Your opinion about Obama's opinion of the Reagan years

As you know, Barack Obama made statements today talking about the transformation that according to him took place during the Ronald Reagan years. What is your opinion about it?

regardless of what you think of his policies, he's an iconic American president.

flux capacitor. He's messing with the space-time continuum and changing what happened during the Reagan years.

they might have changed "history" just for him. I know how everyone got all weepy when Nixon passed away! Looking back though, John Dean is correct... It's Worse Than Watergate Now! And a LOT of it started with Ronnie Rayguns!! Who was ONCE a Democrat!

Bill Clinton pushed moderate, smart government... balanced the budget... redefined welfare... etc.

He was a free marketer, etc.

While he certainly leaned left, it's true that it wasnt really a change in course for america. He just engaged in more fair, smart ways to govern.

I was under the impression that it was majority Democrats. :shrug:

Reagan won the election, carrying 44 states with 489 electoral votes to 49 electoral votes for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Reagan won 50.7% of the popular vote while Carter took 41%, and Independent John B. Anderson (a liberal Republican) received 6.7%.<60> Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1952, and gained 34 House seats, but the Democrats retained a majority.

In the 1984 presidential election, Reagan was re-elected, winning 49 of 50 states.<108> The president's landslide victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota (by 3800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6%.<108>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

He had the Senate for six years and enough conservative "boll weevils" to have a working majority in the House on his big priorities his first two years. Reagan was very successful in enacting his agenda in his first two years. After that he was mediocre at best. This is largely because the rethugs lost so many seats in 1982 he lost his working majority in the House.

It's a less positive impression than it once was.

Very fine man with a solid brain, but extremely naive about very important things, IMVHO.

Then again, I was a teenager. Preferred Reagan over Mondale (who I thought was a complete dork). Too young to vote, though. Ironically, I was living in Minnesota at the time, the only state Mondale won.

Came around later, and in the first presidential election I voted in, I went against the grain (my peers) and selected Dukakis. Voted mixed ticket (Dem/Rep/Ind) in most elections ever since. My first straight ticket was in '04 (Dem, natch.)

All in all, I could care less if Obama likes Reagan. Most people, believe it or not, do. I do think this culture of black-and-white political purity tests is getting a bit old. I'm perhaps one of the few here that's getting fed up with the whole Bloods n' Crips thing. Maybe I'm getting older and wiser, and tired of the silly little games.

I'll probably get flamed hard for saying that, but that doesn't bother me.

the Regan, Bush1 and Clinton Years.

terms. Iran-Contra, De-Regulation, union busting, air traffic controllers... oh, just go back and check it out!

Wow.

specifically the economy. Secondarily he appealed to the Southern Evangelists with Nixonian southern strategy code.

I do not see Obama's campaign being in anyway similar to be frank.

Obama is running against the Clinton legacy, against the Dem platform of ole via rhetoric. It will result in a weaker President should he get elected, (weaker than Bill C) whereas Reagan was a strong President because he was elected on a policy mandate.

HUGE Difference.

and of the results of raygun's reign.


Obama clearly was trying to compare himself to raygun.

This is a day I will never ever forget. Reagan was a vile mindless union busting ass hole. The only thing he did was transform this nation into a pile of shit that we are just on the verge of getting out of.

But as of now, it seems that Sen. Obama is not deep enough to be a viable Democratic candidate for President.

Then again, maybe he chose his words very poorly.

Just because your candidate said nice things about him. :rofl:

i agree it is an accurate assessment. funny hillary has some interesting parallels to ronnie....

He said Reagan took the country in a different direction. He did not say it was the right direction. (unless I missed something)

He also commented about the tax cuts.." well we have tried that.".. implying that they didn't work. That was actually a mild insult to Ronnie's economic policies.

I agree with what Sen. Obama said. That does not mean that I am crazy about Reagan, it just seemed like a fair assessment.

Or merely that he ushered in a political realignment? Because the latter was what it sounded like to me when I listened to it in its entire context. http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/VIDEO/80115026&oaso=news.rgj.com/breakingnews

maybe
He wants us to remember our pain.

He wants to appear to the right of the Clintons.

He wants to weaken the Dem base to win the primary.

What kind of mandate will this win? Not much of one.

not a campaign speech.

I remember how the Reagan card used to get played ad nauseum over Wes Clark, and am kind of surprised to see that sort of thing coming from you now.

Did Clark use the greatness of Ronny in his campaign? You can be shocked at me thats fine. I am pissed he is downplaying the Dem party and what we stand for in a primary contest. Clark never did anything like it.

Hope we can still be buds. :hi:

is a repuke, correction most of the people I know are repukes, except my family and my online buds.

I look at these debates as learning experiences for all involved, and necessary sometimes, sometimes not.


:hi:

The Reagan administration ran budget deficits in each of its eight years. The lowest deficit was $188.6 billion in FY1989 and the highest was $311 billion in FY1983. The Reagan years added $1.94 trillion to the national debt and averaged annual deficits of $242.23 billion.
The Clinton administration ran deficits in each of its first four years and surpluses in each of the last four years. The largest deficit was $213 billion in FY1994 and the largest surplus was $219 billion in FY2000. The Clinton years paid down a net $14.2 billion of national debt and averaged a surplus of $1.78 billion.


The economy grew in seven of the eight Reagan years. The percent change in GDP for those years is –2.0%, 4.3%, 7.3%, 3.8%, 3.4%, 3.4%, 4.2% and 3.5%, respectively. The average of those years is 3.5% GDP growth.
The economy grew in each of the eight Clinton years by the following percentages, 4.0%, 2.7%, 3.6%, 4.4%, 4.2%, 4.9%, 3.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The average for those years is 3.5% GDP growth.

During the Reagan years the unemployment rate was 9.7%, 9.6%, 7.5%, 7.2%, 7.0%, 6.2%, 5.5%, and 5.3% respectively. Those eight years average an unemployment rate of 7.3%.
During the Clinton years the unemployment rate was 6.1%, 5.6%, 5.4%, 4.9%, 4.5%, 4.2%, 4.0% and 4.8%, respectively. Those eight years average an unemployment rate of 4.9%.

During the Reagan years, the inflation rate was 6.2%, 3.2%, 4.3%, 3.6%, 1.9%, 3.6%, 4.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Those eight years average an inflation rate of 4.0%.
During the Clinton years, the inflation rate was 2.6%, 2.8%, 3.0%, 2.3%, 1.6%, 3.2%, 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Those eight years average an inflation rate of 2.7%.


During the Reagan years, the growth rate of total Federal spending was 9.95%, 8.40%, 5.38%, 11.10%, 4.65%, 1.38%, 6.01% and 7.44% respectively. Those eight years average a growth rate of 6.79%.
During the Clinton years, the growth rate of total Federal spending was 3.72%, 3.69%, 2.95%, 2.61%, 3.21%, 2.98%, 5.10% and 4.20% respectively. Those eight years average a growth rate of 3.56%

During the Reagan years the percentage growth of federal non-defense spending was and 7.70%, 6.71%, 4.34%, 11.08%, 3.37%, 0.70%, 7.20% and 8.52% respectively. Those eight years average a growth rate of 6.20%.
During the Clinton years the percentage growth of federal non-defense spending was 5.53%, 5.38%, 4.10%, 2.78%, 4.01%, 3.10%, 4.71% and 4.09% respectively. Those eight years average a growth rate of 4.21%.

Economic growth averaged 2.94% under Republican Presidents and 3.92% under Democratic Presidents
Inflation averaged 4.96% under Republicans and 4.26% under Democrats
Unemployment averaged 6.75% under Republicans and 5.1% under Democrats
Total federal spending rose at an average rate of 7.57% under Republican Presidents and at an average rate of 6.96% under Democratic Presidents.

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

President Bill Clinton, in a farewell from the Oval Office, told the nation that "America has done well" during his presidency, with record-breaking prosperity and a cleaner environment. He said President-elect George W. Bush will inherit a country "in a great position to meet the challenges of the future."

Offering advice to the incoming administration, Clinton urged that the United States stay on the course of fiscal discipline and continue to pay down the national debt. It seemed to be a pointed alternative to Bush's proposal for sweeping tax cuts.

Clinton said that America must continue to lead in foreign affairs "and must not disentangle itself from the world." He said that at home, the nation "must treat all our people with fairness and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of when they arrived in this country."

"I am glad to be able to turn over the reins of leadership to a new president with America in a great position to meet the challenges of the future,"

Clinton leaves office with some of the highest job approval ratings of any president in the last half-century. An ABC News-Washington Post poll showed that 68 per cent approve of his job performance, as the job approval rating Ronald Reagan was at 64% at the end of his term.

I just don't get it.

And a very corrupt Republican President at that.

That's why Obama is doing so well in it.