Obama and Reagan

!On the revolution of Ideas!

Recently, I read a magazine article where the main idea was to compare Obama with Ronald Reagan, and although The President looks up to the 40^th president of the United States, I have always said that comparisons are really rude and impolite. President Obama became President selling the idea of change, and change he has definitely brought to America. The view and perception of the world has changed towards the number one nation in the world. This due not to his outstanding way of government, or the change in policies, the health-care reform, his stand on gays, the war on terror, but mainly due to the fact ,that America for the first time, elected an African American, and that is a huge step towards a change not only in mind but in politics.

 In my opinion, although Obama has pushed for important legislation, he has undermined key issues like FTA’s with key allies, the immigration reform has not been pushed with enough strength, and foreign policy has been dealt with a soft hand especially with some regions in the world like Venezuela and Iran. Latin American continues to be another issue that has not been addressed properly taking into account that in a few years time that region will be the world’s boosting economy and a strong power. In general terms Obama has done well, but the job is not outstanding due mainly to the lack of character on many issues he does not want to address or simply he just does not mind if he does. That attitude will cost him come November of 2012 when he tries to get re-elected. Comparing Obama and Reagan is not a real and coherent analysis because Obama is Obama and he deserves his own moment in time and not a rude and impolite comparison. 

That comparison has been used even before he was elected and I think he deserves better. Kennedy had Camelot and others have had their own personal presidential description, so I don’t see why we can’t just let President Obama have his own without the absurd comparisons that really are more a sense of not accepting that he is the president, and of course the fact that he is Black. Reagan defined a time, a decade, but that was Reagan’s moment and presidency, and now is Obama’s turn to show his moment. We may disagree or agree with him but suggesting that Obama’s presidency is the Reagan moment, I think is really unfair to the Obama Era. The Time magazine article is fine just for the analysis of how both administrations share some similarities, but saying that Obama who is a democrat which moves between the center and the extreme left of his party is like or the same as Ronald Reagan who was a Right centered Republican or conservative, I think is totally unfair with both. They might share some ideas, views on how the country should be run, but surely they are not the same and the article is totally unfair with both. If the objective of the article is to generate the idea in the conservative side of the nation that Obama is a conservative, then I think we are going the wrong way because Obama will never be a conservative and conservatives will never shift to the Left or the left center of his party. 

Therefore Obama deserves his own moment in time and not rude comparisons because the Reagan and Obama comparison is as rude as the Michelle Obama comparison with Jackie Kennedy. The first lady has her own style and therefore comparing her is not the way to go either. Are these comparisons a joke? , Racism? Or simply that no one has done the job to really understand that the President is Obama, and that he will have his own legacy to the American people, whether we like him or not, is totally unfair to compare him and not provide his administration with a particular name, just like Kennedy had his Camelot, let’s let Obama have his horizon of change, his state of the union speech could not have been clearer on this regard, so let’s avoid the continues comparisons with former presidents and better yet let’s move forward to a new era where Obama shows what he is made of, which I hope is more than just nice speeches. 

All in all, the President has two years to show that his nice speeches have some coherence and that those words will transform into actions.  Many people who voted for him are waiting to see those promises as a reality, and not just nice dreams in a horizon that although inspiring, will not have enough gas to hold until November 2012. Those dreams must have become a reality so Obama can show his results to the American people, otherwise another term will not be in the president’s path. Obama and Reagan, two presidents who share ideas but differ in so many ways, so the comparison does not fit, at least to suggest that Obama is the new Reagan, No! He is President Obama and deserves his moment in time just as President Reagan had his.

Cristhian Mancera Mejia

Director

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