“The greatest mistake Ronald Reagan’s opponents ever made — and they made it over and over again — was to underestimate him. Same with Obama. The difference is that Reagan was so deeply self-assured that he invited underestimation — low expectations are a priceless political asset — whereas Obama’s vanity makes him always need to appear the smartest guy in the room. Hence that display of prickliness in his disastrous post-deal news conference last week.
But don’t be fooled by his defensive style or thin-skinned temperament. The president is a very smart man. How smart? His comeback is already a year ahead of Clinton’s.”
I for one am sick of watching former Fritz Mondale speechwriter Krauthammer compare Obama favorably to Ronald Reagan and gush about Obama’s great intellect (of which there has been no evidence, empirical or historical), while continuing to lecture Sarah Palin on her lack of intellectual heft and to ignore the many times she has been far ahead of the curve on policy matters while Krautahmmer has been bringing up the rear.
Krauthammer’s gloomy column should demoralize no one. In an earlier column comparing Reagan to the current resident of the White House, Krauthammer saw the massive GOP gains in the House and the Senate as a silver lining for Obama that will help him in much the same way the GOP takeover in 1994 helped Clinton.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071504593.html
The problem with that analogy is that Clinton’s overreach with HillaryCare and overspending failed in 1993-4, so the economy recovered enough for him to win. Clinton did not win BECAUSE of the GOP Congress. He was aided by the worst GOP candidate in a long line of bad ones, the ancient Bob Dole and further aided by the Perot candidacy which siphoned off 10% of the vote. Obama will have to face Sarah Palin, the lady whom Krauthammer told to “leave the room” for “debasing” the health care debate in July 2009 because she had the temerity to speak the truth about the death panels.
2012 will not be analogous to 1996, but much closer to 1980. If Ronald Reagan looks to you like Barack Obama, well...you’re wrong, but I can cut you a break since you never really knew Reagan and in fact actively opposed him.
But.... If Sarah Palin looks like Bob Dole to you, Charles, you really need to have your contacts cleaned.
Prepare to be wrong...again.
Clinton's election in 1996, was also notable in that it was the first time in U.S. history the winner was elected without winning the male vote. Idiot women kept the Clintoon in office, and the only fear we have in 2012 are idiot women who hate Sarah, black racists who love obama and homosexuals who hate Sarah. The rest of the electorate, sans the Communists, are up for grabs.
So many truths in this post... deserving of a big bump!