Obama a Failure — Just Like Reagan

by Stuart Shapiro

Steve Benen at Washington Monthly compares the reaction of the bases to Reagan in 1981 and Obama today.

And by this time 29 years ago, conservatives could hardly contain their disappointment. Leaders on the right began complaining regularly that they “won the election, but lost the White House.” Paul Weyrich questioned whether the relationship between his conservative allies and the Reagan administration was “salvageable.”

And all of this came before Reagan raised taxes, extended “amnesty” to undocumented immigrants, expanded the size of the federal bureaucracy, tripled the deficit, negotiated with our most hated enemy without preconditions — and became the single most revered figure in Republican circles of the 20th century, up to and including the RNC describing him, in all seriousness, as Ronaldus Magnus.

History and perspective is a wonderful thing.  Obama has already achieved more progressive goals than any president since Johnson.  Much like Reagan, Obama, saddled with a horrible economy, faces serious losses in his first midterm elections.  If the economy does improve, then expect Obama to continue to follow the Reagan trajectory, a resounding re-election victory and eventual canonization by his successors.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.