Reagan leadership vs. Obama leadership

By Tom Quiner

What characterizes Barack Obama?

Some suggest it is his eloquence and charm.

Some say he’s just plain cool.

What strikes me about him is this: he’s a blamer.

Every problem in the country is either George W. Bush’s fault, Republicans’ fault, or God’s fault.

He can’t work with the other team, because his goal appears to be to crush them.

That’s not how leaders lead. Obama supporters suggest that the political climate has changed. They support the contention that it is Republicans who poisoned the well. In her column in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan suggests otherwise:

“When Reagan came in they vowed to take him down, and it was personal. Speaker Tip O’Neill called him “ignorant” and a “disgrace” and said it was “sinful” that he was president. He called Reagan “a man who has no care and no concern for the working class of America” and said: “He’s cold. He’s mean. He’s got ice water for blood.” Chris Matthews, an O’Neill staffer, says he once greeted Reagan in the Capitol with the words: “Mr. President, welcome to the room where we plot against you.”

Reagan overcame very stiff political opposition in his day and galvanized enough Democrat support to change not just our country for the better, but the world.

The difference between Reagan and Obama? Reagan was a leader. Obama isn’t.

6 Comments

  1. Catherine Sherman on May 6, 2013 at 10:02 am

    Obama is a Narcissist. Narcissists know how to manipulate the vulnerable who are the N’s Narcissistic Supply. These NS’s seem to need the N almost as much as he needs them. Those of us who aren’t taken in are aghast to see people fall all over themselves to protect him and extol him. We wonder why they have no common sense.
    Reagan had common sense, and he respected people. Obama doesn’t respect anyone.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcissistic-personality-disorder/DS00652/DSECTION=symptoms

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_supply



    • quinersdiner on May 6, 2013 at 10:37 am

      Astute observations, Catherine. You left out one thing: Obama has demonstrated that he doesn’t have any common sense either. Thanks for weighing in with some outstanding insights.



  2. Shawn Pavlik on May 6, 2013 at 10:09 am

    Unfortunately, Reagan didn’t hold the line on spending as much as he should have. Same with George W. Bush.

    But both are pikers on spending compared to Obama.



    • quinersdiner on May 6, 2013 at 10:39 am

      I’ve got to agree with you, Shawn. I will say this in Reagan’s defense. He submitted 8 budgets to Congress, 7 of which were rejected, labeled as “dead on arrival.” Had Congress passed his budgets, the budget would have been balanced by 1989.



  3. kodonivan on May 6, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    I agree with Catherine. As far as I am concerned, our country hasn’t had a president in years. I will not acknowledge this man as anything other than a human being. Sad. What has happened to the people of this country? I would suggest that the community organizer in chief read the “Hunger Games” books. This country is ripe for revolution and the president of that “country” gets his comeuppance from of all people, a teenage girl.



  4. oarubio on May 7, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    Obama is beyond cool… downright COLD. Seeing him on TV evokes the same kind of concern for the human condition as watching old tapes of World War II and its instigators. I’m not exaggerating. His successful deception has slipped through the filters of millions of so-called Christians. It would be impressive if not so downright frightening.