During last night's debate in South Carolina, Barack Obama attacked Senator Clinton for her criticism surrounding comments he made to a newspaper in Reno, Nevada. Obama wanted her to look at the transcript from that meeting, even after she said she had read it already. Obama was clearly on the defensive after this comment by Hillary. He was visibly frustrated, to say the least. Clinton said she had no doubt Republicans had ideas during the Reagan years, and during the 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president, but she went on to say "they were bad ideas!"
You do not need a transcript to watch what he says. In this clip, Senator Obama calmly compares himself to Ronald Reagan. He wants to change America in the ways that President Reagan did from 1981-1989. The thing is, I believe, America does not want eight more years of "Reaganomics."
It is bad enough that Republicans say the name "Ronald Reagan" in every other sentence of their stump speeches, but it is sacrilegious for a Democratic candidate to do the same. If you admire a public figure, then you also admire his/her record. What was President Reagan bringing to the table as president? You can look at his record as governor of California for the answer.
Yes, Ronald Reagan was a political figure that many people admired, because he was a consummate actor on the political field. He understood how to manipulate an audience and garner their support. If Obama is genuinely comparing himself to Reagan--simply as a transformative political figure--he must accept that he was a wolf in sheeps' clothes. Is Obama saying the same about himself? What is Obama's secret agenda? His healthcare plan leaves out fifteen million people off the bat. I doubt that he would even press for any type of comprehensive healthcare coverage for Americans. After all, his hero, Ronald Reagan, didn't give a hoot about the poor.
I say, let the man stand on his record and his words...moreover, let him be judged by his friends.
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