海角大神

Mitt Romney is full of praise for Bill Clinton even as he heaps scorn on Obama.

鈥淎lmost a generation ago, Bill Clinton announced that the era of big government was over,鈥� says Romney, 鈥淐linton was signaling to his own party that Democrats should no longer try to govern by proposing a new program for every problem.鈥� By contrast, President Obama has 鈥渢ucked away the Clinton doctrine in his large drawer of discarded ideas.鈥�

It鈥檚 politics at its stupidest. Polls show Bill Clinton with higher favorability ratings than Obama, so Romney does what any vacuous opportunist politician does 鈥� try to associate himself with more popular, and maybe bring along some of those white males who voted for Clinton in 鈥�92 and 鈥�96.

But it won鈥檛 work. It might even backfire.

I was in Bill Clinton鈥檚 cabinet. I was in charge of Clinton鈥檚 economic transition team even before he became President. I鈥檝e known Bill Clinton since he was 22 years old.

Romney doesn鈥檛 know what he鈥檚 talking about.

Clinton doctrine? As president, Bill Clinton raised taxes. Government receipts as a percent of gross domestic product rose from 17.5 percent in 1992, when Clinton was elected, to 20.6 percent in 2000, when he left office. Supply-siders screamed. They predicted the end of civilization as we know it.

In 2011, President Obama鈥檚 third full year in office, government receipts were down to just 15.5 percent of GDP.

Does Romney really prefer Clinton鈥檚 approach?

Under Bill Clinton, the top income tax rate was 39.6 percent. It鈥檚 now 35 percent, courtesy of George W. Bush. Obama wants to return to the 39.6 percent rate, but he doesn鈥檛 want to restore the Clinton rates on the middle class. Obama wants a lower rate on the middle class than the rate under Clinton.

(Romney doesn鈥檛 even mention George W. Bush, by the way. He now refers to him as 鈥淥bama鈥檚 predecessor.鈥�)

So why, exactly, does Romney prefer Clinton over Obama?聽

The Obama administration has been far friendlier to business than Bill Clinton ever dreamed of. Obama bailed out Wall Street, no strings attached. He bailed out General Motors and Chrysler. His healthcare law creates giant benefits for Big Pharma and big insurance. By contrast, business hated Clinton鈥檚 major initiatives, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Think about the modesty of Obama鈥檚 healthcare plan (which was enacted) relative to Bill Clinton鈥檚 immodest one (which wasn鈥檛, due largely to the opposition of Big Pharma, big insurance, and the AMA). Obama鈥檚 plan bears far more resemblance to Romneycare in Massachusetts than to Bill Clinton鈥檚 failed plan.

During the first three years of Bill Clinton鈥檚 administration the government invested far more in education, infrastructure, basic R&D, and the Earned Income Tax Credit (a wage subsidy for the poor) than has the Obama administration to date.

So Romney really prefers Clinton to Obama?

In his absurd attempt to drive a wedge between Obama and Clinton, Romney has even gone so far as to suggest Obama has a 鈥減ersonal beef鈥� with the Clintons.

Doesn鈥檛 Romney聽know the Obama White House is brimming with veterans of the Clinton Administration 鈥� from Gene Sperling (head of the National Economic Council) to Alan Kreuger (chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors), to Hillary Clinton herself?

Doesn鈥檛 he know Bill Clinton is already campaigning hard for Obama?

And that almost everyone who served with Bill Clinton is dead set against almost everything Mitt Romney stands for?

Oh, one more thing. Romney has done whatever he can to appeal to right-wing evangelical 海角大神s, from opposing same-sex marriage to decrying abortion. Perhaps Romney doesn鈥檛 remember Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath to cover up an affair with an intern?