Fact Checking Bill Clinton's Speech

LadyEagle · Sep 6, 2012

The Facts are Interesting. Checking on history, and remembering that I voted for Bill Clinton and the economy seemed pretty good under his watch, I submit the following:

OMITTED FROM THE CLINTON SPEECH:

First of all, under most of the Clinton administration, Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate. Bill Clinton realized he was going to have to reach across the aisle if he were to get anything done, unlike the present occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

ALSMITTED FROM THE CLINTON SPEECH (and I hold Democrats & Republicans responsible for this shame):

Under Bill Clinton, American jobs started to overseas - Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House at the time, worked with Bill Clinton to pass NAFTA and that was the beginning of the end for American jobs. (Newt has nothing to brag about, IMO.)

Then, towards the end of the Clinton administration, in 1999....

...in 1999 Clinton signed a landmark trade agreement with the People's Republic of China. The agreement–the result of more than a decade of negotiations–would lower many trade barriers between the two countries, making it easier to export U.S. products such as automobiles, banking services, and motion pictures. However, the agreement could only take effect if China was accepted into the WTO and was granted permanent "normal trade relations" status by the U.S. Congress. Under the pact, the United States would support China's membership in the WTO. Many Democrats as well as Republicans were reluctant to grant permanent status to China because they were concerned about human rights in the country and the impact of Chinese imports on U.S. industries and jobs. Congress, however, voted in 2000 to grant permanent normal trade relations with China. Several economic studies have since been released that indicate the increase in trade resulting lowered American prices and increased the U.S. GDP by 0.7% throughout the following decade.

The Clinton administration negotiated a total of about 300 trade agreements with other countries. Clinton's last treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers, stated that the lowered tariffs that resulted from Clinton's trade policies, which reduced prices to consumers and kept inflation low, were technically "the largest tax cut in the history of the world."
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Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Bill_Clinton#Supreme_Court_appointments

NOW FACT CHECKING BILL CLINTON'S SPEECH:

CLINTON: "When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better. ... Unfortunately, the faction that now dominates the Republican Party doesn't see it that way. They think government is the enemy and compromise is weakness. One of the main reasons America should re-elect President Obama is that he is still committed to cooperation."

THE FACTS: From Clinton's speech, voters would have no idea that the inflexibility of both parties is to blame for much of the gridlock. Right from the beginning Obama brought in as his first chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a man known for his getting his way, not for getting along.

<snipped>

CLINTON: Clinton suggested that Obama's health care law is keeping health care costs in check.

"For the last two years, health care spending has grown under 4 percent, for the first time in 50 years. So, are we all better off because President Obama fought for it and passed it? You bet we are."

THE FACTS: That's wishful thinking at best. The nation's total health care tab has been growing at historically low rates, but most experts attribute that to continued uncertainty over the economy, not to Obama's health care law.

Two of the main cost-control measures in Obama's law -- a powerful board to keep Medicare spending manageable and a tax on high cost health insurance plans -- have yet to take effect. (MY NOTE: This is the DEATH PANEL referred to by Sarah Palin - a panel of 15 obama appointed, unelected, unaccountable people who will act as gods to approve or deny Medicare procedures and healthcare based on cost-to-benefit ratio. Their opinions on your care if you are a senior will override the opinions of your physicians as to whether or not you will get the healthcare or surgeries that your doctors recommend. - Result: Population control, reduced benefits for seniors, inaccessibility to providers as more and more doctors start refusing Medicare patients.)

<snipped>

Meanwhile, people insured through the workplace by and large have seen little relief from rising premiums and cost shifts. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the average premium for job-based family coverage rose from $13,375 in 2009 when Obama took office to $15,073 in 2011. During the same period, the average share paid by employees rose from $3,515 to $4,129.

<snipped>

CLINTON: "I know many Americans are still angry and frustrated with the economy. ... I experienced the same thing in 1994 and early 1995. Our policies were working but most people didn't feel it yet. By 1996, the economy was roaring, halfway through the longest peacetime expansion in American history."

THE FACTS: Clinton is counting on voters to recall the 1990s wistfully and to cast a vote for Obama in hopes of replicating those days in a second term. But Clinton leaves out the abrupt downward turn the economy took near the end of his own second term and the role his policies played in the setting the stage for the historic financial meltdown of 2008.

While the economy and markets experienced a record expansion for most of the rest of Clinton's two-term presidency, at the start of 2000, there were troubling signs. Then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned in February 2000 that "we are entering a period of considerable turbulence in financial markets."

Sure enough, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average both peaked in March 2000. The bursting of the high-tech bubble dragged down the economy and markets through the rest of the year. From September 2000 to January 2001, when Clinton left office, the Nasdaq dropped 46 percent. Even now, in 2012, the Nasdaq has not returned to its 2000 peak. By March 2001, the economy toppled into recession.
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A fine mess you left us, Ollie.

Also, for the newcoming voters who are too young to remember, Bill Clinton LIED TO AMERICA when he wagged his finger at us in the TV screen (I will always remember this because it was the very day we buried my father.) Bill Clinton was impeached for not obeying the Rule of Law and committing perjury (which we would be in jail for if we tried that, no doubt) and Bill Clinton was Impeached by the House but not removed from office by the Senate.

Also, it is notable that the Democrats were the ones who pushed for the dream that everyone own a house, whether or not they could afford it and pressured banks to make risky home loans to minorities and others so they could feel good about "helping" everyone own a home. The banks were pressured to make these risky loans, with careless lending practices like not requiring 20% down, not verifying employment or incomes, and more - and as a result, we got the housing bubble that burst and millions of foreclosures. I would just like to remind people, especially those who have lost their homes or who are under water in their mortgages where your home is not worth what is owed on it - that it was under Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party that pushed for this and unfortunately, careless and for the most part, RINO Republicans went along with this. (Fortunately, the election of 2010 eliminated some of those RINOs and replaced them with TEA party candidates - those who are more fiscally responsible.)

Well, that is for the record. As a point of fact, I did like Bill Clinton and I did vote for him. And during his Presidency, the economy seemed pretty good and small businesses prospered. Unfortunately, by the end of his term, as you can see from above, the house of cards was ready to fall when GW Bush was sworn in. GW Bush and the Republicans do not escape blame for some of this, however. But with the replacement of fiscally responsible Republicans in the House 2010 and hopefully the same in 2012 in the Senate and a Romney-Ryan win, with a now $16 TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT, things can be reset in Washington DC.

LE
[/rant]

OldRegular · Sep 6, 2012

Seriously LE is there any point in fact checking Clinton. He is a congenital liar. If he told the truth it would be accidental!

LadyEagle · Sep 6, 2012

Very true, but some people don't believe that - it is helpful to point out a few pesky facts, lol.

Magnetic Poles · Sep 6, 2012

LadyEagle said: ↑

Unfortunately, by the end of his term, as you can see from above, the house of cards was ready to fall when GW Bush was sworn in. GW Bush and the Republicans do not escape blame for some of this, however. But with the replacement of fiscally responsible Republicans in the House 2010 and hopefully the same in 2012 in the Senate and a Romney-Ryan win, with a now $16 TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT, things can be reset in Washington DC.

LE
[/rant]
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You criticize Obama for rightfully recognizing the mess his predecessor left, but want to pin Dubya's failures on his predecessor. Amazing.

Alcott · Sep 6, 2012

Last night I was watching something far more important-- a football game. But I've read enough idolatry of Slick Willie and his speech that I've started responding, "If he was that good, then write him in on your ballot instead of punching/x'ing Obama.

InTheLight · Sep 7, 2012

The one that bugged me was selectively setting the endpoints of a statistic to make your case look better than it actually is. Just pick a spot where the numbers line up to 'prove' your point.

The claim about manufacturing jobs: "More than 500,000 manufacturing jobs have been created under President Obama. That's the first time manufacturing jobs have increased since the 1990s."

The facts: Clinton is referring to the period since February 2010, the administration's preferred date for counting employment figures. The usual methodology is to count from the beginning of a President's term. If you count from the beginning of Obama's term Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that manufacturing jobs have declined by more than 500,000. Manufacturing jobs have been on a long steep decline since the middle of Clinton's term, with 2 million jobs lost during the recession that started at the end of George W. Bush's term.

Crabtownboy · Sep 7, 2012

It seems Clinton's words on jobs checked out to be correct.

CNN Fact Check: Clinton arithmetic holds up on jobs

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/07/politics/fact-check-clinton-jobs/index.html

OldRegular · Sep 7, 2012

Crabtownboy said: ↑

It seems Clinton's words on jobs checked out to be correct.

CNN Fact Check: Clinton arithmetic holds up on jobs

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/07/politics/fact-check-clinton-jobs/index.html
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So CNN, the Clinton News Network, confirms Clintons lies!:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

InTheLight · Sep 7, 2012

Crabtownboy said: ↑

It seems Clinton's words on jobs checked out to be correct.

CNN Fact Check: Clinton arithmetic holds up on jobs

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/07/politics/fact-check-clinton-jobs/index.html
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This fact check is not about the manufacturing jobs that Obama has created, the subject of your link is about total number of jobs created under Democratic presidents and Republican presidents.

Did you actually read the article or just knee-jerk post it?

targus · Sep 7, 2012

InTheLight said: ↑

Did you actually read the article your just knee-jerk post it?
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This has to be a rhetorical question...

Because the answer is painfully obvious. :laugh:

Fact Checking Bill Clinton's Speech

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