KTC,
re: "Are you really trying to compare the economy left over from Bill Clinton to the economy wrecked by George Bush?"
You bet.
In fact, I think there's a noteworthy similarity in the two Presidents' handling of their respective economies.
Both ran strong economies through most of their terms, then took a massive dump on the heads of their respective successors.
The differences? Bill Clinton inherited an economy that had just emerged from recession. He took what was healthy, milked it, and destroyed it.
GWB inherited an economy that had just entered recession. Further, he inherited the nightmare of Al Qaeda and its 9-11 attack, which Bill Clinton had failed to subdue. He turned the recession around, then milked it, and destroyed it.
Pretty much the same, these two, except that GWB had it harder than Clinton.
GWB and Clinton *both* enacted and maintained policies that facilitated the housing bubble and eventual burst. Lucky Clinton, dodging that bullet by a few years.
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Lastly, a brief assessment of Obummer.... the only President who actually matters at this time. As with GWB, he inherited a horrible situation from his predecessor. Unlike GWB, he's been utterly incompetent at turning it around.
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