-boy did suffer a loss of self-confidence which caused our economic, then he's a complete and utter pussy and has no business running for any office. He didn't take 1/10 the abuse that Clinton did, who came out of office just fine, thanks.

Quite frankly, Ron, you are in over your head. You have no understanding of politics. Your bias and ignorance is sickening. You have shamelessly, ignorantly or dishonestly (I'm betting the latter) revised documented fact, and basically embarrassed yourself with this distortion of recent history. - Patrick

Projection meter = pegged.

By the way? 1984 election? 49-1.
Yeah. Lousy president, wasn't he?

And LBJ? Yeah. He was sooo awesome even he knew he was going to get his ass kicked in '68, and declined to run.

Too bad the current Narcissist in Chief won't come to the same conclusion.

He (bush) didn't take 1/10 the abuse that Clinton did, who came out of office just fine, thanks.

Good lord. Just what planet do you live on?

jimg...you're barely worth it...barely. You seem to judge the presidency based upon how they do in elections. With that criteria, Clinton must have been an awesome president in your eyes, since he left office so popular, he could have defeated both Gore and Bush.

LBJ signed the Civil Rights Amendment, knowing and saying, it would cost him (the South for a generation). He did it anyway. Perhaps I'm naive, but I would call that a pretty principled stance. I have to admire him for that.

"What planet do you live on?" Oooh, witty rejoinder. I'm so scathed.

Bush did not endure about a million Fox-hyped investigations, all of which yielded zip. No, pampered pansy boy felt the need to designate free-speech zones. Mustn't have his tender feelings hurt. Clinton, by contrast, faced his detractors. The soldiers, for instance, who disrespectfully turned their backs on him. Clinton had the guts to address them.

Not poor pansy Bush...mustn't have his widdle tender feewings huwt.

So, again, asshat, Bush did not endure 1/10 the abuse that Clinton did.

Someone said earlier that the best Republican candidate we've had in recent times was Barry Goldwater. I'll agree with that. In fact, I'll go one step further. He is the only Conservative to have run since then.

For those of you who think Reagan, Bush I and II were conservatives, I submit you don't know what conservatism is.

"I was born during LBJ, who was the best president of my lifetime."

Cough, gasp... this was the guy who regarded the IRS and the FBI as his personal playpens. He tanked his one full term so badly that he didn't contest the nomination in '68. Next to Nixon, LBJ was the most corrupt President of the 20th century.

Now, regarding the Obama-Clinton thing: I think it would be politically unwise to assume that there's no plan at work here. It may turn out to be a crappy plan, but I think there is a plan. Clinton is still well liked by a lot of moderate Democrats, and the leftist base at least tolerates him. Obama would dearly love at this point to be able to absorb some of that if he can do so by having Clinton in his orbit. Clinton, for his own part, would love the opportunity to rebuild that Clintonian rep so that Hillary can take another shot at the Presidency.

Spitzer's destroying of AIG . In what world did Spitzer force AIG's Financial Services division to sell credit default swaps on massive CDOs backed by subprime mortgages in the most inflated real estate market of all time? AIG's terrible bets on the CDSs were what destroyed them.

If Spitzer had not forced Hank Greenberg out (by pushing lies about an alleged sex scandal to the NYT) then AIG would never have gotten into the CDO business. Hank said so himself in many interviews.

Democrats own the entire banking collapse. Every bit of it. From Frank and Dodd, to Carter, to Clinton, to Spitzer and beyond. Their never ending quest to steal from the rich to buy the votes of the poor and keep them that way have led us down the road to ruin.

And now they tell us that we should let them fix it.

LBJ signed the Civil Rights Amendment, knowing and saying, it would cost him (the South for a generation). He did it anyway. Perhaps I'm naive, but I would call that a pretty principled stance. I have to admire him for that.

Your principled LBJ consistently voted against laws banning lynching, eliminating poll taxes, and defunding segregated schools. As a senator, he opposed Truman's civil rights programs. He always excused his votes by saying he was for states' rights and that the bills would never have passed anyway.

Only when he got to the presidency did he become "principled" enough to pass a civil rights bill that John Kennedy and Everett Dirksen (R-Ill) had already made sure would pass.

And the black vote outnumbered the Southern white vote (a saying about the 1964 Civil Rights Act having [insert racial epithet here] voting Democrat for the next 200 years is also attributed to Johnson).

Johnson's own biographer, Robert Caro, wrote, "Johnson's ambition was uncommon — in the degree to which it was unencumbered by even the slightest excess weight of ideology, of philosophy, of principles, of beliefs."

Johnson also...
- lied to escalate the Vietnam War. Between 1963 and 1968 the number of US troops in Southeast Asia went from 16,000 to over 550,000.
- forced subordinates to discuss things with him while he was sitting on the toilet (in full view).
- conspired with the UAW to get the "Chicken Tax" passed on imported light trucks, insulating domestic truck producers and crippling the domestic auto industry by keeping it from facing real competition in light trucks (this tax is still in place).
- leased his private jet to a private organization at a wildly inflated price while he was president of the United States (no influence peddling there). He wanted the "arrangement" to continue when he left office.
- wiretapped political enemies and allies.
- ordered or supported the overthrow of pro-communist leaders in Latin America (Dominican Republic and Brazil).

And we're gonna win that War on Poverty any day now.

There are things to admire about Johnson's presidency. But about Johnson the man, not so much.

It was a poor decision by Obama to abandon the podium to the husband of a potential rival. Clinton remains popular and is a reminder of when Democratic presidents were popular and effective.

And to do it to go to a Christmas party? That's gonna come back and bite him in the ass.

And both "joked" about not pissing Michelle off.

Obama's body language said "defeated" throughout that spectacle.

Nixon (yes, Nixon, who was a master at foreign relations)

Nixon was a disaster domestically. He expanded entitlement programs (including Social Security), created the EPA, and imposed wage and price controls on the economy.

Herbert Stein, wrote: "Probably more new regulation was imposed on the economy during the Nixon administration than in any other presidency since the New Deal."

Noam Chomsky said Nixon was "the last liberal president."

And we're gonna win that War on Drugs any day now.

"LBJ signed the Civil Rights Amendment, knowing and saying, it would cost him (the South for a generation)."

Uhh, no such thing as a "Civil Rights Amendment". But your, umm, lack of understanding of the LBJ period has been illustrated already.

Raddy, it was a federal program, just like our public libraries.

I thought I saw Obama on Mythbusters this evening when scanning the channels.

Weird.

*****Also - this little episode makes my prediction from earlier this year seem prescient. Obama's setting himself up for an early departure from office. He's already planting the excuses.*****

I certainly hope you're right about that.

Maybe so, that doesnt change a lot of peoples minds about the situation. If he had broke this record without being on drugs then wed all be cheering him on. Fact is, it didnt happen that way. No one made Barry Bonds use steroids. He made that choice. Some people think he broke a record, other believe he hasnt. No matter, people are entitled to discontent his accomplishment because he made that possible.