Wednesday, September 05, 2012

People who complain

About Obama being a sell-out to the right-wing seem to recall Bill Clinton as having been some sort of left-wing savior of a President. I see this every-damn-day in the comment threads at Firedoglake, today being the most recent example.

These people seemed to have lived in a different place than I did during the Clinton Administration, i.e. not in reality.  Must be a side effect of "triangulation amnesia".

"Welfare Reform" anybody?  "Defense of Marriage Act" ring a bell?

Obama is not as liberal as I'd like him to be -- JUST LIKE BILL CLINTON -- and yes, he compromises and has fantasies of bipartisanship that do not exist, but spare me the notion that Bill Clinton was to the left of him.

I know that it is important to be the "pure and complete paragon of political virtue", but at least spare me the pretense of having lived through something that did not actually exist.

13 comments:

Jim said...

Also, too, repeal of Glass-Steagal (which I won't pretend I opposed in real time, but it happened), "the era of big government is over", supporting the Iraq War, and his big splashy parachute-in ass-saving of Joe Lieberman.

And "he knows how to fight Repubilcans and win!" means "impeached, but not convicted".

toko baju muslim said...

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Montag said...

I think what people remember most is the dot-com mini-boom for those few years when unemployment shrank at a pretty good clip (but, people forget that the employment numbers were sort of artificially inflated by all the people dumped off welfare and forced into low-wage jobs).

No, Clinton was, overall, another old-school moderately conservative Republican, but a great bullshit artist, and people, too, remember the latter a bit too fondly (especially after eight years of Little Boots' rape and torture of the English language).

DrDick said...

I have said for a long time that Clinton was the best Republican president (in the pre-Reagan GOP) in the last 40 years.

Anonymous said...

Quite right. They're all sell-outs.

I'm not certain what you mean by the "pure and complete paragon of political virtue," but anyone who expects the Democrats not to make things worse is clearly hoping for too much.

I don't think their anger about it warrants your contempt though.

-- Carl

W. Hackwhacker said...

I, too, lived through the Clinton years and I agree totally with your assessment of then and now. And "anyone who expects the Democrats not to make things worse is clearly hoping for too much"??? On what fevered mis-reading of recent history did you base that nonsense on, Carl?

Raoul Paste said...

What's the photo reference?
Tilting at windmills?

Anonymous said...

Not to mention the Commodities Futures Modernization Act which he signed on the way out the door and wihtin a couple of months he pulled in hundreds of thousands in speaking fees from investment banks.

well at least refused to sign the PLSRA.

Beleck said...

the NAFTA pact helped lose jobs here at home.

Bill Clinton is a good ole boy, what did you expect. knows how to play the game and talk like a devil when it comes to the details.

Blue Dog supreme.

pansypoo said...

indeed. the LEFTY PRESIDENT WE WANT would never get past the gnews media filter.
only right wing hacks like ryan are VIABLE.

Anonymous said...

They are all criminals and they all should be in jail.

Anonymous said...

One should also look at the vetoes. Clinton vetoed over 30 bills passed by the Republican controlled House; Obama, zero. For further comparison, GWB vetoed 10 bills from the Democratic controlled House.

That said, neither one is a progressive. If the defense of Obama's record is that he is slightly to the left of Clinton, then it's pretty much an admission that progressive criticism of Obama is right.

Anonymous said...

Amen, Attaturk!