Replying to a message of Jeff Binkley to Dave Drum:

 DD>> Who was the last president to balance the budget? Wasn't a member of
 DD>> the elephant party.

 DD>> ENJOY!!!

 JB> If you are referring to The Clinton, it was Congress, led by John 
 JB> Kasich, who drove down spending.  However, even though the budget was 
 JB> balanced, the debt went up.  So while we may call that an
 JB> improvement,  over the long run it is a accounting gimmic.

If the debt went up - and it did, in each of Clinton's eight years in
office - then expenses exceeded revenues, which is an imbalance
The *budget* may have been balanced, but neither the administration
nor congress followed it.

For years the congress has passed a budget and (theoretically) properly
funded its planned expenditures.  Then the congress passes dozens if not
hundreds of supplemental spending bills that have no corresponding sources
of revenues.  And the debt goes up...

--- FleetStreet 1.19+