Obama Channels Ronald Reagan

or Margaret Thatcher or whichever right-wing ideologue he happens to admire for the moment now that he's decided he can't be bothered with Democratic Party ideals.

This narcissist must get up every morning, walk to a mirror, kiss his reflection, and marvel about what a great, "transformative" leader he is like his idol Ronald Reagan. Then he probably picks up the phone, calls his favorite historian, and asks if he measures up to the great presidents of the past instead of actually being at the bottom of the barrel.

I'll post and repost that infamous Reno Gazette-Journal interview clip until I am blue in the face:




His cultists will "ooh" and "ahh" over how utterly brilliant he is simply because HE thinks he's brilliant, but all he is doing in this clip is regurgitating the same bullshit he read in textbooks when he was a student at Accidental College (pun intended for Occidental) or Columbia. A deep thinker he ain't.

If billionaire/bankster puppet Obama doesn't destroy the country by 2016, rest assured these same billionaires/banksters have a Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, or even a Latino puppet right there in the wings to finish the job of screwing us over by promoting them as "Democratic" candidates. We know they already own the GOP.

Unless, of course, people wake up and see how both political parties have been contaminated and put a stop to it.

PS: For any fool who comes on my board and tries to deny in the comments that Obama isn't a flaming narcissist or isn't a particularly deep thinker, a reminder:

The president was coolly eyeing American history in order to carve his own grand place in it, the guests said in interviews later. “It was almost as if he was writing his own history book about himself,” said David M. Kennedy, a professor at Stanford University. Becoming the 44th president of the United States, or even the first African-American to hold the post, had never been enough for Barack Obama. Just two years after arriving in the Senate, he spoke unabashedly of becoming one of the greatest presidents, a transformative figure like Abraham Lincoln or Franklin D. Roosevelt who would heal the country’s divisions, address its most critical problems and turn Americans in a hopeful new direction.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama successfully wrote his next chapter, joining the club of presidents who have secured second terms. Yet the man who once envisioned himself in the pantheon of transcendent presidents enters his next term as a far more conventional, partisan leader than he intended to be. He defeated a mistake-prone challenger of unsteady popularity within his own party in an election in which he never quite explained how he would deliver on his unmet promises.

The man is a tool. Always was and always will be. I will say the reporter who wrote the above article doesn't understand that "partisan" doesn't mean Obama is for traditional Democratic Party values. He is a partisan only for the billionaires and Wall Street crowd who back him.

News, Etc.

With all of the talk about Ronald Reagan's presidency now that his centennial is this month, it might be important to look at the record:

As the media repackages history to serve the purposes of the ruling elite, no mention is made of the fact that the 1980s was the decade that witnessed the most bitter episodes of class struggle in the United States since the 1940s. The actions taken by the Reagan administration during its first year in office—the slashing of federal funding for vital social programs and the firing of nearly 12,000 air traffic controllers who went out on strike in August 1981—outraged millions of workers. The social philosophy of the new administration found its most poignant expression in the redefinition of ketchup as a vegetable in order to justify the cutting of federal funds for school lunch programs. In September 1981, nearly three quarters of a million workers demonstrated in Washington to protest budget cuts and the destruction of PATCO, the union of the air traffic controllers. An even larger demonstration took place in Washington in 1983. Virtually every industry was shaken by bitter and often violent strikes as workers fought back against the class-war policies of the Reagan administration.

But that history has no place in the ongoing eulogies to the dead president. These tributes to Reagan are, in essence, a celebration of the services he rendered to the rich. The overriding goal of his administration was the removal of all legal restraints on the accumulation of personal wealth. The motto of the Reagan administration, like that of the notoriously corrupt government of King Louis-Philippe in 19th century France, was “Enrich yourself.” The slashing of the tax rate for the wealthy—from 70 percent to 28 percent—earned for the president the boundless affection of the grateful rich. This massive cut in taxes laid the foundations for the environment of social debauchery and orgiastic celebration of wealth that characterized the 1980s. It was the decade of Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Donald Trump (who is now making a comeback), and, of course, the fictional Gordon Gekko, who so famously proclaimed, “Greed is good!”

Nobody writes obituaries quite like WSWS. You're really better off dead.
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The game itself was far, far better than the halftime show.

At least they didn't perform "My Humps."

Commentary, Etc.

This blogger, like yours truly, will most likely owe the IRS money since he, like me, couldn't afford to have taxes taken out of his UI.

It might be the same for me next year, and the next year...and so on because now I have a meager pension, which I am lucky to get but will have to pay taxes on.
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Meanwhile, the man who once said unemployment compensation was an all-expenses paid vacation for freeloaders, Ronald Reagan, is being idolized by the media which propagandized on his behalf when he was president. Of course, the media got all kinds of goodies in exchange for the glowing press he received. However, the reality of Ronald Reagan's presidency is far different than the myth.

If anything, Reagan will be remembered for three things apart from his movie career, none of them good. The first was his firing the air traffic controllers (PATCO) and thus creating a situation where the middle class would be decimated because companies now were given permission to gut unions and go overseas to find cheap labor. The second was his indifference to the AIDS epidemic, which could have been contained. Only when his good friend Rock Hudson got sick and died of the disease did his administration actually do much in the way to combat it. The final thing he will be "remembered" for is his gutting of the Fairness Doctrine; this more than anything contributed to the rise of nonstop hate radio and outright propaganda posing as news (i.e., Fox).

Not a good record to be proud of. There are a lot of other negative things that happened during his term such as Iran-Contra, the rise of homelessness thanks to the cuts in mental health funding, the rise of neoliberal economic policies which are wrecking the world, and the issuance of the fraudulent A Nation at Risk education "report," but the three mentioned above will do for now.

One Should Perhaps Remember Ronald Reagan

more fondly for his movie career than for his foray into politics. Despite all the media drivel about his "optimism," it was his demonizing groups who were not in the elite class which formed the basis of all of the mess we are in today.

Of course his embrace of neoliberal economics was key to all of it, but an unpalatable economic policy formulated by crackpots would not fly with the public because it required dismantling every single social program and institution beneficial to the masses. So something else had to be tried to con the American people. The "divide-and-conquer" nonsense of pitting groups against each other was merely to divert attention away from the crooks hellbent on stealing it all in the name of ideology. It also helped that Reagan helped ditch the "Fairness Doctrine" which almost singlehandedly created the rightwing noise machine we are inundated with today.

In other words, Reagan's professed political philosophy wasn't based on "optimism" or "morning in America" but instead it was based on hate.

I Don't Have to Take Ron Reagan's Word

his father suffered from early Alzheimer's disease in his presidency.  It was pretty obvious something was wrong by the end of his first term, especially during one of the debates with challenger Walter Mondale in 1984.


I also remember journalist Leslie Stahl having a very unnerving experience with the then-president which pointed towards senility.  I also remember reading about how Gorbachev reacted to some of Reagan's truly off-the-wall behavior.

Snip:

Stahl tells me that she is certain that after that Oval Office encounter with Reagan, she discussed with her producers whether to report on Reagan's mental condition. "I would have to have skirted around the words 'senility,' 'Alzheimer's,' 'dementia,'" she notes. "I would have been declaring the president unfit to serve, or at least raising the possibility." That undoubtedly would have set off a political detonation. And such a report would have suggested a White House cover-up—at a time when tense foreign policy matters were in the news and midterm elections were a few months off.

Whether or not Stahl made the right call—she seems to believe she should have reported something at the time—the evidence she later gathered indicates that Reagan aides were concerned about his mental condition during his presidency. Perhaps it wasn't Alzheimer's but another health issue. Yet her account and her subsequent reporting suggests Ron Reagan is closer to the truth than Michael Reagan. The Gipper was slipping while he was occupying the most powerful position in the world, and the public was kept in the dark.

In hindsight, it should have been reported at the time.  Sure it would have created a bit of an uproar, but the twenty-fifth amendment would have been invoked as Reagan was clearly not capable of running things.

In truth, the second term was what I call "the presidency of the two Bakers," meaning Howard Baker and James Baker.  They actually ran the country.

News, Etc.

In his new book about his father, Ron Reagan states the obvious.

President Reagan displayed increasingly erratic behavior as president, especially some of the things he was saying that appeared completely off the wall. I also think the assassination attempt against him thirty years ago helped accelerate his decline.
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Barf City

In this infamous video clip made by the Reno Gazette-Journal, Obama can hardly hide his admiration for Ronald Reagan; after all, he's patterned his disastrous presidency after him and has embraced right-wing policies Reagan wouldn't have DARED:

Why Not Compare Obama's Presidency With Reagan's?

After all, Obama went out of his way to admire Reagan, claiming he was a "transformative" president the way Obama believed himself to be during his "Obama is God" campaign. Furthermore, despite a few crumbs thrown to traditional Democratic constituencies, his policies mimic Bush II and Reagan's and peddle the same neoliberal garbage that has been discredited and debunked.

Balz:

Throughout this long year, President Obama's advisers have sometimes looked to Ronald Reagan for comparison and inspiration. If the Gipper could survive a deep recession, low approval ratings and an adverse midterm election in his first two years and win reelection handily two years later, then Obama could easily do the same, they reason.

Obama's presidency has looked like Reagan's in some broad ways. Both men succeeded unpopular presidents of the opposite party. Both offered big and bold plans -- Reagan with massive tax cuts, Obama with a massive stimulus package and national health care -- that set the country in a new direction. Reagan's goal was to shrink government. Obama's efforts have enlarged government.

Both presidents were forced by events that preceded their elections to contend with economies in serious trouble. Both saw the unemployment rate rise sharply during their first two years in office -- under Reagan, the rate hit 10.8 percent by November 1982 -- and both saw their approval ratings decline as the numbers of jobless grew.

For much of this year, Obama and his team have taken some solace from the fact that Reagan's approval ratings were even lower at comparable points in his presidency. That is no longer the case. In the past week, Obama has hit a new low in his approval rating, according to Gallup's daily tracking. It now stands at 42 percent, virtually identical to Reagan's in August 1982. (Both Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter dipped below 40 percent during their second year in office.)

The problem with Obama isn't his poll numbers--it is the fact he isn't a Democrat, just another Chicago Boys dipshit peddling Friedmanism.

I am Sure President Obama

is as happy as a clam to be compared with his idol, Ronald Reagan, but those of us who know better think it is damning Obama with very faint praise.

The Wall Street handouts, his seeming do-nothing approach to the economy, and his views on public education are just a few of the problems with this current president and how he doesn't seem much different than Reagan. Even where he does differ from his "transformative" idol, being more like him is a mistake. He's not going to be more "forceful" because he's not confrontational. It's obvious he balks at confrontation. Instead, he wants to make nice with people who have no intention of making nice with anybody.

The problem is Obama had no business winning the nomination, much less the presidency. He is in over his head in this job, but his advisers are even worse for this country.

I never thought I'd see the day that a political party supposed representing the masses of working people in this country would be just a less toxic version of the GOP.

Miscellaneous Stuff [Updated]

A UNR K-9 police officer accused of abusing a police dog has denied the charges.
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I now expect a sequel to Frost/Nixon, called Ronnie/Nixon. Nixon was right, of course, and Reagan's health was already declining by 1987.
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Thank God that stupid idea of legalizing prostitution in Vegas is going nowhere this legislative session.
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Update: As everybody knows, a fatal commuter plane crash happened this evening near Buffalo, New York, when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home, killing all 48 in the plane and the person inside the house.

It was the deadliest U.S. plane crash since the Lexington, Kentucky, crash in 2006, which also killed 49.
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A Book to Get

I am glad there is at least one writer out there who is taking on the nauseating myth of Ronald Reagan head on.

This excerpt has to do with that godawful Grover Norquist.

Blasts From the Past, Part II

Jimmy Carter (1977):



This video is NOT complete, and C-SPAN doesn't have it up yet.


Ronald Reagan (1981):




George H.W. Bush (1989):




Bill Clinton (1993):





George W. Bush (2001):




Note there are no videos of second-term presidential inaugural addresses.

McCain's First Marriage

We all know McCain flagrantly cheated on his first wife, Carol, especially upon his return from Vietnam. He has offered a variety of explanations, but not everything jibes with court documents.

Furthermore, his relationship with the Reagans became strained because of the way he treated Carol, a woman who endured a lot when McCain was a POW only to be repaid as if she were a piece of shit.

He flagrantly lied about those last months of his first marriage:

In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980."

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.

Until McCain filed for divorce, the Reagans and their inner circle assumed he was happily married, and they were stunned to learn otherwise, according to several close aides.

"Everybody was upset with him," recalled Nancy Reynolds, a top aide to the former president who introduced him to McCain.

He was a sneaky shit to boot. He fooled a lot of people, not just Carol.

This article goes into more detail than the Daily Mail article of a few months ago does.

Just Why

are Clinton, Obama, and other Democrats bragging up a president who did a lot to destroy this country?

Paul Krugman

takes the Audacity of Hype's attempt to rewrite history.

Once Upon a Time,

the vast majority of Nevadans thought Ronald Reagan was the second coming of Jesus Christ. However, Barack Obama is about twenty years behind the times:



Can you imagine the ads that would come out in the GE against Obama, should he be the nominee?

Until I saw Obama Monday night (the second time I saw him in person), I thought he had a gigantic ego and an arrogance to match. I now believe he is merely naive to the nth degree and has no idea what in the hell he is doing.

He has been making his share of gaffes lately.

It's Long Past Due

for an analysis of the REAL Reagan-Bush legacy.