Have we all been afflicted with selective amnesia? Can we remember back no further than Barack Obama’s inauguration?

Have we forgotten that just eight years earlier, President Bill Clinton had left the nation with billions of dollars of budget surpluses. That during Clinton’s terms, 20 million jobs were created, while during the George W. Bush presidency, pre-crash, only two million?

That Bush and the Republican Congress instituted but refused to fund the war in Iraq, which has cost $1 trillion, with final estimates of $3 trillion; instituted but refused to fund war in Afghanistan, costing $700 billion; passed tax cuts benefiting primarily the rich, increasing the nation’s deficit by $2 trillion; passed but refused to fund the Medicare prescription drug plan, which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars; allowed five million more Americans to fall below the poverty level; and left the nation’s economy in the worst condition since the Great Depression?

Have we forgotten the fear and near panic many experienced?

In a mere 20 months, Obama and the Democratic Congress have righted the ship. Though suffering continues, great progress has been made. Though the economy has recovered more quickly than most others, Republicans have obstructed every effort. Even now, Republicans fight to maintain tax cuts for the richest few, adding $700 billion to the deficit while doing nothing for the economy.

The hypocrisy is clear.

Let’s stop screaming and start thinking.

We cannot afford to repeat the Republicans’ tragic policies. Our children will pay a terrible price.

Laurence A. Faiman, Auburn