Curious about Nixon

This was a tad before my time, but when Nixon resigned, the vast majority of the USA agreed with that decision and felt that Nixon had done something seriously wrong. Am I correct? Were there many folks in subsequent years who felt Nixon had been wronged? But we all knew Nixon was involved in the break-in.

I remember when Clinton was impeached my dad telling me he thought Clinton should resign. In my mind being untruthful about an extramarital affair is much different than orchestrating a political break-in. As I remember afterwards, most Democrats and some Republicans felt the affair was minor. The republicans who thought this was a major offense had issues with Clinton before that. But we all knew that Clinton had an affair and it looked bad upon him and the office of the president.

But I don't understand Trump. It's like his supporters are in complete denial. Sure there are some who think Trump is a scoundrel and still support him, but it seems like most completely deny that he did anything wrong. I simply don't see how anyone in a right mind would think Trump did nothing wrong or did nothing that made him look bad or disgraced the office of the presidency. With Nixon and Clinton, I think most of the country agreed they did something wrong. The difference was that whether one felt the action justified removal from office. Frankly, I am shocked that 75-80% of the USA can't agree that Trump is a slimy, crooked man. I wouldn't have so much of an issue if his supporters admitted to that and still supported him in spite of that. But they don't. Instead they live in a completely different reality. And it's not just 20% of the country - it's probably 35-40%. If we can't agree on basic reality, we are doomed.

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SomeMichGuy · M

Nixon was on the verge of being impeached, and he would have been convicted, which is what he was told and why he resigned in August of 1974.

(Oddly, the break-in to Democratic HQ gave the Republican "dirty tricks" squad nothing...and Nixon won re-election by a landslide. It was the lying & coverup by Nixon & his Administration/White House which really helped sink him, and the bizarre cast of characters involved.)

At *that* time, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the country were shocked and appalled at Nixon's behavior, incl. the "Saturday Night Massacre"... The country had previously very much honored and admired Presidents. Nixon shattered that.

And yes, EVERYONE knew it.

Clinton...yes, he was wildly inappropriate in the Oval Office (maybe more in the coffee room next to/off of it...). The time between Nixon & Clinton had jaded people, though, and we were much further along the trajectory which brought us here.

It was scandalous. Most people agreed. But Clinton balanced the budget, etc.

Sad.

But Trump...I think you got it right, esp. what it means for our country.

fanuc2013 · 51-55, F

@SomeMichGuy Now, let's get things straight, Clinton did NOT balance the budget! It was PROJECTED the budget would be balanced, but in the long run, it didn't happen.

SomeMichGuy · M

@fanuc2013

Now, let's get things straight, Clinton did NOT balance the budget! It was PROJECTED the budget would be balanced, but in the long run, it didn't happen.

No. Stop lying. Get your facts right. We had the first budget SURPLUS since the 1960s in FY 1998, under Bill Clinton.

Clinton's time in office

Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001.

(See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Bill_Clinton)

US Government's Fiscal Year (FY)

The federal government’s fiscal year runs from the first day of October of one calendar year through the last day of September of the next. For example, Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) started on Oct.1, 2020, and ended on Sept. 30, 2021.

(See https://www.federaltimes.com/management/budget/2022/09/20/why-the-us-federal-fiscal-year-2023-starts-in-october/)

This means budgets proposed by/under Clinton would have started on 1 Oct. 1993 (the beginning of FY 1994) and ended with 30 Sept. 2001 (the end of FY 2001).

Deficits under Clinton
From info from the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) summarized at https://www.thebalancemoney.com/us-deficit-by-year-3306306

FY DEFICIT (IN BILLIONS) DEBT INCREASE (IN BILLIONS) DEFICIT-TO-GDP RATIO
1998 ($69) $113 (0.8%)
1999 ($126) $130 (1.3%)
2000 ($236) $18 (2.3%)
2001 ($128) $133 (1.2%)

(Emphasis added.)

Thus, Clinton's last four budgets ALL had SURPLUSES of AT LEAST $69 BILLION, with a TOTAL SURPLUS of $559 BILLION, or OVER ONE-HALF TRILLION DOLLARS.

Clinton inherited major budget deficits left over from the Reagan and Bush administrations; fiscal year 1992 had seen a $290 billion deficit.
...
In 1998, the federal government experienced the first budget surplus since the 1960s. Reflecting the importance of the budget surplus, the New York Times described the end of budget deficits as "the fiscal equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall."[42]

(See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Bill_Clinton; emphasis added.)

Reason10 · 70-79, M

@fanuc2013 That is correct. George W. Bush inherited a recession AND a budget deficit.

Reason10 · 70-79, M

@SomeMichGuy That is a LIE.

https://www.cato.org/commentary/no-bill-clinton-didnt-balance-budget#

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2011/10/03/time-for-some-truth-bill-clinton-never-balanced-a-budget-and-never-ran-a-surplus/

Bush also inherited a recession from KKKlinton.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/what-bush-inherited-and-what-he-left-left-behind-victor-davis-hanson/