A Grand Illusion

There is also Part 2 and Part 3. Enjoy.

Quickly, I’d like to welcome Alex, of Stuck on the Palmetto fame, who, after being hounded by me for months, has started contributing to AGI. Alex is the best local blogger I’ve read, and hopefully he’ll contribute to this blog a lot more. I also hope his writing we’ll push me to blog more often.

Also, if you had any doubts what a complete disaster the Bush years were, or you have an ongoing debate with some pesky interlocutor who keeps brandishing that standard, this article is a must read.

On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush’s two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country’s condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton’s two terms, often substantially.

The Census’ final report card on Bush’s record presents an intriguing backdrop to today’s economic debate. Bush built his economic strategy around tax cuts, passing large reductions both in 2001 and 2003. Congressional Republicans are insisting that a similar agenda focused on tax cuts offers better prospects of reviving the economy than President Obama’s combination of some tax cuts with heavy government spending. But the bleak economic results from Bush’s two terms, tarnish, to put it mildly, the idea that tax cuts represent an economic silver bullet.

Remember Republicans foremost counter to President Obama’s stimulus package was that it would not be much of a stimulus because it needed, what else, more tax cuts.

I have to admit that I get some amount of schadenfreude from reading about the Bush years in hindsight–until it sinks in how much that administration fucked up this country–because it proves us who were arguing against the administration’s policies correct. But there is no pleasure in reading this article. It is just too much. Practically every economic indicator you can think of declined during the Bush.

Under Clinton, the median income increased 14 per cent. Under Bush it declined 4.2 per cent.

Under Clinton the total number of Americans in poverty declined 16.9 per cent; under Bush it increased 26.1 per cent.

Under Clinton the number of children in poverty declined 24.2 per cent; under Bush it increased by 21.4 per cent.

Under Clinton, the number of Americans without health insurance, remained essentially even (down six-tenths of one per cent); under Bush it increased by 20.6 per cent.

If I were to ever crash one of those stupid teabagging protests, those are the bullet points I would put on my sign.

Born-again Christian Republican John Ensign admitted he had an affair with a woman on his campaign staff, who was also married. I don’t believe that having an extramarital affair affects a politician’s capacity to carry out his job, however, since then-Congressman Ensign voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, he disagrees with me. Any minute now, I’m expecting Ensign to hold himself to his own high standards and resign his office.

We’re waiting, John.

As Matthew Yglesias points out, Clinton shows Democrats how you respond to Republican attacks:

Damn, he’s good.

Quoting that scowling satyr Bob Novak, James Ridgeway suggests that the GOP’s best way to keep Hillary from running for prez in 2008 is to nominate Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court (assuming William Renhquist resigns or dies soon).