Obama told the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial board Monday that "Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it," Obama said.
"I think it's fair to say that the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10 to 15 years in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom," Obama told the newspaper.
On Friday in Las Vegas, Clinton, responded, "That's not the way I remember the last ten to fifteen years." She said she didn't consider it a better idea to privatize Social Security, eliminate the minimum wage, undercut health benefits, shut down the government or drive the country into debt. "I think we know what needs to be done in America. And I think we're ready to do it. I'm ready to lead on day one."
Edwards characterized Obama's statements this way:
"Ronald Reagan, the man who busted unions, the man who did everything in his power to destroy the organized labor movement, the man who created a tax structure that favored the richest Americans against middle class and working families, ... we know that Ronald Reagan is not an example of change for a presidential candidate running in the Democratic Party," Edwards said.
Now this is a political campaign and it is almost impossible for a Presidential opponent to let an opening slide without taking advantage of it, but I find this one to be a real stretch.
Obama did not say that he thought that Reagan's policies were good for the country, he simply said that the ideas that he presented changed the direction of the country. And that is irrefutable.
I certainly am not a Ronald Reagan fan but he was an important figure in Presidential history. He promoted patriotism, a military buildup, overreaching tax cuts, and a hard line toward international relations that is still the backbone of the Republican party. It is no accident that his name gets mentioned at Republican debates repeatedly and that the Republican candidates are arguing who is the most like President Reagen.
The Reagan blueprint for success is still being used twenty years later and that definitely supports Obama's statements.
The one thing that I would disagree with Obama on is whether Clinton was a change agent as well. I think he was. He may not have been as dramatic as Ronald Reagan, but he certainly had a profound and I believe positive impact on this nation.
It is just too bad that he is chipping away at that legacy by getting down in the mud to attack his wife's opponents.
(sigh) I know in my heart you are right, but I still can't hear anything good or even neutral about Reagan. His governorship in CA was the precursor to his plan for america. I can't believe I'm hearing today that people in CA still love him. The letters he sent in 1976 urging repubs to dump Ford because there is a vast undercurrent of untapped moral conservatism was yet another preview. I rate the man right up there with Nixon & Bush as worst presidents ever.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I know you're right that Obama wasn't propounding Reagan's tortured vision for america, but it still sticks in my throat like a big clot of rotted meat. And I also had the same thought you expressed about NOT including Bill Clinton as an agent of change, because when he finally took office, I found myself able to breathe for the first time in 12 long yrs. But yes, here & now, I don't like him using the power & majesty of the presidency on Hillary's behalf. I think she'd do much better if he was confined to the same side stage as other candidate's spouces. I think he's making her look unready for the presidency (the charge she loves to wield at Obama).
If you're as disappointed with Edwards' NV showing, come read my post of my sister's NV caucus experience. It's FUBAR.
I will be there shortly.
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