Jack Kingston on the balanced budget

Remember all those years when the Democrats had Congress and the Republicans shook their fists about "fiscal responsibility"? Jack Kingston, a Republican member of Congress from Georgia, was a guest on tonight's HBO Real Time with Bill Maher. This quote stuck with me more than anything else tonight:

Mr. Clinton was successful in balancing the budget once the Republicans took over the House and the Senate. It was — it never happened until then.

That's true, and quite honestly, the Congressional Republicans deserve some of the credit for working towards that goal just as much as the Democrats deserve some of the blame for the side effects. However, it leaves out an essential point. Here's what Representative Kingston should have said:

Mr. Clinton was successful in balancing the budget once the Republicans took over the House and the Senate. It never happened until then — nor has it happened again since Bush took office.

Could it be, perhaps, that Mr. Bush will never succeed in balancing the budget, or in finishing the war in Iraq, until the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress?

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