A lot of Bush-bashing seems to be based on comparison to the Federal government during the Clinton administration - budget surplus, economic upswing, NAFTA, et cetera. If that is true, then what was the major difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations? I would say that Pres. Clinton had to deal with a Republican Congress and Pres. Bush (for the most part) did not have to deal with a Democratic Congress.

I've always favored situations where one party controls the Executive Branch and the other controls Congress. When one party controls both, a 50.1% to 49.9% vote majority can ramrod the weirdest and most partisan legislation ever. When the parties split (one with the Executive and the other with Congress), then it always takes a "super majority" to get legislation passed. The beauty of that situation is that only the stuff that is good for the country as a whole, as opposed to the smallest of majorities gets passed. That reduces party power and places America above party partisanship.

Pres. Clinton, despite all his other faults, was superlative in dealing with the situation of having Congress in the other party's hands. Pres. Bush, for all that he has been condemned for, had for the majority of his administration "controlled the faucet" without any effective check-and-balance that Congress should have provided.

If Congress is destined to remain in the Democratic column, then a Republican President places America back to where that "super majority" situation occurs, and partisanship power-mongering is negated and whatever happens is for the benefit of all America. It worked during the Clinton years, and logically would work well 01/2009-01/2013.

If either party gets the Executive and Congress - regardless of which party, then it's back to that 50.1%-49.9% party pork-plate.

So, if Sen. Obama is successful, I'm hoping the follow-on Congress goes Republican so that it doesn't become another Party feeding frenzy within Washington. Whenever one party has controlled things, the deficit and resulting taxes have gone skyward, and it would be no different "blue" or "red."