Posted originally at Delaware Liberal
Recently, I have heard progressive criticism of President Obama in the unfavorable comparison of him to former President Clinton, especially during the debt ceiling fight. Progressives want a fighter and they want a fighter for all of their issues. And in the rose colored hindsight of today, President Clinton was a fighter.
I am always struck by the lionization President Clinton has now received from those who hated him while he was in office. Remember, Clinton was the President who supported and signed into law NAFTA, DADT, and DOMA. He was also despised for reforming welfare. For all the criticism President Obama has received for playing the game on GOP turf (i.e. talking about paying down debt and deficits), President Clinton did exactly the same thing. In fact, President Clinton once said the AGREED with a lot of the items in Gingrich's Contract on America, and would work with the Republicans to enact them. So yeah, Progressives hated President Clinton. With a passion. Back then. They hated him and his Vice President so much some of them voted for Ralph Nader and then handed the presidency to George W. Bush. Because there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush, remember that? That's what Progressives said at the time.