I got the idea for this blog by looking at the archives of some newspapers and radio programs. I chose 16 years ago because I think that time period is surprisingly similar (and it aligns the election years). As of right this second ... sixteen years ago Mitt Romney... I mean Bob Dole is running against an incumbent democrat Barack O... I mean Bill Clinton. Health care reform died a few years ago, There was a bailout of a banking industry a few years ago (the savings and loan industry), mass layoffs are happening and CEO pay is skyrocketing. In other ways the comparison is faulty because unemployment just trended down from 5.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent. The anti-terrorism bill was provoked because of domestic, not foreign terrorism. We are involved in other nation's politics, but we don't have 2-4 wars (depending on how you count them) going on. I hope you find it as interesting as I do.The Background photo was awarded (among a series of photos) the 1996 Pulitzer photo. It was taken by Stephanie Welsh