Naomi Klein: Neoliberalism is to blame ...

[BlueCaliDem]

136. No. It's a clear understanding of the role of the president - and his power, which is limited.

Congress, the branch "of the people", holds all power (government of, by, and for the people, remember?) - even over a president. If the past six years of unprecedented Republican obstructionism didn't make that clear to you, then you haven't been paying attention.

A good example: The TPP. Despite President Obama's most fervent attempts to pass the strongest trade agreement in U.S. history, the TPP is dead in the water. Why? Because congressional Republicans made it so. Now China (not the most worker-friendly country in the world) gets to set the rules for trade among Asian countries. God help the United States.

Btw, NAFTA began under Reagan, was handed over to G.H.W. Bush who negotiated and signed it, and then after renegotiations of labor and environmental agreements within the trade agreement, it was ratified under Clinton who truly believed it would create millions of more jobs for a job-starved United States - back then.

Although I don't blame ALL disastrous policies on Republicans, I do blame them for most of them. Unlike you, I don't believe it's smart to attack Democrats while absolving Republicans of all responsibility.

As for your timeline of events, ALL old news. Those were cast in a different time. Hindsight is 20/20. Situations were different back then, and those policies were specific to those times and shouldn't be used to vilify Democrats today.