Was President Clinton a Republican?

Hey, remember that President who balanced the budget and reformed welfare? Must have been a Republican, right?NPR is a little confused about President Clinton, according to Media Matters (NPR' Simon falsely asserted that SCHIP began "under a Republican president")

Discussing President Bush's threat to veto a bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon stated: "The president vetoed the last one, but lawmakers said they've made some important changes to the bill, which, as Senator [Mitch] McConnell often reminds interviewers, began as a program under a Republican president." In fact, in a September 27 statement, McConnell credited a Republican Congress -- not, as Simon said, a Republican president -- for the program, which was signed into law by President Clinton.

With Republicans nationwide scared to death of having to run on President Bush's record, it wouldn't be surprising to hear them trying to take credit for President Clinton's initiatives. But how will the Republican leadership reconcile their traditional antipathy toward NPR with this helpful slip of the tongue? Those "liberal elites" are pretty sneaky, aren't they?