My hope is that America will get more inclusive, women and minorities will get more power and liberty, our environmental policy will get more forward-thinking, our schools will get better, our prisons will get smaller, our cops will get safer, along with our streets, etc.
From that standpoint, I view Ronald Reagan as a political adversary and (most of) his personal and political successes as a defeat for me.
Bush Sr was nowhere near the monster that my collegiate self or friends thought he was. He screwed us with Clarence Thomas (but really that was Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy and the rest of our democratic cowards in the Senate) but he did what he could to diminish the influence of Reagan's insane minions and I view him as a non-entity.
Because Bill Clinton, through rhetoric and stupid moves like gays in the military, squandered ALL the political capital neccessary to move this society to the progressive left, but in fact did almost NOTHING to actually move us there, I hold him in particular contempt. He painted an image of his policies that allowed him to be labelled a leftist, pro-child-molester-commie in disguise without actually delivering.
So we just squandered all of our "leftist" political capital in order to present Bush with a chance to...do what? Welfare's already shafted, the public schools are falling apart, public services almost can't possibly be cut any more than they are, we've got don't ask don't tell in the military...all Bush can do now is eliminate abortion.
we've got a backlash against leftist politics without the actual leftist politics.
Fuck clinton. I feel personally betrayed by him. Aren't political skills defined by political victories? Where are they? Bush II has more political skills than Clinton could ever dream of. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Clinton has a brilliant political mind, but he failed to accomplish any significant reforms on behalf of the country.