Towards the end of last week and on into this one, you’ve probably heard and read numerous reports about Reagan and the centennial festivities that have taken place, like this one featuring a ‘local’… “Plano artist designs Ronald Reagan centennial stamp” by Matthew Huisman
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/plano/headlines/20110209-plano-artist-designs-ronald-reagan-centennial-stamp.ece
Mr. Forbes says, “I always thought he was the finest president of my lifetime, and to be asked to do that stamp is a great honor.” The artist’s sentiment about Reagan being ‘the finest president of my lifetime’ is certainly shared by multitudes that lived through it, remember, and have passed on to the next generation.
Yet, a problematic theme of revisionism by some media outlets, pundits and politicians alike began shortly after Reagan finished his second term and stepped out of the public spotlight. Now, we have encountered a new type of ‘revisionism’ from our current president: Barack Obama’s ongoing effort to recreate his image as some type of ‘centrist’. And of course, who does Obama and his media cohorts use to compare himself with? That’s right, ‘the finest president of my lifetime’, Ronald Reagan. Due to this skewed perspective, I’ve stumbled across more than a few recent articles of interest, and I’d like to share a few with you.
First, we have an article that gives us a detailed analysis of Reagan’s ‘conversion’ (from liberal to conservative); however, as Barack Obama attempts to ‘recreate’ his image, no such sign of a conversion surfaces…
“Dueling Narratives: Reagan vs. Obama” by Paul Kengor
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/dueling_narratives_reagan_vs_o.html
Next, we have an interesting article that takes the reader through a brief exercise with the purpose of divulging Obama’s contrasting factors: “While Americans across the country are holding celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Reagan, President Obama and his media allies are peddling the line that he is just like Reagan. So let's try this thought experiment.”
“The Opposite of Ronald Reagan” by Peter Ferrara
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/09/the-opposite-of-ronald-reagan
But to set opinion aside for a moment, let’s just allow a few graphics to illustrate a broader narrative about our former and current presidents…check out these Presidential election results maps…
1980: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege1980.svg
1984: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege1984.svg
2008: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege2008.svg
It’s pretty plain to see the contrast, and one should certainly be about to distinguish the “Uniter” from the “Divider”.
So now that we’ve gotten a better idea that in fact Barack Obama is NO Ronald Reagan, perhaps we can end this posting similar to the way we began: an upbeat personal story (Reagan was pretty fond of those, you know) that just so happens to also contain an account of true conversion…
How Ronald Reagan Made Me A Conservative Pundit
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/02/028303.php
