It was February 1998 and President Clinton had just announced that he was proposing a balanced federal budget for the coming year. With his public event over, Clinton wandered backstage to where Vice President Gore was chatting with a few senior members of the White House economic team. The President lumbered over, stretched his arms to the sky like a boxer who had just knocked down an opponent, and, enunciating each word for effect, proclaimed, “This… is… a… good… day.”
