IMSA_Fan

I’ll go ahead and ask the question - is this legal

Down goes another Trump endorsed Gov candidate

quote:

---

Clinton, the Monica Lewinsky affair led to his impeachment, plus Whitewater investigations and other scandals like Travelgate. Administration policies attributed to Housing Crisis 2008.

---

If you think the Clinton years went poorly - you lack the ability to be politically content

Reagan 1st (1981–1985): ~135 to ~180 = +33%

Reagan 2nd (1985–1989): ~180 to ~285 = +58%

H.W. Bush (1989–1993): ~285 to ~435 = +51%

Clinton 1st (1993–1997): ~435 to ~786 = +81%

Clinton 2nd (1997–2001): ~786 to ~1,342 = +71%

W. Bush 1st (2001–2005): ~1,342 to ~1,181 = -12%

W. Bush 2nd (2005–2009): ~1,181 to ~805 = -32%

Obama 1st (2009–2013): ~805 to ~1,500 = +85%

Obama 2nd (2013–2017): ~1,500 to ~2,271 = +51%

Trump 1st (2017–2021): ~2,271 to ~3,756 = +65%

Biden (2021–2025): ~3,756 to ~5,882 = +56%

Trump 47 (2025–present): ~5,882 to ~7,394 = +26% (partial term, about 17 months in)

1. Carter (1977-1981) - Generally ranks near the bottom of modern presidencies on the economy, and deservedly: stagflation, gas lines, inflation near 13 percent, rising rates, and a national mood of drift, capped by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis and the failed Eagle Claw rescue that killed eight servicemen. The redeeming legacy was long-range: the Camp David Accords produced a lasting Egypt-Israel peace, his deregulation of airlines, trucking, and rail lowered prices for decades, he created the Department of Energy, normalized relations with China, and appointed Paul Volcker, who later broke inflation. The S&P 500 rose about 28 percent, the weakest of the group. A consequential foreign-policy president and a poor economic manager in the same term.

2. Clinton (1993-2001) - A boom presidency with real discipline and real baggage. The economy produced the longest peacetime expansion to that point, roughly 23 million jobs, four straight budget surpluses, and falling crime, while the Dayton Accords ended the war in Bosnia. Against that: impeachment for perjury and obstruction, the 1994 crime bill’s role in mass incarceration, financial deregulation later tied to 2008, and a damaging failure to act in Rwanda. The S&P 500 gained about 81 percent then 71 percent, the strongest run of any administration here.

3. Obama (2009-2017) - A crisis manager and reformer whose execution often trailed his ambition. He helped end the Great Recession, rescued the auto industry, extended coverage to roughly 20 million people, passed Dodd-Frank, ordered the bin Laden raid, and joined the Paris accord. The other side: the ACA oversell and botched rollout, an uneven Middle East from Libya to Syria to the rise of ISIS, an expanded drone war with civilian casualties, record deportations, a Guantanamo that never closed, and no prosecutions for 2008. The S&P 500 rose about 85 percent then 51 percent.

4. Biden (2021-2025) - A heavy legislative output largely drowned out by inflation and perception. The post-COVID jobs recovery was fast, unemployment fell near historic lows, and he signed major infrastructure, semiconductor, and climate-and-health bills, with markets and GDP growing and wages eventually outpacing inflation. But prices hit a 40-year high first dismissed as transitory, the Afghanistan withdrawal was chaotic and cost 13 servicemembers at Abbey Gate, the border saw record crossings, deficits ran large, and age and acuity questions ended his 2024 candidacy. The S&P 500 gained about 56 percent.

5. The market record - Equities were generally strong under these four, Carter excepted, but entry point did a lot of the work. Obama started near a 2009 bottom, which flatters the percentage, while a term beginning at peak valuations faces a steeper climb. Strong market returns are not the same thing as sound policy, in either party’s case.

6. The throughline - Mixed ledgers all around: genuine achievements sitting next to genuine failures, and a fiscal record that cuts against the tax-and-spend stereotype in places (Clinton’s surpluses, Obama’s shrinking post-crisis deficit) with Biden’s large deficits as the clear exception. As with the Republican list, credit and blame are shared with Congress, the Fed, and the business cycle, not owned outright by the Oval Office

The complete list of Republican Accomplishments, fiscal responsibility and steady leadership edition, since 1969:

1. Nixon (1969–74) — Stretched the Vietnam War out for years while secretly bombing Cambodia, all in pursuit of "peace with honor" that arrived with neither. Then gave us Watergate, proved the cover-up beats the crime, resigned before impeachment could do the honors, and unhooked the dollar from gold on the way out. Foundational work.

2. Ford (1974–77) - Inherited stagflation and a wrecked Vietnam endgame, then immediately pardoned the guy from #1. Accountability, redefined.

3. Reagan (1981–89) — Ran against deficits, then roughly tripled the national debt. Threw in Iran-Contra (selling missiles to Iran to bankroll Nicaraguan rebels — a plot too dumb for fiction) and a Savings & Loan crisis that stuck taxpayers with a $100B-plus tab.

4. Bush 41 (1989–93) - "Read my lips: no new taxes," then raised taxes, oversaw the early-'90s recession, and launched the Middle East franchise with the Gulf War. The pilot episode.

5. Bush 43 (2001–09) — The magnum opus. Invaded Iraq over weapons that didn't exist, ran a 20-year war in Afghanistan, converted a surplus into a deficit with tax cuts, and supervised the 2008 financial collapse — the worst meltdown since the Great Depression. Heckuva job.

6. The Iraq War, specifically - A trillion-plus dollars, hundreds of thousands dead, zero WMDs, and the founding of ISIS in the rubble. Banner read "Mission Accomplished."

7. Deficit spending as a personality — Every GOP president since Nixon grew the debt while lecturing the country about belt-tightening. The belt was decorative the whole time.

8. Medicare Part D (2003) — A giant new entitlement, fully unfunded, passed by the same people who warn that entitlements are bankrupting us. Chef's kiss.

9. Trump (2017–21, 2025–) — A two-term tour de force. Act one: a $1.9T tax cut that ballooned the deficit during a growing economy, a pandemic response best summarized as "have you tried bleach," and January 6th, a bold new take on the peaceful transfer of power. The encore: tariffs on the entire planet that spooked the bond market so badly even Treasuries sold off and yields spiked, forcing a panicky walk-back — then bombing Iran's nuclear sites, because the one region crying out for more American ordnance was obviously the Middle East.

10. The throughline — Half a century of "fiscal conservatism" that delivered wars, recessions, and a mountain of debt, paired with the unshakable confidence to pin all of it on whoever came next.

quote:

---

The Treaty of Versailles was a disaster much like this deal.

---

Yes that was a very odd place, from a historical point of view, for this signing

Is it “fake news” because the number is $300B?

quote:

---

There is your problem. You, again, are ignorant. It is a memorandum of understanding. You’re literally the only person anywhere arguing it’s a treaty.

---

Do you believe the Obama agreement in 2015 was constitutional, because I don’t?

Yes - see definition of treaty below

A treaty is a formally signed and ratified written agreement between sovereign states or international organizations. It serves as a binding contract under international law, used to establish rules, resolve disputes, form alliances, or manage trade

quote:

---

Gulf States in this instance refers to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

---

Do you honestly believe these countries, that hate Iran a lot more than we do, are going to cut $100B’s in checks to rebuild it? You can’t be that stupid