Muscatine

Mornin all, Max.....Chosen.....Logic.......Tom Dick Harry Gilligan Skipper

I'm too darned old to recall these new cartoons you're probably watching. You remember Herkimer? late 50's I think? Just an awful experience in quality.

What say we look at the official records of our modern past. Bush claimed to have inherited a recession from Clinton, though we were far better off then than now. Recall that? First stimulus package/rebate. Only those who paid any taxes got it. Second rebate, most got it but those with no taxable income didn't. Third stimulus package, everyone who worked at least once before they lost their job(basically) got it. Now the point here is that never in our history has this nation under any president while Repubs WERE IN TOTAL CONTROL, handed out such rebates(not like ADC or Food Stamps) but actual coast to coast "main street" boosting checks. We assail Carter after picking up the inflation tab from Nixon/Ford. Multitude of reliable scandal.  We fail to understand that legislation although is written, notby the president, (A biggie HERE) he seals the deal via VETO-or he doesn't, frugality or futility. I'll give you that CONGRESSIONAL Dems and Repubs alike, are about as competent as the Keystone Cops, But for heaven's sake we need to get it right for once, THE OVAL OFFICE either helps or it hurts by stopping or pushing in the direction the CONGRESS points us toward. It is his duty, It is his bane, it is his undoing or GLORY. Why do you think we got those, not one, but three historical bonuses and looking to a fourth?

Lets look at history presidentially and congressionally. We seem to understand that party specifics generally mean little to most, because as a nation we tend to be one or the other regardless of who did or didn't do this or that. But ultimately we get fed up with our "Congress" but almost always vote for the very same clowns every term. So lets start with our head "National CEO". Since 1789, there have been 2 Federalists, 4 Whigs(Repubs otherwise)  13 dems and 24 repubs. 43 presidents save one, 14 of them as of Jan 20th, will have been Democrats residing in the White House. THAT IS 14 OUT OF 44. I hope that number at least seems significant, because it REALLY IS. In all of nearly 233 years, this nation has had 28 Republicans.(including Whigs)  Given that some of those 28 were true conservatives, and some of those 13 were true liberals, we can discount apr. 20% of their economic and global equipoise. Congressionally, we saw from 1860 to 1932 a republican controlled congress(can we say DEPRESSION) with 13 Republican presidents while the Democrats served up 3.   From 1860 to 2008 the Democrats sent 9 presidents to lead us while the Republicans sent 19.Now I realize that I may not be the cerebral powerhouse I once thought I use to be, but for those of us who can add, the Republicans have controlled Congress and the white House 100 out of the past 148 years respectively,with a  passing of the worst economic torches from Republicans to Democrats from 1860 to the GREAT DEPRESSION.(FDR). From 1969 to 1976(Carter). from 2000 to 2008(Obama). With Congressional control from 1860 to 1932, from 1952 to 1960, from 1980 to 1986, from 1994 to 2007.

Can we please stop suggesting that a Spade Is Not a Spade. Yesiree, This WILL GO INTO THE HISTORICAL RECORD as George Bush' fault. It was well known to him and others before him, that while he took the oath to Protect, Uphold, and Defend the constitution of the United States Of America , he would accept the blame or the Glory for a job...done. As I have said before, his will be a tough legacy to write. Now back to our regularly scheduled cartoon network

"Do you think that a President and/or congress can control the economy? If so how?"

Dave,

They are the ones that ran on the promise to "change" the economy.  They are the ones that said they have a "plan".  I await them to make good on their "promises".

And if you look a little deeper into that cartoon network, lstreat, you'll find that demoncrat presidents have taken us to war and killed more people than republican presidents due to the war actions they authorized over the years when in office. Just a fact.

G'mornin Big B.

Got me there Big Guy, Though way off the point, I didn't notice that issue within the fold, but you are correct. Dems have been at the forefront of nearly every (seemingly senseless)international or domestic confrontation we've suffered. That is depending upon how far back you care to go or to what degree of bi-partisan commitment there was as in our earlier period. I'd say since we were discussing our political first steps, we should go back to at least 1763. We could go back to 1629 but then we'd be out of our US history, back to the Pequot War of 1637 our (Colonial period). So yup, we can accuse the dems of their war mongering in all the wars, (Democrats are underlined for easier spotting)  Except----------------

 the Whiskey Rebellion-1794FEDERALST, Revolutionary war-1763 to 1789,FEDERALIST, Tripolitan War-1801 to 1805 DEM/REPUB, War of- 1812 DEM/REPUB, Indian Creek War-1813-1814 DEM/REPUB, Algeria War-1815 DEM/REPUB, 1st Seminol War-1817 to 1818 DEM/REPUB, Black Hawk War-1832 DEM, 2nd Seminole War-1835 to 1842 DEM/WIG, San Jacinto War- 1836 DEM, Alamo-1836 DEM, Caroline Affair- 1837 to 1842 DEM/WIG, Aroostock War-1838 to1839 DEM,  Helderberg War-1839 to 1846 DEM/WIG, Creole War-1841 to 1842 WIG, Dorr's Rebellion-1842 WIG, Catholic Riots-1844 WIG, Mexican American War 1846 to 1848 DEM,  Civil war-1861 to 1865 REPUB, Little Big Horn-1876 REPUB, Sitting Bull-1890 REPUB, Spanish American War-1898 REPUB, Philippine- 1899 REPUB, China-1900 REPUB,  (WWIDEM, WWII DEM, Desert Storm REPUB,) Korea(Dem),  Viet Nam (Dem)IraqREPUB, Bay Of Pigs (Dem)Granada (Repub) Libya (Repub) Mogadishu (Dem).  Giving credit for the two Biggies, WI and WII matters not who sat in the oval office. We really had no choice but to step in along with our global allies in those two but they are calculated within the count. One could suppose too that, "death by war" totals might be attributed to those two Asian conflicts as toppers, compared to Dessert Storm, Granada, Mogadishu, Kuwait, or Iraq. But as for who started them, where we took the initiatives(first strike) that can be debated, and or even who stood behind the events leading to those conflict though one party didn't sign the orders, the other was fully involved in them. 

So we can see that with Granada and Libya, the Republican presidents have donned war paint 23 times, the Democrats 18 times, the Dems/Wigs 3 times, the Wigs(repubs) 3 times, Dem/Repubs 5 times, and the Federalists two times. The over-balance again goes to Republican presidents historically. But this is a very difficult argument to win because even with ALL our/my history books and trivial knowledge, I cannot combine the congresses with the presidents ahead and just after the conflicts above, to better asign the (Blame or the Glory) in our war history. But if you really wanted to compare party numbers here? The Republicans have had the Naughty advantage since 1776. That may well change with the new era we are about to embark upon.

Fact.

God Bless.