Ronald Reagan redux.

Over the last year the American public has witnessed all the GOP presidential candidates vie for the mantle of Ronald Reagan. As a libertarian/moderate conservative and a staunch supporter of John McCain it has been painful for me to watch the Republicans channeling the former president. However, the next Reagan is running for president and, ironically, he is a Democrat. Barak Obama is the next Ronald Reagan. What?!? Obama is nothing like Reagan!! He's a Democrat and a fairly liberal one at that. This is all true, but he is the candidate that is closest to Reagan. Let me explain. My arguments rest upon the messages that both men were preaching. No, not their platforms, but their respective messages of hope and change. Reagan was an eternal optimist who believed that America was "a city upon a hill." In his farewell address Reagan stated:"I've spoken of the shiningcity all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still. And how stands the city on this winternight? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong andtrue on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home. We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. Myfriends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all."

Somehow I could imagine a President Obama bidding the nation farewell in a similar way. Back to my argument. In 2008 it's Obama that is the eternal optimist and not Hillary Clinton (the brooding Lady Macbeth who is attempting rain on the Obama parade with childish banter and racially charged barbs) nor is it McCain (the cool and collected realist who sees the world for what it really is; a very dangerous and unforgiving place). Obama is not a rancid political hack (Clinton). He is also not a realist, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Watching Obama's campaign rallies one can see that Obama is Reagan redux. Even before he steps on stage or speaks a word the image of the "city upon a hill" is conjured up through Obama's campaign song; U2's "City of Blinding Lights." But when 2008's "great communicator" wades into his speech the similarities are unparalleled. Let's examine some portions of speeches from both men. In a recent speech delivered at Janesville, WI., Obama stated: "But how many times have you been disappointed when everyonegoes back to Washington and nothing changes? Because the lobbyists just write another check. Or because politicians start worrying about how they'll win the next election instead of why they should. Because they're focused on who's up and who's down instead of who matters - the worker who just lost his pension; the family that just put up the For Sale sign; the young woman who gets three hours of sleep a night because she works the late shift after a full day ofcollege and still can't afford her sister's medicine. These are the Americans who need real change - the kind of change that's about more than switching the party in the White House. They need a change in our politics - a leader who canend the division in Washington so we can stop talking about our challenges and start solving them; who doesn't defend lobbyists as part of the system, but sees them as part of the problem; who will carry your voices and your hopes into the White House every single day for the next four years. And that is the kind of President I want to be. " (read the speech here)

Now compare that with a portion of Reagan's First Inaugural: "The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, butthey will go away. They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now, as we've had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom. In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed byself-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price. We hear much of special interest groups. Well, our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teachour children, keep our homes, and heal us when we're sick -- professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, inshort, ``We the people,'' this breed called Americans. Well, thisadministration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy thatprovides equal opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of bigotryor discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans backto work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this ``new beginning,''and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism andfair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have astrong and prosperous America, at peace with itself and the world." (read the complete speech here)

There are, indeed, striking similarities between the two men. (Obama has even acknowledged the significant impact Reagan had on the American political landscape, which can be seen here.) Obama's opponents, however, must be wary of this optimism and hope. Just as Reagan was derided as being mindlessly and hopelessly optimistic, Clinton and McCain are beginning to do the same. And just as it back fired against Jimmy Carter and then Walter Mondale, so to will it back fire against Obama's rivals. Hope, optimism and change can win elections. They can win big!! These sentiments combined with a gifted orator and period of "national malaise" (a term from a speech given by Jimmy Carter) will win over childish partisan politicos (Clinton) and straight-talking realists (McCain).