The balanced budget was due in large part to co-operation between Congressional Democrats and Republicans (under Newt Gingrich of all people!). Sadly, that was probably the last time bi-partisanship was seen in our federal government.

Absolutely! And one thing everyone agreed on back then was that Clinton was uncommonly good at negotiating with the other side. It takes two to tango, but it takes one to lead. That's probably why Clinton did so good on the international scene too, being able to treat negotiations as something else than a zero-sum game. That's one of the traits I admired in him as a leader.

Very short on time but wanted to make a comment about Bill Clinton's era. I saw him as the start of more aggressive deregulation to a stupid degree and global trade even with totally unequal partners. A traced a lot of problems that came home to roost in late 2008 and at other points to his administration. Bush Sr. said what he figured would get him elected and then did a lot of what Dukakis prescribed as a fiscally responsible conservative after a more than tripling of the national U.S. debt under Reagan and voters hated him for that because of the 'read my lips, no new taxes' bit. Things cost what they cost and needed infrastructure costs a lot more if you let it deteriorate and fall apart (penny-wise, pound foolish).

As for Nixon opening trade with china... biggest mistake for the west ever in my view. You know how many millions of their own people starved and died and turned each other in under Mao right? These people would've probably collapsed and been gone if only we'd stuck to our principles and isolated them as with Russia. Instead they practically own half the world and now have a new president for life. What they did in Tibet and Tienanmen Square made me outraged and sick and I won't be letting up on that non-manufactured nor faux outrage ever. Communism is ultimately evil to me, if that's unfashionable I don't care, you only have to look and learn the fates of a lot of the true believers in it, the ones that aren't simply thugs and crooks. So in a choice I'd accept pro-Trump people as at least partially relatable over the excusers of tyrants (of which I do count Trumpo himself at least half the time, yikes). I do find a lot of pro-Trump folks tend to share my worry about communist China at least. Just watch for a move by them to grab Taiwan in the next few years if the west seems weak enough to allow it.

You have to pout up some distance between yourself and who you are and this subject of politics. When it becomes about personal or clan identity look out. Buying into a brand loyalty is not something much good in this area really. A lot of people get manipulated into a wannabe revolution of one sort or another, and filled with half-truth based outrage, but remember that anyone trying to sell a new revolution is basically saying your original one wasn't successful. If "by their fruits ye shall know them" I have to say that the U.S. revolution for independence was very very successful and to the world's benefit in so many ways.

Now really, people like the Clintons and Dick Cheney and so forth need to go away. It used to be what losers did, we'd have been so much better if Nixon had done that as he promised way back "not have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore, the original republican victim). If only Eisenhower could return though, everyone liked him I think (except some alt right nee-cons who seem to make him a target for flogging... at least Woodrow Wilson deserved that fate).

There, let it hang out a bit more. I wish people felt free to do the same without getting personal. Some have to stay away I can understand, many the last twenty years or so have said they can't watch the news anymore and don't want to know. I say knowing is still doing something, but sometimes everyone needs a break and to put it all in perspective.

Anti-Semitic hate incidents up 37% in 2017 and yet who has a Jewish son-in-law... it's not that simple, but I saw racism against blacks and anger at women from early on with the current Pres. really just not much to choose from and a lot who threw in with him did so in desperation, even some blacks and women, so... just left with, get well soon.

P.S. - thanks for reading, I've read everything here. If you don't read that is okay too.

Now, this is one thing most Democrat and Republican voters can probably agree on. Hillary Clinton needs to GO AWAY and STAY AWAY from the political discourse. True or not, fair or not, her baggage makes her absolutely toxic and she needs to just go away.

As for Nixon … I'm not particularly impressed that he "opened up China."

He made his political career as a red-baiter and was constantly in the forefront of accusing people to the left of him of being communists or communist sympathizers. So no Democrat who wanted better relations with China could speak up without fear of Nixon and the rest of the GOP piling on and calling them communists.

But suddenly … it was fine when Nixon needed to give the public a distraction from all the rumors that were going on about a mysterious break-in at the Watergate hotel.

More good news. We should ALL be happy that the judge isn't letting the unhappy candidate get away with this.

Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming U.S.-born legislator isn't U.S. citizen