Posted by Jed Lewison on Wed Jan 16, 2008 at 3:02 PM Pacific
This isn't the Ronald Reagan I remember
Although we remember Ronald Reagan as the Great Communicator, the political backdrop of the 1980s was fear of the USSR and nuclear annihilation. Here is one of Ronald Reagan's most famous political advertisements:
That just isn't the politics of hope. Not even close. It's the politics of fear.
Even on domestic politics, Reagan's policies were reactionary. Here he is at a debate in 1980, challenging President Carter's proposal for national health insurance.
In the same clip, Reagan poses the rhetorical question he made famous:
"Are YOU better off today than YOU were four years ago?"
That's the politics of me, not the politics of we.
Obama also clearly forgot about this shitty moment in presidential campaign history:
© Jed Lewison