...but Obama ADMIRES Reagan, so whats all the fuss?

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Friday July 09, 2010 · 1:36 PM PDT

2010/07/09 · 13:36

Yesterday there was some huffing and puffing about a dairy that discussed the relative conservatism of Reagan and Obama.

According to one diarist, the other diarist was an insensitive nincompoop because he was comparing Reagan, apparently a vile racist, with Obama, the first black president. Well I guess that makes Obama an insensitive blockhead too for saying this in 2008:

I don’t want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what’s different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980 was different. 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. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.

Obama missed out all that business about Reagan's implicitly and explicitly racist posture, all the business about how he set the ball rolling on deregulation, on vilifying welfare, etc. etc. So does that put Obama out of favor with the same people grumbling yesterday?

This whole thing raises a bigger issue. Are we no longer allowed to compare policy decisions by Obama and any recent republican presidents because they were racists, or anti-gay, or what have you, at some point in their life? Is only Obama allowed to draw comparisons?

Are we allowed to suggest that perhaps Clinton's three main legislative victories, deregulating the financial industry, NAFTA, and deregulation of Media/public airwaves, are probably more responsible for the sorry state we are in, than anything that Nixon passed?

Are we not allowed to praise Robert Byrd because he was once a grand Knight in the KKK? Should we vilify diarists who write positive diaries about Byrd?

Are we allowed to point out that Obama has essentially carried on the same Bush policies on a variety of fronts?

What are we allowed to discuss on dailykos? What are acceptable opinions regarding the president.

Apparently, according to some diaries, people of my ilk should tone it down, now that the elections are 4 months away. So please tell us what's allowed

UPDATE:

here's a clarification I posted to the gentleman/lady that HR'd

He made a statement comparing himself and his campaign to Reagan. He wouldn't say that if he was being disparaging of Reagan, or was saying that Reagan took advantage of a situation for political ends.

he said 'all the excesses of the 60s and 70s' he didnt say 'the perceived excesses of the 60's and 70's'. he said Americans wanted 'clarity, optimism, dynamism and a sense of entrepreneurship', and that Reagan put us on a path that people were ready for.

that to me sir/madam sounds like admiration

Poll
73 votes Show Results
From now till november

no one should post diaries criticizing the president or democrats

diaries that criticise, should also make certain that they list all 'achievements' of the administration

free speech rules here and you can post on anything you want, as long as its not rude or derogatory

73 votes Vote Now!
From now till november

no one should post diaries criticizing the president or democrats

19 votes

diaries that criticise, should also make certain that they list all 'achievements' of the administration

5%

4 votes

free speech rules here and you can post on anything you want, as long as its not rude or derogatory

50 votes

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...but Obama ADMIRES Reagan, so whats all the fuss?

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