the only thing they can settle on his jimmy carter. and then there's the unveiling of the statue, where they hold the robot and they should make carter and the spinach lumpy looking clothes, looking really, really sad. lowe had emblazoned the words, malaise forever. not only does not happen, but then the citizens of springfield scream outcome he was the worst monster in history and tear down the statue and start smashing windows and go into a riot. so what is the kind of perfect example of jimmy carter's legacy and the legacy of malaise. now, the source of the term is the speech that jimmy carter gives on july 15th, 1979 chemists were fast approaching his 30th anniversary. in a typical take-out historians is that this speech was a colossal mistake on a colossal error in jimmy carter's part and that it essentially assured him to be defeated in 1980. i'm going to read a quote from an historian who gives the kind of typical take, written just a little while ago. here is the typical take on the speech. by sermonizing, carter appeared to be

now oh and you know they tried the same thing in one nine hundred seventy nine jimmy carter was president and the republicans were hysterical but our national debt was a little over eight hundred billion dollars that's point eight trillion we have not yet hit one trillion ronald reagan took us to one trillion blew through that two trillion blew through that almost a three trillion and then george herbert walker bush blew through that took us up to about five trillion but we had not yet hit one trillion dollars but in seventy nine the republicans wanted to weaken jimmy carter and so they did the exact same thing they're doing with with obama right now they fought and fought and fought and fought and fought said no no no no no until the day of the default. and in fact we actually did default to the tune for one day to the tune of as i recall about one hundred twenty million dollars in bonds it hurt the economy it and carter's weak response of the republicans led ted kennedy to primary and ted kennedy came out and so you know you know he's not strong enough and he's not progressive enough an

you mentioned jimmy carter and and even michele bachmann's support for jimmy carter why did the evangelical movement or why did the born again movement leave behind the first born again president to go support ronald reagan who was divorced and never went to church. well first of all they i mean he was but you know they certainly thought that he was one of them he spoke the that he spoke of the right until the language and you know one of the very useful things that have until christianity from a political perspective is that it's theology of sin and redemption kind of allows you to buy this the slate clean if you have a lot of. you know if you have a past that you are not that's not particularly spotless but again it was all about abortion and well it was about two things it was about abortion and again it was about the i.r.s. under jimmy carter and what and its removal of tax exempt status for the christian segregation academies but the growing anti-abortion movement which really coalesced in the late seventy's was catalyzed by a guy named francis schaefer who's a really important thinker

jimmy carter, a southern governor, evangelical christian. they run someone who claims to be a moderate. but even if jimmy carter wants to be moderate, he can't be moderate as president because his congressional leadership and the bills at the democratic party will not let him. reagan says he will govern from the left. if he gathers -- if he governs from the left, he will fail. when no liberalism -- liberalism fails. that is why we believe in the constitution. he will fail. people will notice. if they notice, they will get upset and concerned. if they get concerned, they may get angry and farm groups and protest in the streets. ronald reagan said this a few months before prop. 13 got going in california and started the tax revolt that spread across the country. regan said when they get upset and when they get angry and when they get concerned, you will be able to have another conversation with them. you will be able to reopen the dialogue and say, "we made mistakes, but we are going to renew ourselves." we will not retreat from principle. we

who would have thought comparing obama to jimmy carter would be an insult to jimmy carter?ea: carter is bleeth breathing a huge sigh of relief. everybody thought i was the worse president. now barack obama is taking the title. the difference is barack obama, joe biden go out and try to sell us a picture of rosiness that isn't true. the recovery summer, everything they told us has not come true. at least carter was being somewhat honest. >> greg: i was watching that video. it brought back so many bad memories. i was like 15. i had acne, braces. oily hair. >> andrea: what has changed? >> greg: you're terrible! then he started talking about solar power. i was going, they were talking about that, it's still here. it still doesn't work. nothing changed. >> bob: you guys are unbelievable. >> andrea: solar power is the worst. >> bob: because you use it to tan yourself. it's not used for that. >> kim: i live in a solar house and it was one cold shower after the next, bob. >> bob: i happen to be in the oval office the night the president gave the speech. the american people reacted

not since jimmy carter have we seen such failed economic policies. o would have guessed that we would look back upon the carter administration as the good old days. >> all right, he's really going after the president right now. >> look, there's no question every time the republicans get in trouble, they have to scapegoat the democrat. they normally compare a democrat to the previous president. obama was like carter, clinton is like carter. the truth of the matter is that obama is trying to do what's right for the american people. ronald reagan had to raise the debt ceiling 17 times. he came up with 25% spending cuts and 75% revenue increases. president obama would like to put 83% spending cuts on the table, 17% revenue. check the facts. i checked the facts. so the point is that we're stressed out about romney's record because when he was governor, massachusetts was ranked 47 out of 50 in terms of job creation. >> sreagan actually proposed 25 taxes and 75% spending cuts, but donna is right. he couldn't trust the democratic congress. they gave him the e

in the only exceptions are jimmy carter and george w. >> if it is a great question because jimmy carter did not come out looking so great because that last part of the chapter had to do with the i iran hostage situation the failed rescue attempt but the first part of that he was doing fairly well with a lot of differences of the middle east but completely undone by the hostage situation and the outcome of that rescued miss chen -- rescue mission so it stopped before that in viewed as something in terms of foreign policy but i do think it was the last year of the presidency that is why he came out in that way. >> what about george w.? >> he was completely, the 9/11 anatol war on terrorism overshadow that chapter as it did his whole presidency and i think we were working on this book during the whole time. not the entire presidency but the second half. that chapter on bush at the time of the end of his presidency there were situations going on that were unresolved and not going well. it is not the situation you want to say here is a very successful outcome as he was leaving office. so is

jimmy carter, a southern governor, evangelical christian. be moderate, he can't be moderate as president because his congressional leadership and the bills at the democratic party will not let him. reagan says he will govern from the left. if he gathers -- if he governs from the left, he will fail. when no liberalism -- liberalism fails. that is why we believe in the constitution. he will fail. people will notice. if they notice, they will get upset and concerned. if they get concerned, they may get angry and farm groups and protest in the streets. ronald reagan said this a few months before prop. 13 got going in california and started the tax revolt that spread across the country. regan said when they get upset and when they get angry and when they get concerned, you will be able to have another conversation with them. you will be able to reopen the dialogue and say, "we made mistakes, but we are going to renew ourselves." we will not retreat from principle. we will deliver the promises we made to the american people. i do not guarantee you

and the corporate jet reminds me of jimmy carter rambling against the three martini lunch. >> paul: some of us remember that. >> and a continuing legacy of the carter years, that companies and self-employed people have to pay for half of their business and entertainment expenses after tax income. so, but we still we're 14 trillion in debt and this is a trivial matter as far as the debt is concerned, but it's pure class warfare. >> is it going to work? >> no. >> they think it will. >> think of all the people you know who are not rich by any means, who have managed to get together a million dollars in equity and hear this kind of thinking. it's out there are these people who are voters who know what they have, a million dollars does not make-- >> okay, i want to run another clip what the president had to say about the boeing case with the national labor relations board. let's listen to that. >> essentially will now be made a finding that boeing had not followed the law in making a decision to move a plant. and you know, it's an independent agency, it's going before a judge so i don't want

let's remember, jimmy carter sought an intervention to free the hostages. it did not work. ronald reagan sought a missile strike to take out gadhafi many years ago. bill clinton had an unsuccessful intervention at the branch davidian compound. barack obama has succeeded in undertaking a highly risky but very important effort. >> shortly after taking office i directed leanne pa nnetta the director of the cia to make the killing or capture of bin laden the top priority of our war against al qaeda even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat his network. >> what he basically did he is answered the question and the question has been answered and the debate should be over. we'll be right back. >> "our warld with black enterprise" is brought to you by chevrolet. that one day on the red hills of georgi the sons of form slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream today! [ male announcer chevrolet is honored to celebrate the unveiling of the washiton, d.c., martin luther king jr

>> she was only in the white house a short time because her husband was defeated by jimmy carter. but she testified on capitol hill in favor of the equal rights amendment, and she was just an inspiration for women in both political parties. and it's hard to remember in the 70s, a woman who had breast cancer wanted to hide. and fact she went public with her mastectomy because huge in those days. at her funeral service this past week, she had rosslyn carter speak. the wife of the man who defeated her husband, and cokie roberts, whose father served in the house when gerry ford was the republican leader and cokie's father was the democratic leader. just to remind us there was a time when people from the two parties not only got along, they did business together and they were friends. it's important message for today, and she planned her funeral five years ago. >> i think -- >> she saved a lot of lives with mastectomy because millions of women's now get breast exams. >> well, lots of people rushed to get ma'am grams right after that became public. >> she is very interesting figure. on

thanks to a little something called the october surprise when his people sabotaged then president jimmy carter's negotiations to release american hostages in iran reagan's people promised the iranians that if they held off on releasing the american hostages and sold after the election when reagan would give them a sweet weapons deal i had investigative journalist robert perry on my radio show earlier today because he just obtained some of the explosive documents from the george h.w. bush library pretty clearly show that ronald reagan's campaign did the same thing that richard nixon's did commit treason. when the white house has a robert perry had to say today about these two crimes. it was nixon's dealings with these with saigon to get them to sabotage the peace talks in paris that they had heard the way for nixon to eke out a victory but also continued the war for four more years and from twenty from an american soldiers died now this is essentially repeated in one thousand eighty it now appears with the with some of the same characters working for the republicans who felt well we got away with

treason just like nixon's treason worked perfectly iran hostage crisis continued and torpedo jimmy carter's reelection ups and the same day reagan took the oath of office almost to the minute the american hostages in iran were released and for that reagan began selling the iranians weapons and spirit parts in one thousand nine hundred one and continued until he was busted for it in one thousand nine hundred six member the iran contra scandal after reagan bush sr was elected but like gerry ford bush was really only president because he served as vice president under reagan. at the october surprise didn't hoodwink voters in one thousand nine hundred eighty you can bet bush sr would never have been elected in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight that's for illegitimate republican presidents and that brings us to the most recent illegitimate republican president george w. bush the man who was given the white house by five right wing justices in the supreme court in the bush v gore supreme court decision in two thousand that stock the florida recount and a george w. bush the presidency justice

they went after jimmy carter in seventy nine and caused the farm bill clinton he came into office they started screaming about that whenever there's a republican in office they spend like drunken sailors and take credit for the good times that the stimulus produces whenever there's a democrat office they scream when you can spend any money that's exactly right over it i don't americans figure this out over three quarters of the current fourteen trillion dollar hole we find ourselves in was accrued under republican presidents you know back in the bush years bush was in the white house for eight years and republicans controlled congress for it we've six of those they passed a clean debt ceiling hike nine hundred separate times raise the debt ceiling about four trillion dollars you didn't hear them crowing about making these really onerous the man's back then but now that we've got a democrat in the white house all of a sudden the bit in deficit or you know the worst problem that our nation has ever faced is jude wineskins two santa claus theory being played on steroids it's just it's abs

jimmy carter had a great race. worked really hard. dad said he thought he had a chance until election day when he stood in front of the library, our polling place, and he saw the buses pulled up. you realize that the buses or in their to vote for newt gingrich. there were there for somebody else. so, again, that night he added up again and again and again. again he lost. 48 percent of the vote. so what do we do the next morning? we get up again, go to the ford factory. thank you very much for your help rebuild the back again. now, great story. i heard this recently. we are talking about the history and the family and what we went through. at this point there lost twice. decided not to run again. mom says she can run going and running into a friend and saying, you not going to let him run again, are you? he just can't. if he loses it's going to be embarrassing. mom has such a great answer. she goes, who am i to kill the dream. of course he's gone to run. he wants to run. as we now know he ran, he won, and in time the republican resurge

. >> you were there when teddy kennedy did it to jimmy carter, you have an interesting story. >> it wills energy and his time-- >> he completely controls the party infrastructure. the likelihood of that happening-- >> it harmed jimmy carter. >> it did. >> it hurt him a lot, but bernie sanders is a senator from vermont. your favorite senator who is a socialist has made this point, that he should have a challenger, we haven't had yet and perennially had ralph nader and ralph still driving a corvette-- i mean, a corvair. and how are you going to raise money? >> the whole point of having a challenger is to make obama look more centrist. >> let's listen to what bernie sanders says. >> oh, all right. >> one of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him. and i think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda as opposed to what obama is doing. >> all right. and he's aged. >> he's a bit of a loon for him to say the pres

not since jimmy carter have we seen such failed economic policies. d have guessed that we would look back upon the carter administration as the good old days. romney arguably the front-runner right now in the republican race for the white house, going on really on the attack against president obama. some other political news we're following right now, including michele bachmann. we just got word from our own producer that michele bachmann and her husband marcus, they have left their long-time church. actually, they left it a couple of years ago. we didn't know about it. but for some reason they decided to leave their church in minnesota. and i guess there's a little bit of controversy involving the decision. why they left it, where they've been going to church over the past couple of years. we're still work on the story, but go to cnnpolitics.com gaent the latest o .our political ticker on this part of the story. brought back some memories of when barack obama was running and you'll remember he left his church at the time. the reverend jeremiah wright

>> jimmy carter was an amazingly principled president. did what he said. didn't fire a shot. did not fire a bullet, a missile while he was president. he said, as the world's superpower, we have an an obligation not to attack other countries unless we are attacked. history has not been kind to jimmy carter an that is the fault of history. >> is that part of the problem of being the guy at the white house, there is a -- i was reading george bush's book. >> it attracts criticism? >> not that. there's a kind of expectation from this mass populus you have to do certain things. i read about the aftermath to 9/11, for example, when i actually read george bush's account, i was more understanding, not accepting because i kind of share your view of what went on afterwards but more understanding of why he is a guy from texas felt compelled to do what he did. he felt he had to do something for his american people. >> yeah, he did have to do something. he didn't have to do what he did. what he should have done, right after 9/11, when everyone was in the mood to sacrifice, ask the country

>> jimmy carter was an amazingly principled president. did what he said. didn't fire a shot.did not fire a bullet, a missile while he was president. he says as world superpower, we have an obligation not to attack other countries unless we're attacked. yeah, i mean history has not been kind to jimmy carter and that is the fault of history. >> piers: is that part of the problem of being the guy at the white house? i was reading george bush's book. >> it attracts criticism. >> piers: there's a kind of expectation from this mass populace that you have to do certain things. i read about the aftermath of nerve. 9/11. i read george bush's account, and i was more understanding of why he is a guy from texas, felt compelled to do what he did. he felt he had to do something for his american people. >> he did have to do something. he didn't have to do what he did. what he should have done, after 9/11 when everybody was in the mood to sacrifice, ask people to sacrifice. he told people to go shopping and attack the wrong country, a country he wanted to attack from the get go to avenge his

that was a pretty gutsy thing. >> that was -- if that had failed he would have looked more of jimmy carter. >> and it was probably a 60% percentage at risk. >> if he listened to them and there were peopl that trusted and said don't do this, take the easy option. >> youever know that it's him. but we would know. >> how is he doing over all in your judgment, the president? >> solid. i mean, it's hard to imagine. i'm trying to thin in our lifetimef anybody has been dealt a suffer hand coming into the white house. and given that, i tnk he has done remarkably well the fact, if you just looking at the politics first, the fact that he has been able over the course of two years now to maintain a personality favorabity above 50% when he has had most of the time 9% unemployment, that is pretty steady. i think people respect him even morehan they like him. i think that i think in terms of the big policy decisions he has had to make, and i know a lot of people would disagree with this, i think that any president that came in in january in 2009 wld have had to -- the financial syem. >> he there to stop

my first involvement in politics was working for jimmy carter's election in 1976.ction that jimmy carter to our country, how big spending his liberal majority group government and weakened our standing in the world, how the decreased our liberties, i became a republican. [cheers and applause] i remember the date distinctly when i stood in the kitchen of my grandmother's home on at lafayee street here in waterloo. i listened to my dad, who was a democrat, talked to my grandmother, who was a republican, and they were discussing lyndon johnson's great society program. it was my republican grandmother who gave an admonition to my father. she said to him, david, it will not be you who pays for all of these programs for the great society. it will be davy and michele, my older brother and myself, and now my grandmother's prediction has come true. i firmly believe that neither my democrat father, nor my republican grandmother, would have ever condoned the spending and the debt that america is in during today. i had not planned on getting into polics. i loved law. i went to

jimmy carter signed this act into law and we began to see a higher level of morality in our corporations. it is very important. right away, any type of bribery of officials or any of the people trying to get information, that is just not allowed. >> do you think it might be possible that you will request he appear in front of a senate committee? >> he has already appeared before the commerce committee on other matters. yes, i mean, he is an american corporation, an american citizen. depending on how this goes, i have spoken to chairman rockefeller, and it is possible we could call him. we are not ready to do that at this time, but the fbi is focused in on this. i have to say, it is hard for me to understand how anybody could sanction doing some of the things they reportedly did. when you look at that little girl's murder in your country and what is reported to have happened there, the possible hacking over here, the possible hacking of phones of families who lost soldiers in afghanistan and iraq, british families, it takes my breath away. >> if indeed the executives are found guilty of i

was back in the 1970's with the swine flu breaking out then, under another democratic president, jimmy carter -- and i'm not blaming this on president obama. i think it's an interesting coincidence. [laughter] >> it's a very interesting coincidence, considering the last flu outbreak came in 1976, not under carter, under republican gerald ford. but that's michele bachmann, are you crazy. she's not blaming democrats, she's just finding coincidences. like how pandemic is an anagram for don't panic. chris: when we come back we'll look at michele bachmann, the presidential candidate. will the new bachmann actually vote to let the country default as she's threatening to do? a tough choice for the tea party favorite wa member of congress. we'll have schools and -- scoops and predictions. chris: welcome back. michele bachmann, unlike chief rival mitt romney is a current u.s. congresswoman. this is an advantage in some ways, but it also has possible down sides. as a u.s. congresswoman she will have to cast a vote on this debt ceiling fight, not just talk about it. she says she's going to vote dead no.

. >> host: the jimmy carter campaign i will never lie to you was the line he used. did he live up to that? >> guest: he told at least one lie when it became clear that the iran rescue mission would be exposed, he had his press secretary lie to the newsman who could smell the operation was about to take place. in that case carter and powell did the right thing. none of them felt a good about it. what is very interesting about lie as a form of deception come and be engage in deception and all the time of the day the lives. when you ask president obama about the economy, he downplays or omits the negative news. when boy meets girl he was to date the girl he goes to great lengths to portray himself and the positive light. he is spending. that is part of the daily life but hotline is a special form of deception and most people in our society the vast majority of people would recoiled being call the lawyer. something terrible about watching. as a result, i don't think the lighters who like to their people feel good about it. there maybe some exceptions maybe not adolf hit

we remember what happened to jimmy carter. >> ted kennedy softened him up and jimmy carter was defeatedtion. you remember that as well. thank you. are people on the political extreme calling the shots when it comes to the debt ceiling crisis. much more on the looming deadline. we will talk about it with barbara in maryland. exclusive information about the norway terror investigation. was the accused killer planning more attacks? outrage on capitol hill over a government program critics say may have put guns in the hands of mexican drug cartel s. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ my only sunshine ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies, they'll be chevy's to bring them home. ♪ [ female announcer ] sweet honey taste. 80 calories per serving. 40% daily value of fiber. i'm here in the downtown area where the crowd is growing. [ female announcer ] watching calories at breakfast never tasted this sweet... i'll go get my bowl. [ female announcer ] ...or this huge. new

. >> reporter: it was way back in 1978 that president jimmy carter showed off what was built to be anmazing machine. >> the shuttle has cleared the tower. john young of orlando and bob krippin seemed on their way to fulfilling the great promise when lifted off. the disapointments and the fatal accidents seemed to follow one after another. but the space shuttle slowly began proving itself. the shuttle's payload bay. it's impressive. 60 feet long. you can see the robot arm there. this is really what makes the space shuttle special. this is what its got that no other vehicle has or will have, all that room for cargo. nasa assembled a team of true believers. >> walking in this door every day and walking in on this, that's it. that's what it's about. always lost in the shadow of the moon exploration age, the shuttle didn't fly further, but it flew longer. what would your car look like if you drove it for 30 years? >> are they flying better and safer than ever right now? >> yes, they are. >>> time for your first look at entertainment news. in the second week out, the blockbuster transformer

. >> guest: right. >> host: he said president jimmy carter, your heart is in the about right place and that's about all. >> guest: it's interesting that a southern presidents recently, president carter, president clinton, the father was a father from texas although his roots were in maine and up north and president bush the son lived in texas for a long time but the presidents from the south had experienced directly with african-americans around them. which a lot of the northern presidents did not. i mean, lyndon johnson had lots of experience with african-americans around them. and the presidents from the north are considered like iconic presidents like president kennedy who had no experience with african-americans his whole life. was not after he was interested rather late in his president in 1963 where he started to take notice of this tremendous bubbling up of the civil rights movement, you know, by the protesters in the streets. and being a world war ii veteran, he was very much admiring of physical courage and he saw the physical courage of the demonstrators and this impressed hi

normalized relations with the north and we need formal channels to begin to deal with these things like jimmy carter and former ambassadors have been saying and our campaign belong with many others are beginning to help washington move from demonization to engagement which is really necessary for any systematic change. and on the way here in r t why have one when you can have many with a growing number of russian women desperate to tie the knot some are willing to accept being wife number two or even three. wealthy british style. sometimes. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with much stronger or a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars report. would be soo much brighter if you knew about some from phones to freshen these. stunts on t.v. don't come. watching our t.v. morio processions for the victims of the twin attack on norway have been held across the country over one hundred thousand gathered in the capital to mark the deaths of seventy six people flowers and candles were used to commemorate those massacred and the shooting at an

normalized relations with the north and we need formal channels to begin to deal with these things like jimmy carter and former ambassadors have been saying and our campaign the national campaign to end the korean war and the korean war dot org that organization along with many others are beginning to help washington move from demonisation to engagement which is really necessary for any systematic change and last know if there is a recent develop that north korea has been invited to washington to discuss cooperation what do you think will be the result well certainly the invitation is a positive step the north koreans have always wanted by lateral talks it was the united states that separated korea. many many years ago and more than sixty years ago and it's the united states that really i think holds the key to peace in this region with our twenty eight thousand troops stationed there more than one hundred bases impose it really is it time now for washington and north korea to be dialoguing to care of five that we have no hostility intended toward them and that we are willing to engage and end the k

normalized relations with the north and we need formal channels to begin to deal with these things like jimmy carter and former ambassadors have been saying and our campaign along with many others are beginning to help washington move from demonisation to engagement which is really necessary for any systematic change. the hours news coming up despite president obama's pledge to shut the guantanamo bay detention center down the controversial prison camp continues to operate r.t. spoke with one former prisoner who says the u.s. hasn't given an apology for the years of torment he says he endured interview coming up. the united states held. a detention camp for five years before releasing him without charge mr have you ever been given an apology or an explanation by the americans. they did not what's even i don't thing that are going to apologize for you were arrested in pakistan in two thousand and one. here in germany i saw the group it's called. helping. young people who have problems with drugs or homeless people who has problems at all they always come from pakistan they have their own fault eighty

when rosalyn carter's husband jimmy carter drove the fords from the white house it ignited an unlikely political divide. >> the most appropriate description of betty: someone who had the courage and grace to fight fear, stigma and prejudice wherever she encountered it. >> reporter: ford was remembered today for her compassion and candor at a time when the word "cancer" was only whispered, betty ford told the world in 1974 she had breast cancer. >> there are women all over the country like me and if i don't make this public, then their lives will be gone. they're in jeopardy. >> reporter: her candor could be controversial. she spoke out for women's rights, for a woman's right to choose abortion, she spoke openly about premarital sex, but her greatest legacy came from her greatest challenge. after admitting she was addicted to pain pills and alcohol, she opened the betty ford clinic near palm springs which has helped almost 100,000 people with their addictions since opening in 1982. >> before her sudden assension to first lady, she said, "i'll move to the white house, do the best i can a

just eight years more money then every president of the united states from george washington to jimmy carter come by and now the republicans don't want to pay the bill for reagan stepped. then george herbert walker bush came along he kept running up the nation's credit card so that by the time he left office four years later he added another one and a half trillion dollars to the debt and to the credit card bill it's and today the republicans don't want to pay off herbert walker's debt either that's two republican presidents in a row blowing up our national debt from just under a trillion dollars where it where it had been basically for all of american history to over four point three trillion dollars in just twelve years then bill clinton comes into office raises taxes on the rich and slow down the growing national debt even though clinton tacked on another trillion dollars to the debt by the time he left office in two thousand and one he actually had our nation running a budget surplus and was poised to pay off our entire national debt in just ten years by two thousand and ten last year so