Karl Rove flushes Ronald Reagan down the memory hole
December 17, 2009 12:14 pm ET by Eric Boehlert
This piece of political history continues to bedevil Obama-haters who are desperate to declare that Obama's first year in office has been an historic failure. The trouble is that Obama's first year in office looks an awful lot like Ronald Reagan's, who conservatives hold up as the symbol of all that's right and true (and successful!) about a presidency.
From Rove's WSJ column today [emphasis added]:
Barack Obama has won a place in history with the worst ratings of any president at the end of his first year: 49% approve and 46% disapprove of his job performance in the latest USA Today/Gallup Poll.
From the AP, Dec. 20, 1981:
The public's confidence in the economy and opinion of President Reagan's performance remain near their lowest levels since he took office, according to the latest Associated Press-NBC News poll.
The nationwide poll, of 1,602 adults telephoned Dec. 14-15 in a scientific random sampling, said 48 percent think Reagan is doing a good or excellent job as president. Last month, the president's approval rating was 46 percent, his lowest since it peaked at 66 percent last spring.
UPDATED: Isn't there something wonderfully ironic about Karl Rove, who steered the Bush administration to polling depths not seen in this country in nearly a century, now chastising Obama about his 49 percent job approval rating; a mark that Bush couldn't achieve for the final 46 months of his presidency?
"Ironic" barely seems to cover it, but I can't think of a strong enough term. Karl "Clear & Simple Facts" Rove is either playing his audience for absolute fools, and/or is playing the part himself. After all, how much intellect is needed to be "Bush's brain"?
It should also be remembered that Reagan's 66 percent approval rating in the spring of 1981 was right after he was shot; in other words, it was for sympathy rather than any accomplishment. It's no surprise that it faded away.
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Or Glenn Beck calling someone stupid.
President Reagan made a number of very bad decisions during his tenure in office. Mistakes that led to things like selling arms to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Mistakes like letting Americans languish as hostages to affect elections. Mistakes like aiding and abetting genocide in Nicaragua. Or, breaking a union (PATCO).
President Obama, you have a moment in history to remake America in significant ways. True universal healthcare. An end to the reign of Wall Street wealth over Main Street labor, along with all the predatory monetary practices that go with it. A chance to rebuild relationships with other nations, working together for the global changes we need as a race. I encourage you to remain true to the promises you made during your campaign.
What hostages would those be?
But I don't know if they contact FoxNews on a regular basis with every story that relates to FoxNews or their employees or those they interview.
I suspect they don't, so I think they leave that contact up to us.
I do know that they do demand corrections at times. I don't know how pervasive their attempts are at that either.
Remember this is the guy the media refers to as the "genius" who led the GOP back to power. Based on that, Rove can do no wrong and will not be called out by the mainstream media outlets. As someone said earlier, we have rely on sources like "The Daily Show" to point out these inconsistancies.
Per the main GOP talking point:
"Reagan was a Saint, the best president EVER."
Based on that:
"It is impossible that St. Ronnie was anything other than the best president ever."
For those following the conversation, Yes, this is a glaring example of circular logic.