The most interesting part of the Obama campaign TV ad consisting solely of Bill Clinton speaking to the camera is what Clinton didn’t say. In the thirty-second spot, Clinton makes three comments: one about the Republican plan, one about Obama’s plan, and a third about his own administration. Taking the success of his own years in office as a given, Clinton then appears to offer co-ownership of his successful policies to Obama–at least that’s the intent of the ad.
First, what Clinton says about the Republicans:
This is a clear choice. The Republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper income people and go back to deregulation. That’s what got us in trouble in the first place.
Leave aside for now the fact that it most certainly was not what “got us in trouble in the first place.” Clinton tells us the wrong way of doing things: slashing taxes on business owners and cutting red tape. Next, what Obama offers us instead, according to Clinton:
President Obama has a plan to rebuild America from the ground up, investing in innovation, education, and job training. It only works if there is a strong middle class.
Here is the first omission. Clinton tells us the GOP’s plan, and then tells us that the Obama administration has a plan, though he seems unable to say what it is besides government spending. So which one gets the Clinton seal of approval? Obama’s:
That’s what happened when I was President. We need to keep going with his plan.
That’s a bit passive: “that’s what happened” versus “that’s what I did.” Why wouldn’t Clinton want, once and for all, to claim Obama’s plan is exactly what he did? Because it’s not, and because Clinton has always reveled in his reputation as a centrist, Third Way Democrat who signed welfare reform and–guess what?–cut taxes. As Jim Pethokoukis noted earlier this month, the really strong economic growth during Clinton’s administration took place during his second term, and coincided with:
– a big tax cut, lowering the top capital gains tax rate to 20% from 28%;
– a big surge in private investment, particularly in the software and business equipment category which contributed a full point to GDP during those years. Did the Clinton tax hikes cause that or was it a combo of the Internet Bubble, Year 2000 preparations, the cap gains cut, and the beginning of a computer networking and communications revolution?
As Pethokoukis admits, we cannot definitively credit the tax cuts with all the economic growth. But the mere fact that the growth was driven by massive private sector investment at the same time as Clinton cut taxes on investment tells us that Obama’s plan is manifestly not Clinton’s plan for economic growth.
Pethokoukis is a pathetic hack … the bottom line is BILL CLINTON RAISED TAXES and the Republicans said all kinds of awful things would happen to the economy as a result. Instead, the economy boomed! n nDoes this mean we always need to raise taxes to have a booming economy? Of course not, but the 1990s tax hike clearly indicates the relationship between high taxes and economic performance is nowhere near as clear-cut as conservative free-market dogma would have it. For example, tax rates are actually lower now than back in the late 1990s while deficits are higher. Logically, this will make it even harder to afford further tax cuts. n nAs for balancing the budget, Clinton achieved this goal through a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts. Last year, Obama indicated (in his negotiations with John Boehner) he is perfectly willing to consider the same pragmatic approach.
Obama is living proof that familiarity breeds contempt. To really get to know Obama is to realize that his only real skill is giving speeches — with a teleprompter. n nIn this regard, Obama has a lot in common with Facebook. They are both all about hope and hype. But once you get to actually see the business model, there is nothing left to do but sell short.
One other omission: Bill Clinton signed into law, at the urging of his Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, the very de-regulation (Glass-Steagall reform) to which he alludes in the ad.