Obama: Reagan saw that 'we are all patriots'

[The Northerner]

By Barack Obama

Ronald Wilson Reagan was a believer. As a husband, a father, an entertainer, a governor and a president, he recognized that each of us has the power — as individuals and as a nation — to shape our own destiny. He had faith in the American promise; in the importance of reaffirming values like hard work and personal responsibility; and in his own unique ability to inspire others to greatness.

No matter what political disagreements you may have had with President Reagan— and I certainly had my share — there is no denying his leadership in the world, or his gift for communicating his vision for America.

President Reagan recognized the American people's hunger for accountability and change — putting our nation on a bold new path toward both. And although he knew that conflicts between parties and political adversaries were inevitable, he also knew that they would never be strong enough to break the ties that bind us together. He understood that while we may see the world differently and hold different opinions about what's best for our country, the fact remains that we are all patriots who put the welfare of our fellow citizens above all else.

It was a philosophy that President Reagan took to heart — famously saying that he and Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill, with whom he sparred constantly, could be friends after 6 o'clock. It's what led him to compromise on issues as contentious as Social Security and tax cuts. And it's what allowed him to work with leaders of all political persuasions to advance the cause of freedom, democracy and security around the world, including reducing nuclear weapons and imagining a world, ultimately, without nuclear weapons.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-23-ronald-reagan-president-obama_N.htm


When I first noticed that USA Today claimed that it was written by Obama I immediately assumed they were lying and I think they still are--I really hope so. :-(

[EOTE]

1. Really? Even the "welfare queens" and pointy headed intellectuals?

Reagan made an awful lot of people feel completely unwelcome in this country. The makeover of his legacy is disgusting.

[deutsey]

39. My thought, too.

I certainly felt unwelcome here during his reign.

[Bucky]

2. I wish the president would show unrelenting scorn for everyone who disagrees with him.

Hey, remember when we got upset about Bush being divisive all the time? Man, those were the days....

[sharp_stick]

5. +1

I know I really miss it.

[Fla_Democrat]

37. He don't have to

some of his supporters are already doing that. Sometimes, even to his other supporters.


:smoke:

[Lorien]

62. I wish the President would show as much admiration for FDR and other Progressives and Liberals

this revisionist history crap and Reagan worship belongs on Faux news.

[Tatiana]

3. Ask the families of the massacred nuns in Nicaragua how they felt about Raygun's leadership.

Disgusting.

[mix]

20. Also ask the families who lost loved ones to El Salvador's death squads

and to the contras in Nicaragua.

The sanitization of Reagan is revolting, especially by a sitting Democratic president.

[Doctor_J]

4. How sad

I guess the lessons from Nov 2 were not clear enough for the president.

[NYCGirl]

6. Obama is praising Reagan's political talent, which is

undeniable. Whatever one thinks of Reagan's policies — and I hated the guy — you have to acknowledge his political instincts and communications skills were amazing.

[Little Star]

10. If I were a republican I might agree with your statement....

I found nothing about him amazing then or now, tyvm.

[shanti]

11. what did you expect of him though?

he was an actor, and played his part well.

[NYCGirl]

16. Being telegenic is not a drawback. Sure helped JFK. NT

[displacedvermoter]

13. Then acknowledge Karl Rove, too!

Political genius, really set the tone, great patriot, too!

[NYCGirl]

14. Political genius, no. Telegenic, absolutely not.

Patriot? He thinks he is.

[Hawkowl]

18. Disagree

I used to hope that was the case. Obama's full on embrace of supply side/tax cut/free trade economic policy along with the escalation in Afghanistan and the lack of Wall Street regulation make me a firm believer that Obama simply admires Reagan's policies as well as his methods.

And yes, I hated Reagan, so you may draw your own conclusions about my feelings about Obama.

[EFerrari]

24. Raygun's "talent" = Telling Big Lies to the American people for 8 years successfully.

Sociopaths can be very charismatic.

[Lorien]

63. Exactly. Anyone who truly admires Reagan is either intellectually lazy,

corrupt, or just one scary motherfucker.

[Autumn]

56. It's called good "acting" it was easy for him to read

a script. Personally I seriously doubt he had any amazing political instincts and communications skills. But he sure could tell great and epic war stories. What was amazing is that he was just remembering a script.

[midnight]

7. Regardless of who is lying, I think, those who were left without boots

were left without any way to pull themselves up at that time. They were left behind and left out of club Patriatsim....

[TheBigotBasher]

8. Just think of the exploding heads this will cause

at Freepreville.

[mix]

9. This is distressing, but not surprising.

Does the graph below look like Reagan instilled "confidence and optimism" and made citizens believe "that each of us has the power — as individuals and as a nation — to shape our own destiny"?

It looks like failed neoliberalism, which creeps on like a zombie.

[xchrom]

23. +1 -- neoliberalism has way more stamina and energy than the neocons ever had.

and it's way scarier.

[Autumn]

12. Disgusting is all I can say

My Father had Alzheimer's and I told my Husband when he was running that I thought Reagan had it. Are there no Democrat Presidents that this man can praise? :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Little Star]

15. Some one has had...

a hard on for Reagan since the beginning. It should have been a warning sign then.

[SammyWinstonJack]

44. +10000!

[EFerrari]

17. "advance the cause of freedom around the world" with death squads,

rape, kidnapping, torture and massacres.

[Webster Green]

19. Blagh

:puke:

[Demoiselle]

22. I second that Blagh, Webster.

Reagan voiced many of the dumbest political theories I've ever heard. His election was a turning point in this country. Turning DOWN. We're still headed that way, I fear. Clinton slowed the pace a bit, and I hope that Obama can ultimately put on the brakes and turn us around. But it hasn't happened yet.

[enuegii]

21. "...Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill, with whom he sparred constantly,

could be friends after 6 o'clock."
Wasn't 6 PM right about bedtime for Ronzo?

And of course someone who says with a straight face that "trees are the biggest polluters of the air" while campaigning for president is someone to be admired...

[sufrommich]

25. He said basically the same thing during the primaries. How

many DUers were bothered by it then?

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sufrommich]

31. I agree. nt

[BuelahWitch]

49. Oh yes we were

And we were told to sit down and shut up. It was sickening to see the Reagan love in a Democratic forum after Obama sang his praises.
If Reagan were alive today no doubt he'd be one of the ones calling for his birth certificate...

[QC]

51. Quite a few people objected, actually, but they were quickly shouted down. n/t

[inna]

26. "to advance the cause of freedom, democracy and security around the world"

omg. that is just sickening.

:puke:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

27. Did Obama hire Sarah Palin to do the ghost writing on this piece of absurdity?

"..advance the cause of freedom, democracy and security around the world..". Yeah. Right. You betchya!

[Solly Mack]

28. Wow

Damn

I feel dirty.

[Poboy]

29. He pushes THEIR narrative completely. Moreover, he highlights the 'positives'

of conservatives, and regularly bashes liberals.

The man is an _ _ _ _ _ -_ _ _.

[WinkyDink]

69. I say he's a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, period. Clear as day.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

32. How dare he not piss on his grave!!!!11

I know he said he had policy disagreements with Reagan, but just saying nice things about a dead ex-President means Obama's a DLC corpofascist (tm)!

:sarcasm:

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WinkyDink]

70. There are plenty of other dead Presidents. Some were Democrats.

[Jakes Progress]

34. Pandering.

Pandering to the slow-witted and for no good reason. Praising Reagan won't get him one single republican vote. He is a slow learner.

[Union Scribe]

35. I'm less upset he wrote it

than I'd be if I thought he believed it. But it makes me queasy nonetheless.

[Poboy]

36. .

[LWolf]

38. Obama's admiration of Reagan was one of the early warning signs

that he was the wrong choice for the nation back in January of '08:

I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980 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. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.

http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3263

Reagan good; check.

"excesses" of the 60s and 70s (anti-war, peace, civil rights....) bad. Check.

I think Obama has lived up to the promise he showed here.

[WinkyDink]

67. Yeah, never mind Clinton's SURPLUS, Obama.

[deutsey]

40. Yes, patriots...like Ollie North and the gang who pissed on the Constitution n/t

[blindpig]

41. Patriotism: last resort of the scoundrel.

The nation state is essentially a creation of the capitalists and has served them very well. If it seems to being superseded, that is a fight between different groups of capitalists reflecting their various bases and capabilities.

[ipaint]

42. Reagan was a racist, sexist, classist, asshole.

"In 1980, the throngs that packed the annual County Fair in Neshoba, Mississippi, the area made infamous with the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964, buzzed with excitement at the prospect of a speech by their special guest, Ronald Reagan. From the time he and Nancy arrived at the nearby Meridian airport, he was greeted as a conquering hero. Thousands of whites lined the road and cheered his motorcade from the airport to the fair grounds. The Deep South was Reagan country, and white Mississippians regarded Reagan as their native son.

...His first task was to eliminate the remnants of the Great Society programs assailed by many whites as government handouts to blacks. He didn't totally succeed. But he crippled funding and further eroded public enthusiasm for social spending. During Reagan's first four years federal expenditures on education and training, social services, public works, civilian research and development plummeted forty percent.

Reagan fixated white Middle Americans on the government as pro-higher taxes, pro-bureaucracy, pro-immigrant and especially pro-welfare and pro-rights of criminals. He painted government as a destructive, bloated, inefficient white elephant, weighting down the backs of Americans. He claimed that government entitlement programs that benefited the poor were a crushing drain on the budget.

Though the big winners were the rich and corporations, and it racked up towering deficits, many whites believed that Reagan tax cuts delivered them from big government and big spending, and were a hammer to pound the Democrats for supposedly selling out to "special interests" which came to mean blacks, the poor and women."

http://www.alternet.org/story/18894

Quite an example for this president to admire.

[OwnedByFerrets]

43. His ":vision for America"? His only vision for America

was to kill unions and make the rich richer. This is worse than rediculous for the president to say.

[Crankie Avalon]

45. Maybe he's angling for another pat on the head from Cheney et al? n/t

[Octafish]

46. ''Facts are stupid things.''

[ipaint]

47. More gory details about the person Obama so admires.

"The real legacy of Reagan can be found in Philadelphia, Mississippi where he announced his candidacy for the Presidency in 1980. Previously, the most important political event in Philadelphia had been the deaths of civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Cheney in 1964. Reagan appeared, sans hood, to talk in those well-known racist code words about “state’s rights.” This was no mistake or misunderstanding. Reagan was signaling the right-wing movement that he would carry their racist agenda. Remember in 1984, his political operatives accused Walter Mondale of being “a San Francisco-style Democrat.”

Reagan reached out and embraced the racist apartheid government of South Africa through his policy of so- called “constructive engagement.” Reagan’s solution to the de-industrialization of America was to build the prison industrial complex. His centerpiece was a racist so-called “War on Drugs” while his friends in the CIA used narcotics peddlers as “assets.” And then Reagan’s El Salvadorian Contra buddies began bringing in crack.

Reagan's response to the 1981-1982 recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, was to declare ketchup a vegetable, release federal cheese surpluses, and shackle the strike leaders of the air traffic control union hand and foot and lead them off to jail. My most pronounced memories of the Reagan years are the three hour cheese line and the German care packages to unemployed workers in Detroit.

In the first two years of the Reagan administration, his policy was a forced economic recession and de- industrialization of the United Stated. He cut federal low income housing funds by 84%; his tax cuts for the rich, his “trickle-on” the poor and working class economics ended up tripling all previously existing U.S. government debt. So, when I think of the Reagan legacy, I think of urban decay, crack, homelessness, racism, rampant corporatism and the destruction of the American dream. Amidst the growing homelessness and despair, I remember seeing graffiti all over inner-city Detroit that simply said: “Ronald Wilson Reagan 666.” Reagan’s policies so marked him as “the beast” in Detroit, blue-collar workers actually cheered when he was shot. The hottest song on underground radio was “Hinckley had a Vision.” The song’s refrain, “He knew, he knew.” When the mainstream media was analyzing Reagan's legacy and actively participating in the mythologizing of the 40th president, they conveniently ignored volumes of work by mainstream reporters."

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0617-06.htm


What a betrayal to claim this monster was a patriot.

[Autumn]

60. Worse than a betrayal to those of us

who lost everything during his heroes administration.

[DirkGently]

48. Gack.

[kenny blankenship]

50. Yeah Reagan saw that we are all patriots. That's why he played the secret-police informant on them

supplying lists of suspected communist-sympathizers among Hollywood's writers actors and directors to the FBI, when he was President of the Screen Actors Guild, creating the infamous "Black List". That's why he testified as a friendly witness for the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Because he respected differences of opinion. Yep.

God, Obama, you are turning into A JOKE.

[ipaint]

52. "Ronald Wilson Reagan was a believer." uh huh....

While he was running for office in 1980, candidate Reagan announced during an interview with televangelist Jim Bakker that "We may be the generation that sees Armageddon." But that certainly wasn't the first time. At a 1971 banquet for California state senator James Mills, then-Governor Reagan broke it all down for the honoree during the dessert course:


"In the 38th chapter of Ezekiel, it says that the land of Israel will come under attack by the armies of the ungodly nations, and it says that Libya will be among them. Do you understand the significance of that? Libya has now gone Communist, and that's a sign that the day of Armageddon isn't far off.
"Biblical scholars have been saying for generations that Gog must be Russia. What other powerful nation is to the north of Israel? None. But it didn't seem to make sense before the Russian revolution, when Russia was a Christian country. Now it does, now that Russia has become communistic and atheistic, now that Russia has set itself against God. Now it fits the description of Gog perfectly.
"For the first time ever, everything is in place for the battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. It can't be too long now. Ezekiel says that fire and brimstone will be rained upon the enemies of God's people. That must mean that they will be destroyed by nuclear weapons."

In an interview published in a December 1983 issue of People magazine, the most powerful man in the world revealed that:
"heologians had been studying the ancient prophecies -- what would portend the coming of Armageddon-- and have said that never, in the time between the prophecies up untiI now, has there ever been a time in which so many of the prophecies are coming together. There have been times in the past when people thought the end of the world was coming, and so forth, but never anything like this."

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/presidents/ronald-reagan/


:crazy:

[white_wolf]

53. I swear

I think President Obama has praised and talked about Regan more than he has any Democratic president and apparently followed his policies too. Can't he start following FDR? Or if he want's to follow and praise a Republican I wouldn't mind Theodore Roosevelt.

[Starry Messenger]

54. Scary as fuck.

"he recognized that each of us has the power — as individuals and as a nation — to shape our own destiny" WHEN? HOW? Free market garbage. x(

[Lorien]

59. I've gone from simply being disappointed with Obama

to loathing him. If there aren't any other reasonable choices in 2012 I'll write in Elizabeth Warren/ Russ Feingold. I won't vote for a Reaganite, period.

[Autumn]

61. I am really thinking along those

lines my self.

[Starry Messenger]

64. I've switched to a party we aren't allowed to mention but rhymes with Brean.

CA goes blue no matter what, so it's mostly a protest vote. Local Dems I like, but the national party is definitely on the neoliberal track being followed in several other countries. Mostly I feel sadness that so many vulnerable groups put their hopes on this Administration and are largely getting the opposite of what they thought was going to happen.

[Fuddnik]

55. Hunger for accountability? Like Iran-Contra?

[Lorien]

58. No shit

Obama isn't clueless though; he's a Reaganite through and through.

[Lorien]

57. Yes, there IS denying his "leadership"

the buffoon was just a NeoCon mouthpiece, nothing more. His policies fucked over America more than any other President in history. All of our problems today stem back to Ronnie Raygun.

[datasuspect]

65. the president of the United States is lying

holy fucking shit, i thought it was the onion at first!

this guy is no socialist.

[WinkyDink]

66. "each of us has the power....to shape our own destiny." A SLAP IN THE FACE TO WORKING POOR.

To the homeless this cruel winter. To the disabled, this cruel time. To the victims of his war, this cruel era.

[WinkyDink]

68. Iran-Contra. James Watt. Ed Meese. Bitburg. Stockman. WTH is WRONG with Obama????

Nothing, if he is a Republican.

[MindPilot]

71. Reagan never uttered a coherent paragraph that wasn't on a cue card

yet he's "The Great Communicator". How does that happen?

[chimpymustgo]

72. Goddam Uncle Fucking Tom. FUCK. That's what he is.

:puke: to infinity.