It amazes me when I read these Clinton-bashing posts how short the memories of the American public have become:

Almost 6 million new jobs were created in the first two years of his Administration -- and during his two terms as President, the U.S. averaged nearly 250,000 new jobs every month, totalling more than 22 million new jobs, in the private sector, no less, by the end of his second term in office. . . .-- produttore

Just as it is easier for a military to destroy things than to build them up, presidents and administration policies can do a great deal to harm the economy but very little that will dramatically improve it (Good luck President Obama!).

The economic growth during Clinton's second term resulted from three things in particular, only one of which he have any control over.

First, after nearly a decade of getting geared up for a "cyber" economy, much of the ground work layed for this reached a point of practical application. While the political right likes to poke fun at Al Gore's misstatement about inventing the Internet, the government really had less to do with it's success as a business tool in the late 90s than private business did embracing it. This, and computerization reaching a critical mass, would have been achieved regardless of who was in the White House in 1998.

Next was a simple swing in the business cycle.

Finally, at Clinton's urging, Greenspan kept interest rates unnecessarily low right up through 2000.

On the other side of the ledger, a number of Clinton administration laissez faire economic policies helped sow the seeds of our current economic woes. As other readers have pointed out, it's so odd that the Rethugs in Congress then hated Clinton so much since he pursued so few progressive social programs, but acquiesced to more than one legislative change that greatly benefited big business.

It is dismaying that the Republicans continue to sabotage every effort Obama is making. -- tmoody2525

Daschle was dishonest (or stupid at best) and the Obama transition team's vaunted questionnaire seems to have left a lot unanswered for. If we find out that they thought that this could just slide, that's even worse.

This is now the third Obama appointee, two involved in finance, who cheated on their taxes. Throw in Richardson's pay to play scandal and the equivocating on torture, and it's getting somewhat difficult to explain just how the Dems are different from the Rethugs.

Does anyone else think that perhaps the tax code is too complicated, too full of loopholes, too difficult to navigate, in its current condition? -- Juliebird

It's called cheating, Juliebird, and approximately 90% of Americans in the middle-income bracket on up do it.

What's so stupid about this is that people in Daschle's income bracket, with all its deductions and loop holes, are already paying about 8% less than I do in spite of making around 15-25 times more income.

"approximately 90% of Americans in the middle-income bracket on up do it." Well now that's a huge pile of bullshit, ain't it?

Okay, so it's only 40%. However, the group that cheats the most are those tax payers (more accurately, tax non-payers) in the highest income brackets, like Geither and Daschle.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/15/business/CHEAT.php

http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2007/307/essentials/p42.htm

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/105085/cheating_uncle_sam/

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2008/08/tax-cheating-businesses-owe-billions-unpaid-payroll-taxes.html

http://extremeinequality.org/?p=88

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7898658

Juliebird's absolutely right, even if Daschle did intentionally and maliciously evade taxes. Your opinion doesn't prove that he did, either. -- blunderdog

She's right about what, that he gets a pass on cheating on his taxes because . . . ?

Daschle was a shitty choice out the gate. He was worthless as a senate minority leader, and all he's done since leaving office is lobby, sometimes for the very people he will need to ride herd over as DHHDS department head. That's pretty much Bush redux.

Howard Dean for DHHS!

. . . but the whole country would be a lot better off without conservative "Christians."