From the Washington Post.

Democratic presidential hopefuls offered a preview Monday of the economic debate they hope will dominate the 2004 race for the White House.



They contrasted the booming stock market, federal surpluses and job growth of the roaring 1990s with the tax cuts, volatile stocks and shrinking economy since Bill Clinton left office.

"In just eighteen months, this administration has unraveled the fiscal discipline it took us eight years to build," said Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who spoke to the Democratic Leadership Council's annual policy meeting along with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

...Kerry and the other Democrats said the nation's economy has undergone a dramatic transition under Bush's leadership.

"In the span of a year, this administration has turned fiscal responsibility on its ear," Kerry said, "turning a budget surplus into a budget with endless deficits spurred on by an irresponsible and unfairly structured tax cut."



Not sure how much good this approach will do them. If there is anybody stupid enough to think the tax cuts, which have not even been enacted yet, have anything to do with the current economy, they are probably already Democratic voters anyway.

The idea that anything at all Clinton did (with the possible exception of NAFTA and allowing himself to be dragged kicking and screaming into frugality by a Republican congress) had anything to do with the rapid growth of the '90s is ridiculous.

The centrist Democrats will hear from House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards Tuesday. Al Gore, the 2000 Democratic nominee, and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean are not attending.



Leaders of the group told the party's candidates that it's good to call for corporate accountability but not to take an anti-business approach.

"We're not into class resentment and warfare," said Al From, the group's founder and chief executive.



Makes them rare birds indeed in the Democratic party.

He played down the significance of Gore's absence and said he thought that if Gore runs, the former vice president could abandon his economic populism of 2000 and run more successfully as a New Democrat, blending a pro-business approach with core Democratic values.

If a pro-business approach must somehow be "blended" with core Democratic values, what does that imply about core Democratic values?

Gore aide Jano Cabrera defended the 2000 campaign saying it embraced New Democratic values and got more votes than any other Democrat had ever received.

More in some districts than there were registered voters! Sorry. Cheap shot.

Democrats only win elections by pretending not to be socialists. They are very good at this, but it does leak out in spite of everything.

The three Democrats who spoke Monday all talked about the corporate accounting legislation, saying the administration resisted the measure, then finally embraced it.



Bush praised the bill on Monday and said that if corporate officials fudge their accounting books "we're going to find you, we're going to arrest you."



One wonders where the "corporate accounting legislation" was during eight years of Clinton. I find it hard to believe all these CEOs suddenly became crooks in January of 2001.

Republican national chairman Marc Racicot said the Democrats' criticism rang hollow coming from senators who had failed to pass a budget during a time of war and economic uncertainty. He described that failure as "an abdication of responsibility and failure of leadership."



Daschle and Lieberman scoffed at the president's recent reference to the booming economy of the 1990s as a "binge."

"What it was," said Daschle, "was eight years of unprecedented growth and prosperity that benefited all Americans – not just those at the very top."



What it might have been was eight years of corporate abuses ignored by the Clinton administration, but I don't really believe that either. To listen to Daschle, one might think that he believes in the trickle-down theory, since there were certainly a lot of millionaires and billionaires generated during the 1990s. Their taxes helped create a surplus.

Lieberman said, "The gains we made in the 1990s were not just real, they were record breaking. To suggest otherwise, to blame this progress for the problems in our markets now, that's not leadership, that is ludicrous."



...In his call for economic action, Daschle cited the rescue of coal miners in Pennsylvania and the heroism of passengers of United Flight 93 who fought terrorist kidnappers.



Huh?? Must have missed something.

"We can certainly overcome our current economic difficulties," Daschle said. "We can create jobs and get our economy moving. All we need is a realistic plan."

Yeah. Five-Year style. All we really need is for a government bloated beyond all reason to get the hell out of the way. The less people like Daschle "help" us, never mind loot us, the better off we will be.

The Democrats seem to be concentrating on 2004, which is odd, considering the 2002 elections are around the corner. The state of the economy and other factors must have them extremely confident about the House and Senate.