THE REAGAN IN OUR HEADS VS THE REAGAN OF HISTORY:

An Obama-Reagan Presidency? (Dr. Paul Kengor, 2/16/08, FrontPageMagazine.com)

In 2008, despite Obama winning the presidency by 54 to 46 percent, 21 percent of Americans said they were liberal vs. 38 percent who said they were conservative (36 percent chose moderate). Although both liberals and conservatives alike picked up small gains; the difference between 2000 and 2008 was virtually identical.

If that seems contradictory for a nation that voted for a man from the far left as president … well, that’s because it is. But that’s nothing compared to the inconsistencies in another poll:

A nationwide survey by Clarus Research Group asked American voters which president should be the model for Barack Obama in shaping his presidency. One would expect Americans to pick a liberal president—since, of course, Obama is a liberal. Perhaps FDR, LBJ, Jimmy Carter. Instead, the top choice was America’s most conservative president: Ronald Reagan.

How could that be? Answer: it cannot. It is impossible.

Barack Obama cannot model his presidency after that of Ronald Reagan. The two are irreconcilable. A large square cannot fit into a tiny circle. You cannot take a president who is a paragon of liberalism and one who was a paragon of conservatism and match them ideologically. That’s not fair to Obama. In fact, Obama would not want to do that, nor would his staff—nor would Ronald Reagan.

Other than the appointment of Antonin Scalia, the UR could govern exactly as Reagan did and be considered a decent liberal.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 17, 2009 8:54 AM