[Salvan]

Great post. Carter's biggest mistake was assuming the American people could be treated like adults. Reagan, the delusionist in chief, realized that the American people didn't want the truth they wanted to hear something that would make them feel better. Even if it was complete BS. Reagan promised to cut the deficit AND cut everyone's taxes, a mathematical impossibility. No one is going to vote for the guy who says, everything is terrible and we are just going to have to deal with it for the next 4 years, but we will come out better on the other end.

The recession under Carter wasn't even his own doing, it was a deliberate result of the FED creating a man made recession to cool off the economy and get inflation under control by raising interest rates. When Reagan took office he actually made the economy worse by cutting discretionary spending. We were hardly losing jobs when Reagan took office, but unemployment still went to 10.3%.(Compare that to losing 800,000 jobs per month when Obama took office, but unemployment only going to 10.1%) When the FED's polices finally got inflation under control, everyone thought Reagan was a genius, but things could only have improved given the situation.

We value style over substance. That is why Obama really is a one in a million leader. He has both.

[dante1]

Great post. Carter's biggest mistake was assuming the American people could be treated like adults. Reagan, the delusionist in chief, realized that the American people didn't want the truth they wanted to hear something that would make them feel better. Even if it was complete BS. Reagan promised to cut the deficit AND cut everyone's taxes, a mathematical impossibility. No one is going to vote for the guy who says, everything is terrible and we are just going to have to deal with it for the next 4 years, but we will come out better on the other end.

The recession under Carter wasn't even his own doing, it was a deliberate result of the FED creating a man made recession to cool off the economy and get inflation under control by raising interest rates. When Reagan took office he actually made the economy worse by cutting discretionary spending. We were hardly losing jobs when Reagan took office, but unemployment still went to 10.3%.(Compare that to losing 800,000 jobs per month when Obama took office, but unemployment only going to 10.1%) When the FED's polices finally got inflation under control, everyone thought Reagan was a genius, but things could only have improved given the situation.

We value style over substance. That is why Obama really is a one in a million leader. He has both.

Yes, and one of the biggest reasons he will win again. That plus the unbelievably weak field of R's. Well who do they have waiting in the wings anyway? Now that a moderate R is as rare as an intelligent R well they are in for rough times. I remember fondly the moderate R, they worked with the D's and things got done.

We do have a great president but he is handicapped by a bunch of R that will even defeat their own ideas. How fvckin stupid is that!