Missing Bill

Last night I watched a show on PBS about past presidential debates. It started covering Carter and Ford and went all the way through Bush/Kerry. But the worst part was watching the Bush/Gore debates. Mostly because it was like watching the republicans today. All venom. No Substance. We have had eight years of death, greed and hatred. It has not served us. We are not safer. We are not economically sound. Our dollar is weak. We can't afford health care. The division of wealth grows wider and wider. And despite all the suffering it seems like nobody has learned from the mistakes of the current administration.

My favorite part of the debate was when Jim Lehrer started talking about the budget surplus. Yes you heard me right. I said surplus. The conversation went something like this:

JL: "One of the problems facing the next president is the current budget surplus. Right now there is a $230 Billion surplus and it is estimated that we will have a $4.5 Trillion surplus by the year 2010. What will you do with this surplus?"

AG: "Well Jim, I will put it back into the hands of hard working Americans. I will create programs that support social security, provide health care, address our environmental concerns and I will cut taxes for the middle class."

GWB: "That is ridiculous Al. Here's what I'm going to do. First, I will take that money and start a war that we cannot win based on false pretenses. Then I will give a large chunk of it to Haliburton and other companies that I'm in bed with. Then I will take what's left over, turn it into gold coins and fill up an entire room in my house with them so I can swim around in them like Scrooge McDuck. Heh heh heh heh heh."

2000: $230 Billion Surplus
2008: $418 Billion Deficit

Thank you G Dubs