Yes, this recession is Clinton's. There is a lag time for fiscal policy to take effect. There was no time for Bush to cause the recession. The softening of the economy was taking place during Clinton's tenure anyway. Now, it may be mainly cyclical, and exacerbated by "e-business fever", and it may be that Alan Greenspan screwed up by raising interest rates when he should have lowered them. In other words, I am not keen to make a case against Clinton, it may not be his fault. But it does belong to the history of his Administration.
As for the military, the Republicans had already taken steps to fix some of the problem, and Rumsfeld has said that some units had to be cannibalized to take care of the activated units. We are not prepared to fight the two front war that has been our strategy for years. Sure, we were able to fight a limited war, partially by proxy, mainly using special teams.
If there is total fiscal mismanagement etc., that will be Bush's fault. But it remains to be seen. As for renewed deficits, well, if Clinton really did screw up on Al- Quaeda, he certainly bears some responsibility....... |
