Remember when Obama compared himself to Ronald Reagan?

[kentuck]

This was written before he was elected President. Is this the real Barack Obama?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/16/obama-compares-himself-to_n_81835.html

<snip>
In an interview Monday with the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial board, Sen. Barack Obama riffed on a range of political topics ranging from Katrina, the home mortgage crisis and, of course, fodder from the campaign trail.

But perhaps the most interesting offering was when he tried to place his candidacy into a historical context. Which elections does Obama see as analogous to 2008? And with which presidents does he share personal similarities? That would be John Kennedy in 1960 (hardly surprising) and Ronald Reagan in 1980 (more daring). But not, it should be noted, Bill Clinton in 1992.

In fact, Obama offered praise for the Gipper, lauding him for tapping into the country's concern with the growth and "excesses" of the federal government, and its desire to "return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship" -- hardly a welcomed interpretation within progressive circles. Said the Illinois Democrat:

"I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what is different is the times. I do think that, for example, the 1980 election was different. I think Ronald 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. They felt like with all the excesses of the 60s and the 70s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think he tapped into what people were already feeling. Which is we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

....more

[kenny blankenship]

1. Well he finally gave us clarity

It was clear enough for me when the Public Option became the Individual Mandate, the Banksters walked (along with the torturers and assorted war criminals) and he doubled down on Afghanistan. But some people need time....

[KittyWampus]

2. He didn't compare himself to Ronald Reagan. It's clear in what you posted. So why lie?

[Catherina]

3. Of course it is.

Obama tells you to your face and then his sycophants come tell you that's not what he said, or what he meant, or snow you with embedded links that mean nothing. Then later down the road, the same people call those they lied to fools who weren't paying attention because "he said that from the start".

It's an old game. It wore out 5 years ago but you couldn't address that here.

Obama was laughing in everyone's face when he admitted he would have been classified as a Republican a few years ago. His admiration for Ronald Reagan dripped in every single one of his books. Most liberal president, hope and change, my ass.

He was DLC from the start. The same DLC that swore to cut social security and other *entitlements" stated he was one of the most promising of the “100 to Watch”, in 2002. Well people are waking up now. But it's too late. People should have woken up when candidate Senator Obama, whose mose impressive achievement in the Senate was his "present" votes, did a 180 turn on the FISA vote.

Back in 2003, when Obama was a candidate for the US Senate in the Illinois Democratic primary this reporter and Glen Ford challenged him on the fact of his affiliation with the Democratic Leadership Council. The right-wing, corporate-funded Trojan Horse inside the Democratic party had fervently embraced his political career, naming him one of its “100 to Watch” for 2003.

DLC endorsement is the gold standard of political reliability for Wall Street, Big Energy, Big Pharma, insurance, the airlines and more. Though candidates normally undergo extensive questioning and interviews before DLC endorsement, Obama insisted the blessing of these corporate special interests had been bestowed on him without these formalities and without his advance knowledge, and formally disassociated himself from the DLC. But like Hillary Clinton, and every front running Democrat since Michale Dukakis in 1988, Barack Obama's campaign has adopted the classic right wing DLC strategy.

...

When he does speak, it won't be good news. Republicans are sure to escalate their demands, insisting that Barack Obama denounce a list of black and progressive organizations, activities, beliefs and individuals to retain his share of their base. And as long as Obama is wedded to the DLC strategy, he will eagerly comply.

If there was an actual mass-based progressive movement in the US, operating on the ground and independent of political parties and campaigns, it might have a prayer of holding Barack Obama accountable. But there isn't.


http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/running-right-barack-obama-and-dlc-strategy

[woo me with science]

4. +1

[jsr]

5. Exactly.