While similarities exist, Obama is no Ronald Reagan
Published in The Tennessean , Sunday, July 31, 2011 by Richard J. Grant In recent days, President Barack Obama has become quite fond of quoting his esteemed predecessor, President Ronald Reagan. We all know the dangers of quoting out of context and of misunderstanding quotes, but it is also rumored that Obama has been studying Reagan's career. Perhaps he came across this 1986 Reagan quote: “Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Given President Obama's record so far, it seems that he mistook this for advice. Superficially, the two men do have some similarities. Both share the same job title and both inherited very poorly performing economies. Both saw unemployment rise during their first two years in office. At no time during Reagan's two terms did Republicans control both houses of Congress. The Republicans never had a majority in the House