Thursday, April 24, 2008

Obamacant

Shorter Krugman - act like Democrats, not Obamacans:

This wasn’t the way things were supposed to play out.

Mr. Obama was supposed to be a transformational figure, with an almost magical ability to transcend partisan differences and unify the nation. Once voters got to know him — and once he had eliminated Hillary Clinton’s initial financial and organizational advantage — he was supposed to sweep easily to the nomination, then march on to a huge victory in November.

Well, now he has an overwhelming money advantage and the support of much of the Democratic establishment — yet he still can’t seem to win over large blocs of Democratic voters, especially among the white working class.

As a result, he keeps losing big states. And general election polls suggest that he might well lose to John McCain.

***

According to many Obama supporters, it’s all Hillary’s fault. If she hadn’t launched all those vile, negative attacks on their hero — if she had just gone away — his aura would be intact, and his mission of unifying America still on track.

Let me offer an alternative suggestion: maybe his transformational campaign isn’t winning over working-class voters because transformation isn’t what they’re looking for.

***

The question Democrats, both inside and outside the Obama campaign, should be asking themselves is this: now that the magic has dissipated, what is the campaign about? More generally, what are the Democrats for in this election?

That should be an easy question to answer. Democrats can justly portray themselves as the party of economic security, the party that created Social Security and Medicare and defended those programs against Republican attacks — and the party that can bring assured health coverage to all Americans.

They can also portray themselves as the party of prosperity: the contrast between the Clinton economy and the Bush economy is the best free advertisement that Democrats have had since Herbert Hoover.

But the message that Democrats are ready to continue and build on a grand tradition doesn’t mesh well with claims to be bringing a “new politics” and rhetoric that places blame for our current state equally on both parties.

And unless Democrats can get past this self-inflicted state of confusion, there’s a very good chance that they’ll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this fall.

Self-Inflicted Confusion

But no, that would be too sensible. Instead, expend millions and millions of dollars to destroy the most popular Democrat walking and beat up our core Democratic values and voters so GKJM can hang out with his new hip black friend and prove to the world that he is not a racist.

Every time Obama loses, it is the fault of some life-long loyal Democrat. It's Hillary's fault with her nasty campaign (as he is making obscene gestures when saying her name). It's Bill's fault with his racist words "fairy tale" and (Oh, won't somebody think of the children!) "Jesse Jackson". It's the stupid Archie Bunkers of Ohio, the bitter God-n-guns crowd of Pennsylvania, those bitchy old white ladies everywhere. Every freakin' advantage a candidate could hope for and the guy cannot win.

Way back in my youth, I used to show dogs at AKC events. There was a guy who would never admit he lost. He could not say "My dog lost." He always saiid "The judge beat me, the judge made me lose." He would not own his defeats and thus never learned from them.

The fault, dear Precious, lies not in the voters but in yourself. In your arrogance. In your inability to discuss policy. In your proclivity for explaining away your losses as the dastardly acts of backwards voters rather than admitting that they just aren't that into you. In your renunciation of everything that distinguishes us from the Republicans. In your thuggish campaign tactics. In your utter lack of anything that actually qualifies you to hold the position.

It's all cant, which is why most Democrats can't be bothered to pull the lever for you.

Anglachel

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obama can't admit to having problems. He's supposed to be perfect. The perfect President. He actually admitted in his concession speech that he was not the perfect man and would not be the perfect president. Did he really think that we thought he was perfect in the first place? My friend told me that she winced when he said that.

Anonymous said...

... maybe his transformational campaign isn’t winning over working-class voters because transformation isn’t what they’re looking for.

You know what? This is it, isn't it? It's really that simple. I don't WANT a fucking glorious, shining new dawn of transformation from my government. I don't want the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. I don't WANT THE FUCKING RAPTURE, OKAY? I just want the fucking garbage to get picked up, the mail to go through, not to get buttraped by Big Oil when I fill up my car, not to live in a country that has fucking concentration camps, and not to worry about paying for my healthcare even though I fucking HAVE INSURANCE. OKAY?!

I don't WANT A FUCKING MENTAL SPIRITUAL REVELATION from my fucking GOVERNMENT! My spiritual health is MY BUSINESS, not the fucking government's! I'm not IN THIS to fall to the ground and start speaking in tongues! I just want kids to get vaccinated and learn how to fucking read!

I ended up getting angry at this topic last time it came up between me and an acquaintance who kept trying to tell me that someone she knew at work liked Obama because she remembers the Glorious Sixties and "she misses having that passion in her about something."

So why the fuck doesn't she GO GET LAID? Government isn't about your sacred Passion, it's not about giving you a really good buzz or a wild trip. It's about making sure that families don't get thrown out of their houses when they can't afford them anymore. CHRIST, how self-centered can you get?

"I want passion!"

You want it from something outside of yourself? Are you that emotionally crippled that you need the permission of some plastic dude in a shiny suit to allow passion into your life? You can't just get the FUCK UP OUT OF THE BARCALOUNGER AND GO GET IT ON YOUR OWN?

Jesus, these people are goddamned emotional cripples. And they're trying to pick our next preznit!

"She wants passion." Tell her to buy a fucking vibrator! FUCK YOUR PASSION, honey! What the hell is wrong with you that you don't find passion in providing health care to people who need it, to balancing paycheck inequities, to understanding how our government works?!

Emotional. CRIPPLES. And intellectual cripples for all their backpatting about how much smarter they are than we simple fools who support Hillary.

"I want passion." Go jerk the hell off and get it out of your system. The rest of us just want to make sure the country runs smoothly so that we can get on with the business of GETTING OUR OWN TRANSFORMATION FOR OUR DAMNED SELVES THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Off to bed. Ta.

jangles said...

The resurfacing of Rev. Wright on all national media outlets today, dressed in middle class business fashion, but tenaciously clinging to his words and stating that, " I am the pastor and I say what a pastor must say and Obama is the politician and he says what a politician has to say" just about seals the deal on Obamacant. Perhaps the campaign tried to soften Wright and put him out there to rev up the NC AA vote, or counter that NC Republican ad or perhaps he could not restrain himself from "defending" his rants but his national rebirth to very negative media reviews 360 must have sent the Obama campaign into deep depression. Add to that a National Inquirer front page touting the break up of the Obama marriage due to his philandering and it is no wonder that Obama took the day off. All of these just add up again to Obamacant. But the cognitive dissonance rang out again as the SC congressman who fired up the race issues in the SC primary about the Clintons was at it again today saying "I hear it said that she knows she can't win but she is making sure that Obama can not win either." (or words to that effect). Not only is Obama unable to admit mistakes; his surrogates and followers do no wrong either. It's Hillary's fault.

jangles said...

Janiscortese; I love your passion and you cut right to the core---I do not want government messing around with my heart and soul either. I think we have seen what happens when politicians bring ideas and passion from the religious fringes into the center of our political discourse---we get really bizarre science, programs that do not deliver and mind bending corruption of both the pulpit and the ballot box. I want a government that works and works well. That is really what Katrina is about; what the economy is about and even what Iraq is about. The history of elections show that people do not vote for change on a deep level, they vote for getting things done that will help their lives. This is why Hillary resonates and connects. Competence and hard work are Hillary.

cal1942 said...

janiscortese you are magnificent. Exactly the right words and tone to blast a Jacobin.

And that's what a number of Obama's supporters are, Jacobins.

Chinaberry Turtle said...

Oh man janis - that is exactly what I was thinking when I read that same passage you quoted. Wow, you spelled it out perfectly.

And you know, I think it all comes back to arrogance. How the hell could one person presume to know the personal transformation that others are looking for? Nobody is so simple that I would presume to understand such a weighty matter even after years of knowing him/her. Hell, I'm still trying to figure my wife out in this regard!

gendergappers said...

Calm down folks - it's just tradition. Whenever anything goes wrong - blame the woman! It started with Eve who brought about the fall of grace for all men.

Just nobody admit that BO has flaws as it would destroy his perfect image so carefully constructed out of the years of stealing the guts and glory of woman. And because that would be the beginning of real equality of the genders and then who would these wimps like BO blame for their failures?

madamab said...

I have coined a little abbreviation that will cover all of Obama's flaws: IACF (It's All Clinton's Fault).

You see, Obama is a prophet and so misunderstood. Why, why can we not behold his greatness and be mesmerized?

IACF!

It couldn't be that the emperor is naked, and that those of us over the age of 30 know that our politicians are not Messiahs, just people. No.

IACF!

And when Obama loses 40 states to McCain in November, we all know what the refrain will be:

IACF!

After all, no one could have predicted that a 46-year-old, two-year AA Senator with a paper-thin resume, a Muslim name and highly questionable personal associations would not be a good Presidential candidate.

Oh, wait...

Pat Johnson said...

Bottom line: He is just not ready to take on this job. Period.

Anonymous said...

One damning point is not emphasized enough. Obama created a mob of haters and racists. They hate Hillary and everyone supporting her. They are the "creative class" while others, blue collar workers in particular, are inferior (not creative?) folks.

jacilyn said...

janiscortese: that sort of "passion" IS selfish as well as dumb. You are so right. He conflates politics with not only religion and education (to personal advantage). There's a time and a place for each.

madamab:ROFL! THAT'S GREAT! SO true. Hope you don't mind when i start using that IACF! all over the place ... it's too perfect to let lie.

lakelobos: it isn't emphasized enough. It is a REAL PROBLEM. What do you do with that much hate, once it's all whipped up? it's got to have somewhere to go. The media is making things worse, not behaving responsibly.

Anglachel: "Every time Obama loses, it is the fault of some life-long loyal Democrat." That nails it right there.

I am so glad you all are saying these things.

alibe said...

janiscortese about the transformational campaign.....THAT WAS FABULOUS!!!
Spot on...
I just love when you read something so rational, passionate and yes a tad outrageous.
You got it. Flaunt it.

tas said...

The intelligence and maturity on display here has been duly noted.

Anonymous said...

Yea, tas. Because it's mature and intelligent to take one comment out of context on someone's personal political blog and use it to represent all Clinton supporters.

Anglachel, I'm glad that your site is becoming very popular but I guess the consequence is more crazy Obamabots finding out about this site and harassing regular posters on here.

orionATL said...

re paul krugman's column and the myopia of the official democratic criteria for selecting a democrtic nominee for president:


what the superdelegates should be voting on is:

who is best qualified to lead the u.s. in a time of severe economic distress,

senator obama or senator clinton?


not on "eligibility",

not on who's ahead in the democratic primary popular vote,

not who had the most elected delegates,

just

who can best use the levers of power of the presidency to maneuver the united states safely thru the dangerous waters we are entering.

this has to be a probabilistic calculation. no one knows with certainly that clinton would be great and obama a failure as president.

but the calculation is that there is a far better CHANCE that clinton, with her thirty years of experience in the democratic party, will be superior to obama given his limited experience.


consider this:

if the democratic party superdelegates were a board of directors of a major corporation,

they would never even consider for CEO

a person with so little experience in their corporation's industry as barack obama has in american national politics.

barack obama, ceo of

general electric?

general dynamics?

ford motors?

bank of america?

the news corp?

michelin?

exxon?

coca-cola?

koch industries?

walmart?

goldman, sachs?

not a chance in hell!


no board of directors member in their right mind would even allow a person with obama's meager credentials to be placed on the list of possible candidates.

but of course, this is merely the presidency of the united states and this is merely the democratic party, where "foolish" is genetically imprinted in politicians' judgments.


let me say this as straight as possible.

selecting barack obama because he has 150 more elected delegates than clinton, out of ~4000,

that's ~.04 (4%) of the total cast,

would be an act of folly.

not because obama cannot be elected, though i think he cannot,

but because he does not have the experience to lead this country, even in easy times,

let alone in the perilous times we face now.


so, superdelegates,

vote strictly by the party rules?

vote to save yourselves the least giref in the short-tun

or

vote for the national interest?


i won't hold my breath waiting for good sense to prevail among democratic politicians,

but i will say that history will be taking note.

tas said...

How exactly did I take her comment out of context? I quoted the entire thing. And what exactly did I take out of context? Maybe it was the "FUCK YOUR PASSION, honey!" part? I suppose it could be implied that "FUCK YOUR PASSION, honey!" could actually mean, "And a good day to your, miss!" But somehow, I don't think so.

As for using that comment to represent Clinton supporters, it's being promoted by Clinton supporters. So don't promote something among yourselves and then complain about somebody else pointing it out as a representation of you. Dur.

Matt said...

If Hillary is the best candidate then why can she not close the deal? Seriously. I think we have two good candidates and the voters have simply split for one or the other.

Anonymous said...

People have been calling for Hillary to get out of the race since Iowa. If Obama is really the uniter he says he is then why does more than half of the Democratic Party not vote for him since he is in the lead and has already been pronounced the likely winner by the MSM? Obama outspent Clinton 3:1 and was in the lead. Shouldn't you be asking why Obama couldn't seal the deal?

Clinton's former campaign manager made mistakes but in general Clinton has done a great job of proving she can win the states we need to win the general election. We don't have caucuses in the general election. Obama's numbers are inflated due to undemocratic caucuses so a few thousand votes gives him a disproporationate amount of delegates while the millions who voted for Clinton in FL are ignored. If Dean and Brazile hadn't rigged this election, Clinton would be ahead in the popular vote count.

tas, you should be the last person to criticize anyone using the word fuck considering your profile picture. Someone used a curse word and capitalized letters to express how she feels about Obama. So what? Grow up.

Chinaberry Turtle said...

tas - your problem is that you charge us, falsely, with equating political change with spiritual renewal. Yes, there can be ordinary political change, such as when a politician proposes a change in policy. An example would be Hillary's proposal for Universal Health Care. That's the good old fashioned boring political change that Janis endorses and does not lampoon.

However, that's not the kind of political policy change that Obama is talking about. He's talking about some mega, undefined, uber-political change with worldwide ramifications. His wife talks about Obama healing our souls with his change. Obama himself talks about his followers seeing the light.

If you can't see how this kind of creepy Obama sanctioned change is some wierd, creepy personal spiritual transformational change, then you have become completely deluded bro.

Janis is railing against this fucked up quasi-spiritual change message that Obama is pushing. He's not suggesting a change in this or that policy, but rather some unarticulated change that turns the whole system upside down ala some revolution.

THAT'S what Janis is talking about: the stupid fucking cattle in the American public who are so personally bankrupt in their own souls that they look to a politician, A FUCKING POLITICIAN, for spiritual guidance.

You Obama people are scary. I mean really scary. Creepy Waco, David Koresh, FLDS kind of scary.

Chinaberry Turtle said...

Halle Barry on Obama:

"I'll do whatever he says to do. I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."

You won't find a bigger Hillary Clinton supporter than myself. However, Hillary can pick up her own paper cups that impede her path. I don't deify Hillary. She's a strong lady and will make a good president. But she is not my messiah.

Apparently, Obama supporters have a different take on Obama. That's what's freaky about you people.

I don't want these kind of wierd followers anywhere near the levers of international power.

Matt said...

cutepeachpanda
Obama hasn’t sealed the deal because he was never favored in the first place. Hillary is a very formidable opponent. And let’s not say Dean ‘rigged’ the election. Hillary and her campaign made no arguments in Aug 2007 when FL was stripped of its status. And caucuses may be unfair – or whatever – but Clinton knew which states had caucuses for the past 6 years. If she could not get a team together to beat Obama in caucuses then she has no one to blame but herself.

Chinaberry Turtle
I support Obama but would gladly vote for Hillary. I like Hillary better than any Republican. But I will agree there are haters out there – but they are on both sides. Believe me, I have read some of the most unsupportable and hateful things against Obama and his supporters at websites such as NoQuarter and other blogs.

Chinaberry Turtle said...

Matt, please provide linked examples to instances of hate where Hillary supporters make violent comments toward Obama.

I don't mind if an Obama supporter says: "I hate Hillary. I'll never vote for her in the GE."

What I mind is when they make rape-laced comments about her.

Again, I challenge you, find one post on NoQuarter where violent comments against Obama are made.

Chinaberry Turtle said...

By the way, cutepeachpanda warned us days ago what she read on an Obama website. Apparently, you Obamabots are getting real scared that us Hillary supporters are getting real pissed off about all the sexist rape language. Apparently, you're starting to get concerned that we mean it when we say that we won't vote for that asshole and all his rape-fantasizing supporters. So, now yall are on a little charm offensive to bring us back into the fold. Well you can just fuck off w/ that charm offensive. You've gone too far - you've lost us for good. Obama's going down either in August or November. We'll NEVER vote for him and his rape-fantasizing followers.

apishapa said...

When I was young, I raced quarter horses. There was one gentleman I rode for occassionally who would explain a loss with something like "He was three lengths out in front and he got hit in the face with a rock".

Obama is like that, supposedly way out in front, the only way he can lose is if he falls down on his face, and some sneaky Ba$#%rd trips him. Again and again.

Matt said...

Chinaberry Turtle
You are missing my larger point.
First, I said I have read hateful stuff – its everywhere. Not violent stuff.
That said, who the heck cares what Obama or Hillary supporters say about the candidates or about other voters? That is a whole other argument that is pretty minor compared with what Bush has done to this country for 8 years. My goodness. We are voting for candidates – not their supporters.

Mari said...

Matt, you don't get it. It matters what Obama supporters say and don't say. They tactily endorse the incredible misogynistic hatred towards Hillary Clinton when they don't speak up against it. This has been going on for months. I've shocked at how hateful so many so-called liberal men are as they express their rage against Clinton. See Anglachel's earlier post on Keith Olberman and his statement calling for violence against Clinton. Did the Obama campaign condemn KO's comment? Did Obama's internet supporters Josh Marshall and Kos express any outrage. Of course not. "She deserves it, the bitch." is what they are communicating by not speaking up.

I will never forget or forgive the sheer wickedness displayed by the Obama campaign and his supporters towards one woman who had the temerity to run for President as a serious candidate. It's been so offensive to my personal values that I will not vote for Obama if he gets the nomination even if it is against my self-interest, which I no longer believe it really is. Because a vote for Obama is to pretend the hatred and violence against women is trivial and unimportant.

Becki Jayne said...

Obama: "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she’s feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal.” Ah, the sexist POV on the hysterical female. UYATUPYRIO.

Obama's co-chair Jesse Jackson Jr., ramped up the misogyny, unforgivably mocking Hillary's tears (video).

Obama's co-chair Gen. Merrill McPeak said Obama "doesn’t go on television and have crying fits; he isn’t discovering his voice at the age of 60."

Aren't these words out of the mouth of the candidate and his advisors an anathema to Change We Can Believe In? Yes, they are!

Shall I post a link to various videos of Obama flipping Hillary the finger?

It's old-fashioned sexism and I'll have none of it, thank you very much.

Anonymous said...

Friends and regular visitors: I addressed Matt in the last post. He is obviously a troll. Please stop responding to him. If we ignore the trolls they will eventually go away.

Anonymous said...

Kid, I've been online since 1989 -- while I doubt you even know what a UUnet bang path IS. Linking to something I said publicly is hardly a problem for me. I said it. Much like James Carville, I may be a bit salty, but I say what I mean and stand by it.

For anyone to expect a politician of all people to provide her with a transcendent spiritual orgasm, is a joke. The government is the government,not an ice cream machine. It's not supposed to give you treats. It's supposed to do all that boring stuff they talked about in 1782 -- provide for the common defense, ensure domestic tranquility, yadda yadda.

So that YOU can get off your butt and GO GET your bliss. Pursue your happiness. It's job is not to dump happiness into your lap; it can't and it won't, even if it wanted to. It's job is to make sure your basic needs of safety, shelter, food, and education are met at a level that will enable you to GO GET your happiness.

If that woman's basic needs were met -- if she had a good, stable job, a roof over her head, a full stomach, and good health or insurance that took good care of poor health without threatening to dump her on the street, and she still didn't have passion in her life, she needs to look in a mirror because that's where the problem and the solution both lie.

With her. Not with the failure of a goddamned wonk to spoonfeed it into her frontal lobes.

Anonymous said...

1787. Mea culpa.

Unknown said...

"The fault, dear Precious, lies not in the voters but in yourself. In your arrogance. In your inability to discuss policy. In your proclivity for explaining away your losses as the dastardly acts of backwards voters rather than admitting that they just aren't that into you"

THIS is exactly What got him in trouble in SF. When asked why he was having with the voters in Pa, instead of saying something HE should do different, he had to explain why it was the bitter, clinging to guns and God, racist people's fault.

Anonymous said...

This is why I do not want Obama for president. I do not want a president who is forever blaming other people for his mistakes. I want my president to feel accountable. It's that simple.
Obama did not apologize for his "God-n-guns" comments. He shamelessly promoted the Clintons-are-racist meme. He shamelessly allowed his surrogates to attack Clinton's tears. Obama must feel that whoever does not support him must be completely clueless, racist, out of their mind. Something must be wrong with people who do not support him.

Excuse me for wanting a president who cares about the details AND the big picture. Excuse me for wanting a president who talks about solutions instead of vague hopes. I have listened to your speeches, watched the music video, read your endorsements, and I do not want the hope and change that you're selling. My candidate can do better. She's offering change and she's proposing how to do it. And her plans and proposals give me hope for a better future for America.

I am tired of Obama, his supporters, and the media calling people like me racist and uneducated. Whatever. I'd rather be in the same group as the "typical white people" than in any group that Obamabots like Randi Rhodes belong to.

Anonymous said...

I CANNOT BELIEVE I FUCKED UP THAT APOSTROPHE.

Jeez, I feel like I just said "loose" or "definate" or something like that. Yikes.

Anglachel said...

Janis, for the delight of your original comment, I will overlook any number of misplaced apostrophes from you.

hugs & kisses - Ang

Chinaberry Turtle said...

Big second on Anglachel's comment. Seriously Janis, your first comment in this thread is like my new anthem on this whole primary. It was freaking BEAUTIFUL!!!

tas said...

C Turtle, I've faslely accused you of WHAT? I've thrown Cortese's own words back at ya'll, so I don't feel like being told that I'm "falsely accusing" you of anything. Cortese said it, not me -- I merely pointed out. If you were willing to recognize reality for one second, maybe you would recognize this. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

Chinaberry Turtle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chinaberry Turtle said...

tas, here's what you said on your little blog that you gave us a link to:

"These people equate anyone who discusses change in government with a mind-bending spiritual experience"

That is FALSE. You LIED. Janis is not equating "anyone who discusses change in government" with fucked up spiritual transformation. Hillary wants real nuts and bolts policy changes. Edwards wanted real nuts and bolts policy changes.

Obama wants some weird and creepy messianic change that's well documented here.

So, yes, you lied and mischaracterized what Janis said. What did you think - that we wouldn't actually read your stupid blog that you linked to?

Go back to ObamaLand and enjoy your messiah while you still can. We're gonna make sure that charlatan gets his ass handed to him in November (if not in August).

Face it - you guys went too far with your Hillary woman-bashing. The little wiminz ain't playing kissy-face make-up with you like you expected. It's payback time, and you're getting scared.

Anonymous said...

Janis, wonderful rant, and I concur completely. I'm also sick and tired of someone who wants to inspire me with empty words when I just want health insurance that isn't going to throw me out in the streets when I get sick. I also just want shit that works. After 8 years of the Bush Dismantling company, we need someone who gets how it is supposed to work and how to competently run it. Obama would be a babe in the woods in that respect. He has not proven that he has a clue. How could he? He hasn't even been there long enough to figure out the basics. He just wants to be the top dog. He wants the glory without doing the work. Quite frankly, he needs to come back in 8 or 16 or 20 years - however long it takes - when he has EARNED it and not a minute before. This is not on-the-job training.

Gary McGowan said...

Janis, I too really enjoyed and agree with your rant. Brought to mind comments (albeit somewhat toned down--he was speaking to an international audience including government officials, their staff, diplomats, etc.) by a statesman and economist in his 80s on "stimulation packages" to ostensibly fix the economic crisis through hyperinflation and having taxpayers bail out investment banks like Bear Sterns.

Sherry said...

You know what? This is it, isn't it? It's really that simple. I don't WANT a fucking glorious, shining new dawn of transformation from my government.

janiscortese -- I loved this rant. I'm late in telling you. I read it out loud to my husband and we both laughed heartily. But then I had to run away and do stuff and I'm just now getting back here to tell you.

lost clown said...

Jesus, at this point I don't think I'd vote for him if he came back in 8, 16, or 20 years. He doesn't give a fuck about anything but his own EGO, and like others have said his policy is the buck stops, oh......over.....there.

Plus, spiffy things I learned from his FOX interview: his pro-deregulation (did we learn NOTHING from Bear Stearns!), and that he really is in love with Reagan (seriously, he takes every opportunity to say how great Reagan was).

No na na no no no. Well, he may be running as a republican or a libertarian next time, who knows. His policies sure run farther that way then democrat.