General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Krugman: The Great Degrader [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)Krugman writes "Bush never admitted that his tax cuts did, in fact, favor the wealthy."
I don't disagree with that, because I spent years hammering at Bush for it, from before he was elected.
BUT
On January 3rd Obama signed a bill making 85% of the Bush tax cuts permanent, a bill called ATRA
Have either Krugman OR Obama ever admitted that ATRA, does, in fact, favor the wealthy?
Also, Krugman, somewhat ridiculously closes with this "There was a time when Americans expected their leaders to be more or less truthful. Nobody expected them to be saints, but we thought we could trust them not to lie about fundamental matters. That time is now behind us and it was Bush who did it."
Really? So before that, uhm. Mr. Richard Milhaus Nixon never lied to us? And not that it is a "fundamental matter" but, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton stood before a camera and told the nation "I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." I fervently hoped he was telling the truth, but I thought there was a very good chance he was lying. Krugman should consider reading Eric Alterman's book "When Presidents lie". He details the lies of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan.
But what changed is not the American public's naive expectation that Presidents will be honest, it was the public holding them accountable when they were not honest. But that changed under Clinton as much as anybody. Clinton was able to lie right in our faces and still have huge job approval numbers.