I realize the Republican saint is not highly thought of by some at DK, but he was a great campaigner and his work in 1980 was masterful.
Obama needs to mention him by name then spin his best gambit from that campaign IN THE FIRST DEBATE!
In 1980 Reagan famously asked American's are you better off four years ago than you are today? It was a simple and devastating question that took Jimmy Carter down big time.
Suddenly no worries about Reagan's judgment or personality. Suddenly the issues came to the forefront. The large percentage of Americans who thought the country was on the wrong track moved over to The Gipper.
If at the close of the first debate, Obama cites that question AND ITS SOURCE, then puts a fresh spin on it, "DO YOU THINK OUR COUNTRY IS BETTER OFF THAN IT WAS EIGHT YEARS AGO BEFORE GEORGE W. BUSH BECAME PRESIDENT?" we might be able to get the election back to ISSUES!
With 80 percent thinking the answer to that is NO, we win in a walk.
I want to vomit when I think about how the Republicans have been successfully spinning this election to PERSONALITIES (their ONLY chance) because they're all wrong on the issues. FLUFFY magazine cover stories on the "McCain Family," and other tripe. While great movies like "I.O.U.S.A." can't find an audience.
We need to touch on the patriotism of people and say with their vote they can stand up to those who are destroying the country in the name of "tax cuts," financed by the Chinese.