Bob Woodward in the Washington Post reports:
Alan Greenspan, who served as Federal Reserve chairman for 18 years and was the leading Republican economist for the past three decades, levels unusually harsh criticism at President Bush and the Republican Party in his new book, arguing that Bush abandoned the central conservative principle of fiscal restraint.
The story continues:
But he expresses deep disappointment with Bush. “My biggest frustration remained the president’s unwillingness to wield his veto against out-of-control spending,” Greenspan writes. “Not exercising the veto power became a hallmark of the Bush presidency. . . . To my mind, Bush’s collaborate-don’t-confront approach was a major mistake.”
Greenspan accuses the Republicans who presided over the party’s majority in the House until last year of being too eager to tolerate excessive federal spending in exchange for political opportunity. The Republicans, he says, deserved to lose control of the Senate and House in last year’s elections. “The Republicans in Congress lost their way,” Greenspan writes. “They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither.”
Greenspan is correct of course. The Republicans lost their way and they will pay for it for years. Recently Bush has realized that it polls well to talk about restraining the Democrat’s profligate spending. It’s too bad that the Republicans spent like crazy when they held Congress and the Presidency. It was a delicious irony to have the Democrats run as the party of fiscal restraint last year.
Check out the article. Greenspan is quite complementary to President Clinton. I wonder if Hillary is elected if she will be as moderate and demonstrate as much fiscal restraint as her husband. I doubt it.
