For a party that likes to scream about personal responsibility the Republicans certainly don’t like taking any.  Throughout much of George Bush’s administration everything bad that happened was somehow Bill Clinton’s fault.   In spite of a warning memo from former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clark just days after Bush took office, 9/11 was all Bill Clinton’s fault. To hear many a Republican tell the story all terrorism is somehow Bill Clinton’s fault….but let’s look at the record:

CLINTON developed the nation’s first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator of anti-terrorist efforts.

# Bill Clinton stopped cold the Al Qaeda millennium hijacking and bombing plots.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to kill the Pope.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up 12 U.S. jetliners simultaneously.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up UN Headquarters.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up FBI Headquarters.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up Boston airport.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up Lincoln and Holland Tunnels in NY.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the George Washington Bridge.
# Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the US Embassy in Albania.
# Bill Clinton tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through preemptive strikes (efforts denounced by the G.O.P.).
# Bill Clinton brought perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing and CIA killings to justice.
# Bill Clinton did not blame the Bush I administration for first WTC bombing even though it occurred 38 days after Bush left office. Instead, worked hard, even obsessively – and successfully – to stop future terrorist attacks.
# Bill Clinton named the Hart-Rudman commission to report on nature of terrorist threats and major steps to be taken to combat terrorism.
# Bill Clinton sent legislation to Congress to tighten airport security. (Remember, this is before 911) The legislation was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the airlines.
# Bill Clinton sent legislation to Congress to allow for better tracking of terrorist funding. It was defeated by Republicans in the Senate because of opposition from banking interests.
# Bill Clinton sent legislation to Congress to add tagents to explosives, to allow for better tracking of explosives used by terrorists. It was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the NRA.
# Bill Clinton increased the military budget by an average of 14 per cent, reversing the trend under Bush I.
# Bill Clinton tripled the budget of the FBI for counterterrorism and doubled overall funding for counterterrorism.
# Bill Clinton detected and destroyed cells of Al Qaeda in over 20 countries.
# Bill Clinton created national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine.

Of Clinton’s efforts says Robert Oakley, Reagan Ambassador for Counterterrorism: “Overall, I give them very high marks” and “The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama”.

Silly Bill Clinton for having an obsession with Osama bin Laden.

Republicans would have us believe the media has a liberal bias when in fact it is anything but a liberal bias. George Bush was given a pass time and time again. The New York Times held the information that the Bush administration was illegally wiretapping the phones of American citizens. The media went along with hailing the Iraq war as necessary and that Iraq was an imminent threat. Time and time again the media looked the other way on misdeeds by the Bush administration. But they certainly did enjoy destroying Bill Clinton for his bad behavior in the Oval Office.

When President Clinton left office, the federal budget was showing a $127-billion surplus. Bush turned that into a record deficit of $455 billion. Obama has been in office for 7 weeks and somehow the whole recession is now his fault.

If Clinton was responsible for all of the national security problems Bush faced, and Obama is guilty of the stock market and economy tanking, just WHAT pray tell was Bush responsible for? What kind of cognitive dissonance does it take for Republicans to spout this crap with a straight face?

It’s become glaringly obvious that Republicans want the Obama administration to fail in it’s endeavors to put the economy back on track…..you know why? Because it will show the Republicans for the screw ups they have been for the last 8+ years.

So, the Republicans can go ahead and follow the drum beat of that disgusting waste of oxygen, Rush Limbaugh, and the Democrats will continue to work on cleaning up the incredible mess left to them by the Bush administration. And as for bipartisanship – FORGET IT. When it comes to the obstructionist Republicans I have a message….LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. And since we know you can’t lead, guess what that leaves.

The Threat to Obama’s Presidency

By Robert Parry
March 9, 2009

Less than two months into Barack Obama’s presidency, it has become clear that the top threat to his ability to accomplish his goals – from reversing the recession to reforming health care to building a greener economy – is not just an obstructionist Republican Party but a U.S. news media that remains largely tilted to the Right.

There is the powerful right-wing media – with its many outlets in print, radio, TV and the Internet – but also a mainstream/corporate media that can’t escape the old dynamic of framing stories negatively about Democrats and granting Republicans every benefit of the doubt.

So, when Obama pushed for a $787 billion stimulus plan, it was treated as too big and too bloated – at least until the new GDP and unemployment numbers came in and suddenly the package was too small and too modest.

When the New York Times and the Washington Post wrote about the stunning 6.2 percent decline in the gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2008, their stories focused on Obama’s policy failures, without mentioning that George W. Bush was President throughout the fourth quarter.

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