The Clintonian Paradox

Dan Mitchell (he of the Cato Institute) and Art Laffer (he of the legendary Laffer Curve) are both on the record as saying that Bill Clinton was a "great President". These fellows cite specifically his signings of NAFTA, welfare reform, a capital gains tax cut, and especially of his rock-solid ability to keep federal spending under control (Mitchell actually goes as far as to say that Clinton wasn't even a big spender prior to the Republican takeover of the House in 1994)............................................................................................Yes, they acknowledge that he did raise taxes in 1993 and that that may indeed have been a slight drag on a recovery that was already poised to take off, but they also clearly give the dude credit for his righting (no pun intended) of the ship and governing responsibly for the next seven years....Wow, huh, I guess that that old adage about Bill Clinton being one of the better Republican Presidents may in fact have some merit after all.................................................................................................P.S. I also think that we need to give Mr. Clinton kudos for his tireless work pertaining to the Middle-East peace process. I mean, the dude got way closer than virtually any other President in terms of reaching a final agreement and I see no reason in penalizing him for having to deal with an absolutely virulent piece of crap in Arafat. None, period.