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Barack Obama 2012 = Ronald Reagan 1984?
Washington Post ^ | October 5, 2012 | Chris Cillizza

Posted on 10/05/2012 8:15:21 PM PDT by presidio9

During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama drew a telling comparison between himself and former Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Said Obama:

“I don’t want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what’s different are the times…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.”

Little did Obama know how closely his first term would mirror that of Reagan. Both men dealt with a struggling economy, a disastrous midterm election and a pervasive sense with some not-insignificant portion of the electorate that the promise they had voted for wasn’t being delivered.

With the release of the September jobs report Friday, there’s also a more positive comparison — for Democrats — between Reagan and Obama that now can be made.

Check out the similarities in the unemployment rate during the first four years (or so) of the terms of Reagan and Obama:

(See attached graph)

While Reagan dealt with a much more rapid rise (and fall) in the unemployment rate during his first term, the parallels – particularly from the 34th month of the two presidencies on — are somewhat remarkable.

To be clear: Even the most optimistic Democrats don’t expect Obama in November to come anywhere near the 49-state, 525-electoral vote landslide that

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: asif
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1 posted on 10/05/2012 8:15:25 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: presidio9

Wow, what a phony graph. At least the numbers during Reagan’s tenure are the real number.


2 posted on 10/05/2012 8:17:58 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: presidio9

mr. obozo, I had the fortunate event in my live of meeting Mr. Reagan (and his family) when he was Governor of California and later, when he accepted the nomination to be the Republican Candidate for President of The United States of America.

You, mr obozo, are no Ronald Reagan. You aren’t even Bonzo.


3 posted on 10/05/2012 8:21:44 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (We canÂ’t just leave it (food choice) up to the parents. -- moochele obozo 2/12/2012 (cnsnews))
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To: presidio9

All the media spin isn’t going to change that gnawing sense of anxiety and economic stability that is being felt today. It is mourning in America right now, not morning in America as it was in 84.


4 posted on 10/05/2012 8:22:00 PM PDT by Arthurio
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To: presidio9

You made me throw up and purge. I now weigh 170.


5 posted on 10/05/2012 8:31:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: Olog-hai

The number of workers the Bureau of Labor classifies as “discouraged” and therefore omits from its statistic have DOUBLED under Obama. The real unemployment rate is 10.5%. This was not the case under Reagan. I suppose it helps if you keep extending unemployment benefits for the first two years of your term.

The Republican response to all this should not be defensive, but incredulity: You are PROUD of the fact that the unemployment rate is ONLY 7.8% after 44 months and $3trillion in stimulus packages? Really?


6 posted on 10/05/2012 8:36:48 PM PDT by presidio9 (Islam is as Islam does.)
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To: Olog-hai

The media are responsible for ruining the lives of many Americans. Truly. They are irresponsible children who just ‘have’ to have their way. They are in no way a positive influence in the world. They are vindictive and destructive.


7 posted on 10/05/2012 8:37:05 PM PDT by pieceofthepuzzle
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To: presidio9
No, more like

Barack Obama 2012 = Jimmy Carter 1980

8 posted on 10/05/2012 8:38:37 PM PDT by tx_eggman (Liberalism is only possible in that moment when a man chooses Barabas over Christ.)
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To: presidio9

“To be clear: Even the most optimistic Democrats don’t expect Obama in November to come anywhere near the 49-state, 525-electoral vote landslide”

Cilizza, you are a complete tool.


9 posted on 10/05/2012 8:40:13 PM PDT by Senator Goldwater
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To: Arthurio

Yes, having been there then and here now- there was nowhere near the sense then that things were headed over a cliff like they are today.

Yes, in the early 80’s construction went to hell and I had to find another gig, but Reagan had turned the high inflation around and we were on a definite upbeat path. He had restored honor and respect to the US and the military in particular ( still languishing from the Viet Nam era) and had already laid the groundwork for smoking the USSR by the time his second term came around.

There is no comparison. Reagan restored faith in our destiny and patriotism and respect abroad for the US. Obama has done entirely the opposite.


10 posted on 10/05/2012 8:45:01 PM PDT by One Name (Ultimately, the TRUTH is a razor's edge and no man can sit astride it.)
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To: presidio9

Okay Chris, put that bag of model glue down and get some sleep.


11 posted on 10/05/2012 8:46:44 PM PDT by Bullish (The stink from this amateur regime smells all the way to Kenya.)
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To: presidio9
I suppose it helps if you keep extending unemployment benefits for the first two years of your term.

Notice how the news about "the ninety-niners" has disappeared? They all went on disability and have retired on the dole. Funemployment--you betcha.

12 posted on 10/05/2012 8:46:56 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: One Name
The Difference
13 posted on 10/05/2012 8:47:52 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Where's Yo Dollar?)
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To: presidio9

This needed a barf alert..


14 posted on 10/05/2012 8:50:13 PM PDT by cardinal4 (If Baraq Hussein Obama had a son he would look like Rageboy)
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To: presidio9
Another geeky slacker heard from. Chris Cilliza was an 8 year-old booger-eater in 1984 and clearly has no clue.
15 posted on 10/05/2012 8:50:41 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: presidio9

More like this Reagan

16 posted on 10/05/2012 8:57:52 PM PDT by tapatio (In memory of my Dad 5-27-26 2-4-2010)
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To: Jeff Chandler

Cool. Enjoyed that!

Hook would make a good tagline for the Reagan Era.


17 posted on 10/05/2012 9:06:50 PM PDT by One Name (Ultimately, the TRUTH is a razor's edge and no man can sit astride it.)
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To: hinckley buzzard

That was their best “exit strategy”, eh?

Helped get us to “7.8% unemployment” in time for the election and got their whiny asses out of the news and off the public radar.


18 posted on 10/05/2012 9:11:24 PM PDT by One Name (Ultimately, the TRUTH is a razor's edge and no man can sit astride it.)
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To: presidio9

I’m not going to bother reading propaganda from the Washington Compost.

Did the article happen to mention that unemployment under Carter and Reagan used statistics that essentially included all forms of unemployment and underemployment...which is what we refer to as the U6 today?

Under Obammie the Commie, the U6 has skyrocketed into the high teens.

The unemployment rate, as we all know, APPEARS to be declining because so many people have been unemployed for so long that they either do not qualify for unemployment or have simply given up and they are thus not counted because they are ‘not employable.’

That, many have learned.

What many do not yet know is that all the way up to Bush II, the unemployment number and the labor-participation rate was calculated by ADDING IN all new entrants into the workforce (through age, graduation, and IMMIGRATION).

Obammie and his Commies have simply STOPPED ADDING IN all those entrants into the workforce. This number is approximately (conservatively) 150,000.

In other words, we need to create 150,000 (minimum) jobs every month just to keep pace with work-population increases. Not only have we NOT been doing that (and NOT counting that), we have been losing jobs out the wazoo.

If this article did not cover these facts, it is pure propaganda.


19 posted on 10/05/2012 9:23:52 PM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Prepare for survival.)
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To: presidio9

NO-we bind this (silly and stupid idea) and rebuke it in Jesus name!


20 posted on 10/05/2012 9:26:05 PM PDT by JSDude1
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