Obama is No Reagan, Plus, the New Reagan Stamp is On Sale!

Why is Obama so desperate to be someone else?

During the Reagan years conservatives used to say "let Reagan be Reagan." It was a message to the White House and government bureaucracy to get out of the President's way and let him be the conservative he was. The "tear down this wall" part of Reagan's Berlin Speech is a perfect example. The bureaucrats kept trying to take that line out and Reagan kept putting it back in.

Has anyone ever said "let Obama be Obama?" No. Seems to me that many on the left are desperate to paint Obama as someone else. First it was FDR, then Lincoln and more recently, a spate of news reporters all seemed to chime, as if on cue (which isn't too far from the mark) that Obama is another JFK. That is just so laughable when you consider how Kennedy proposed huge tax cuts to spur economic growth (and it worked).

But what really gets me is the Obama comparison to Reagan. Time Magazine even did a cover of the Feb. 7th magazine with a photoshopped image of Reagan embracing Obama. Inside, a lengthy gush piece suggesting Obama sees Reagan as a role model.  Is Obama's image so weak that he has to try and piggyback on Reagan's 100th birthday celebration?

Likening Obama to Reagan was the last straw for me and I sent the following to my local newspaper which published it as a Letter to the Editor on Thursday.

Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late President Ronald Reagan. Celebrations across the country served as a reminder of the legacy that great man left this nation and the world.

What I find interesting is that many on the left who previously scorned Reagan and fought bitterly, and in the most uncivil terms, against his policies are now wrapping themselves in his flag.

That includes President Barack Obama, who in his book "Dreams From My Father" cited "Reagan and his minions' dirty deeds" as the reason he decided to become a community organizer and oppose Reagan's policies.

Now, Obama lauds Reagan at every opportunity and seems to embrace every aspect of Reaganism except the very policies for economic growth (cut taxes) and national security (peace through strength) that made Reagan such a great and successful president.

I worked in the Reagan White House during the 1988 presidential campaign. During the vice presidential debate between Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Republican Dan Quayle. Bentsen reacted to Quayle's mention of the late John F. Kennedy by saying: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

To Obama, I would say, "I knew Ronald Reagan. I worked with him in the White House, and you, sir, are no Ronald Reagan."

Let's remember that it isn't just how you say it, but what you do that counts.

Never Before Seen Reagan Photo
The occasion gives me the opportunity to share with readers this photo, taken by me, during the visit by President Reagan to my hometown of Bowling Green, Ohio October 19, 1988. It was a visit organized in part by me as a White House aide in the Political Office. The speech for that event is here and I have already shared another photo from that event, along with my other two favorite Reagan photos which I also took here.



Reagan stamp on Sale February 10th!

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