The fact is that Congress's job is to provide oversight (checks & balances) to the budget and the Executive branch. In the 1990's the Repub controlled Congress held 396 investigations on Clinton and came away with a stained dress. And many were partisan oriented like spending over 200 hrs on Clinton's X-mas mailing cards. Were you peeved about that? From 2001 to 2007 the Repub Congress held exactly zero investigations on Bush. We are now seeing that oversight coming back and on issues like contractor fraud, Whitehouse overstepping, etc. As for consumer confidence, the ball started rolling on the economy before a year ago. Economic policies take two to three years to be fully effected in the economy so if you want to lay blame it would have to go squarely on the back of the party that had complete control in DC for 7 nearly years. As for the Dems the Senate is a tie and they have marginal control in Congress. The R's have thwarted many efforts via POTUS veto threat or procedural processes like fillibusters.

Just can't accept the facts. Oh well all anyone can try and do is to try and educate people with the facts. Believe them or not they DO SPEAK THE TRUTH since 2006 when the Defeatist were elected to control of congress consumer confidence has fallen and CONGRESS HAS A LOWER APPROVAL RATING THAN EVEN THAN GEORGE BUSH HAS. Everything is not their fault but a good bit of it is due to their constant investigations and lack of doing most of the work they were elected to do. Once again it is being proven that they are not the saviors of this country they claimed to be.

Every other letter has someone who want to vote out all of the incumbents. All of them. I have seen this this requested year after year for decades. Apparently, some people are not aware of the numbers of people in the senate and house. It would seem that at least some of them are good. Representing people is a tough row to hoe today when you get fired as a group.

Please go to a reliable source like the Tax Foundation for tax info. The chart you use was done by someone with an obvious political bias and or no knowledge of tax rates. The chart does not differentiate between marginal tax rate and average tax rate and even does not allow for standard deduction. When a proper analysis is done one will see that the actual differences range from $400 less per year under Bush for $30k earners to $3,700 less under Bush for $125k earners. Not near the difference as purported by your chart. Then take into consideration that under Clinton real income rose by around 2% but under Bush it has decreased about a percent. Add to that the fact that under Bush the economy has grown about 30% of the jobs as seen under Clinton, and the story becomes something different. In reality though both presidents (all modern ones for that matter) and Congress all share in what is going on. This is not so simple as Dems bad for the economy and Repubs good. That is just political hyperbole.

Johnbo, while taxes may be somewhat lower now, please stop twisting the facts. It's a far more complicated situation then you make it out to be. There are a whole host of other issues that play into taxes and the economy, many of them outside the control of either the legislative or executive branches of our government. The deficit is far higher which may have a larger impact in the long run than tax cuts. Tax cuts alone cannot be relied on to stimulate the economy; if so, why are consumer orders down, housing starts and sales down, consumer confidence down, stores going out of business (over a dozen in Lynnhaven Mall alone since Christmas), auto sales down, etc. Following that scenario, I guess every time the economy burps taxes should be cut...what happens when we reach zero taxes?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/clinton-bush.asp

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
Remember Nancy Pelosi rejoicing that since SHE is now in charge with a Democratic majority, that there would be change? America voted for that "change" in 2006, and boy-oh-boy did we get it! And OBAMA wants to continue these changes.Remember it's Congress that makes law, not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him

Consumer confidence was trending downward before 06, gas was spiking higher, and trending higher, home equity was eroding, not because of the stock market, because the real estate market was going down (it was an artificial market anyway), and the foreclosures could have been foreseen, and were well on their way to occuring. You can't pin those on the democrats. You can try, but you are wrong and you should know better.

If anyone seriously wants to blame Bush for everything, they need to get back to reality. Same as those diehard Conservatives who masquerade as Republicans that want to blame Democrats for every woe. Having said that, "the buck stops here" as Truman famously said is in play here. Just like a captain of a ship, the president gets the blame or the credit, regardless of whether it's his personal fault or not. Much of the real blame, since so many want to play the blame game as opposed to becoming part of the solution, can be traced to the person who looks out of your mirror every morning....we allow lobbyists to control Congress, we allow the buffoons (of every political stripe) to ignore our most serious concerns, we allow politicians to sell us crap while our only concern is whether they have a D or an R after their name...as if that means anything anymore. Whoever wins the election this fall will have a plate of problems that cannot be solved by one person alone. Unfortunately, the members of Congress are far more interested in their own agendas then trying to solve the country's problems. Until we get rid of the special interest groups and lobbyists, that is unlikely to cha

Do you mean the befuddled old man McCain who cannot keep track of who our friends and enemies are in Iraq?

Actually I waited until the comments played out to post mine, because I wanted to read what Keith posted. Keith, since GW Bush probably wont get around to apologizing to you..I hereby apologize for whatever he did to tick you off. I now feel even more like a "Bush Apologist".LOL.. Can we (R)s count on your vote for McCain?

Thanks for the correction, pd. I hate it when I misspeak in this forum, because there are some sharp people out there who catch obvious mistakes. No excuse, but I was tired and under sniper fire when I typed that.

Taxes... Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.
www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html < /SPAN>

Taxes under Clinton 1999 Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
Remember Nancy Pelosi rejoicing that since SHE is now in charge with a Democratic majority, that there would be change? America voted for that "change" in 2006, and boy-oh-boy did we get it! And OBAMA wants to continue these changes.Remember it's Congress that makes law, not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him

I beg to differ. We, the people, are to blame for all that ails us, because we're the ones who continuously either fail to vote, or vote back in the same idiots who have been in office for a gazillion years.

What we need are term limits for Congressmen. Two terms of two years for the House; One term of four years for the Senate.

That will be a good start to getting our National Train back on track.

Another thought.....maybe it wouldn't hurt to ban all lawyers from Congress. (I'm only half kidding.)

Apparently some people have a short memory. Regardless of the status of the economy prior to the Democrats taking control of Congress, the problem has always been the Bush administration. Whether it was a threatening veto or coalition bloc; without cooperation with the other party and administration; no major change would occur. The housing market wasn't booming. It was just on an adrenlalin boost until the high wore off. The encouragement of certain corporations by the administration that Bush would control the outcome of the Iraq action on his watch; and that corporate executives should be assured that the Treasury {funded by the people involunteerily} would continue to pad their profits. The presence of the American military in Iraq has made the USA the laughing stock of the world; losing the trust and confidence of former allies, and initiating the devaluation of the dollar. This coupled with the lemming approach to a more expensive alternative fuel; has created the loss of our daily bread and inflated costs.
G.W.Bush has used his snake oil potion to charm the electorate into placing the most powerful nation into his uncapable hands; and now he has sugared the gas tank.
I sup

Dude,
They're all over D.C.
Wanna bet there's a lot on the staff of Senator Smith or Representative Jones?
Anyhow, they're on C, D, I, J, K, and so on.

I like the we the people thing - you're quote or did you plagiarize it from Tony Macrini?

1 - Shut down every special interest group that has an office on K Street in D.C.
2 - Hold two branches of our government responsible directly responsible and accountable for our current situation.

So...can everyone remember this next November and the following years, or, are you going to pay more attention to who was voted off “American Idol”, “Dancing With The Stars”, “Survivor this or that”; and watch “Entertainment Tonight” , yada-yada-yada, as well as be more concerned about our own selfish special interests and small/petty selfish grievances about why the government isn't doing more to help (insert double expletives here)?

I seem to recall the first words of our Constitution begin with "We the People"...that us folks. Don't give up the power, because when you do, we get SHAFTED with what we have right now in D.C. and Richmond.

Correction to your statement that the Dems have held the Senate since 2003: The Republicans have held control over both Houses since 1994 with the exception for one year from 2001 to 2002 due to Jim Jeffords switching parties. With only 1 vote up in the Senate for a year and the House completely under Repub control and Bush in the Whitehouse (with complete veto power due to a compliant Congress) the Dems were powerless. What we have now, if one is inclined to blame Congress, was set in place before 15 months ago and falls squarely on others outside the Dem party. I am inclined myself to blame the whole lot of pathetic excuses for public servants (with few notable exceptions). Some are more unpalatable than others but most I would not trust with my milk money.

After the Vietnam War and the 1973 Oil Embargo perhaps we ourselves are somewhat to blame for electing the same politicians who let wealthy corporate lobbyists and their special interests lawyers dictate the legislation and policies of our government. During the 1973 OPEC OIL Embargo the politicians were all promising a energy policy that we would be independent of OPEC oil in the future. Thirty-five years later we have no new energy supplies or any sensible energy plan. We were also sold a false promise about how the NAFTA, CAFTA and other free-trade agreements would create millions of good paying jobs. The opposite occurred with most of our industrial and manufacturing facilties shutting down plants and moving to foreign countries. Yes, millions of new jobs were created by forcing skilled workers to seek lower paying jobs at whatever they could find if they were lucky. Many well known
economists and others such as Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan warned us decades ago that we were heading to our own demise. For thirty-five years we have had a government overloaded with incompetent elected officials whom
I seriously doubt ever read most of the legislation they pass. Maybe we all

We just wasted 4,000 dead, 30,000 wounded and $700 billion dollars on a hole in the desert. Get a clue!

In a press release dated April 24, 2006, then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.”

More than two years that have elapsed since Speaker Pelosi told about the commonsense plan to bring down gas prices, and since then gas is up more than a dollar a gallon, the price of a barrel of oil is up about $40.00, and the Democrats have had control of the House of Representatives for more than 15 months, and control of the Senate since 2003.

There are already pundits who are talking about $6 a gallon gas, and a destroyed U.S. economy, so don't you think it's time for Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats to unveil their commonsense plan to bring down gas prices?

Unless she misspoke.

The truth of the matter is if you try to blame Bush for every bad thing that has happened while he is president you are very ignorant. You are in denial that certain events and trends would have happened regardless of who is president. 9/11, hurricane Katrina, expolosive demand of oil from Asia..... Face it, neither Obama or Clinton can or will do anything about high gas prices either. The guy got dealt a bad hand.

Your comments stating Bush's main fault as being a uniter is laughable. This President, with almost 6 years of a republican Congress at his beck and call (not to mention a ready and willing Supreme Court), has done nothing to unite. I cannot even begin to understand what your rationale for this is. Because he didn't veto bills? He didn't veto bills because he was getting everything he wanted in the wake of 9/11. Bush has always expected total compliance with what he wanted, no matter how disastrous. The only uniting that has gone on is the few times when democrats and republicans in congress actually agreed on something. Those were invariably the times Bush veto'ed bills. He did end up uniting some people on Stem Cell and the CHIP bills, but obviously that was not his intention.

Tim - You forgot the "Puppies and Warm Sweaters Act" Calling a bill 'US Troop Readiness Act' doesn't mean it has anything to do with supporting the troops. A better name would have been "The Pelosi and Reid Commander and Chief Second Guessing Act"

I really hate to defend Bush, but his failing was in trying to actually be a Uniter and not a Divider. He was able to do that in Texas, where even Democrats have a sense of honor, but in reaching out top the likes of Reid and Kennedy, he only set himself up for betrayal.

He should have vetoed every pork laden bill the Congress sent him, no matter what it was attached to, and let the government shut down if that was what it took to get sound fiscal policies. Instead, he reached across the aisle to people who were determined to make him a failure from the day he was elected, no matter how badly the country was hurt in the process. Until we start electing Libertarians, we should at least elect Republicans with spines.

Bush apologists have so many excuses for him. He campaigned as a uniter, not a divider. Just another lie by Bush.

But friends, we need to take a critical look at Congress. Especially the Congressmen for our own party, not the other guys, so we can continue the blame game. “Just Blame Bush” is a catchy slogan, and it does exactly what your Congressman and Senator wants it to do. It directs your attention away from him and his own poor performance.

but facts are facts. Example: Only CONGRESS has the authority to declare war. Not the President. This war is 100% their responsibility. In pursuit of their own self interests, and their own misinterpretation of events, Congress CONSCIOUSLY abdicated their authority to the executive branch, out of FEAR that they would look unpatriotic to the majority of Americans they felt were in support of military action. They gave away their authority, then when things went badly they neatly avoid their own culpability by pointing their fingers toward the President, outraged that he did what they told him it was okay to do. They claimed they were lied to, though many of them recieved identical briefings-----Other issues facing the U.S.? I remind everyone of the Congressional Oversight Committees. There a committee responsible for almost every area you can list as a problem facing this nation. But Congress is too busy overseeing steroids in baseball, gaining or holding a majority, and getting their man or woman into the White House to do the people's business. Is Bush a good President? Arguably no. But friends, we need to take a critical look at Congress. Especially the Congressmen f

The ball was already rolling long before the Democratic Congress was elected.

Don't blame Bush! What nonsense. Bush had been a total disaster for this country. It is no wonder that this President went from a rating of 90% to a record low of 27%! Sounds like someone has been asleep for the past 7 years! Just curious sir, do you have any idea how many veto's bush made in HIS congress? Try maybe 5, when most presidents averaged over 250. This guy allowed approved virtually every spending bill sent to him. And you wonder why we the United States deficit has blow up a astronomical high. Why the Chinese now own that debt? This president has been the most arrogant, selfish, careless and destructive president in US history! You say don't blame Bush? Oh, that's right, I forgot, every thing that happened in the past 7 years should be blamed on Bill Clinton. "When Poppy Bush gave Junior the keys to the family station wagon, he crashed it into the WORLD!

If you believe that Bush getting out his veto pen would have made things different, the list of what he HAS vetoed might be instructful. Stem cell research, twice. Children's Health Insurance Program, twice. Water Resources Development Act, US Troop Readiness, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, National Defense Authorization Act and Intelligence Authority Act. The first two enjoyed wide bipartisan support. The Water Resources Development Act was overridden. The trend seems to be that he vetoes on issues where there is bipartisan support or where certain accountability to Congress is built in. You can certainly blame Congress for their ineffectiveness,and / or lack of control over spending, but I don't see any evidence that Bush using his veto power any earlier would have made any difference, based on what he has vetoed.

Heck, a fairy plucking a banjo would‘ve been just as effective.

If there is blame to be passed it should be equitably distributed amongst two branches of our government for poor management and wasteful spending; negligence at the Federal Reserve by making our dollar cheap; and then we have Joe Sixpack for spending more than is earned and taking on greater debt than can be safely managed.

Seem like the planets and stars aligned for this fiasco.