Praising Presidents Past

So Barack Obama has come out and praised Ronald Reagan, basically saying that he wants to bring back some of the optimism that he claims Reagan generated.

It's not uncommon for presidential candidates to try to hitch their wagons to popular past presidents.


You may recall Bill Clinton in 1992 trying to invoke the optimism and change that is associated with John F. Kennedy. Ever the master of message, Clinton was even fortunate enough to have had himself photographed with JFK when he was just a youngster:




That photograph began a visual metaphor for the passing of the torch to a new generation of Democratic leadership.

Alas, Senator Obama failed to take advantage of a photograph of himself* as a youngster with Ronald Reagan:

* obvious disclaimer: This is not an actual photograph of Barack Obama with Ronald Reagan. It is an accurate representation of what the conservative ideology that Reagan mainstreamed thinks about people like Barack Obama.

Ronald Reagan put a happy, grandfatherly face on the vilest of racial hatred, and applauding him for generating "optimism" is akin to praising another certain leader for making the trains run on time.

Senator Obama should know better than to add a chapter to the Saint Ronny hagiography.