Will Obama be the next Nixon?
Alright now this is just getting ridiculous. When Scot Lehigh compared Obama to Ronald Reagan it stretched these analogies beyond the point of comprehension. I’ve been keeping a little tally on who people compare Obama to and it is an impressive list.
So far we’ve heard that Mr. Obama is the next John Kennedy. He has been described as being another Bill Clinton. Yesterday he even subtly compared himself to Franklin Roosevelt. Some of his followers would even have you believe he is the second coming of, well, we won’t go there.
But with Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright and other questionable associations these comparisons with past heroes is tarnished. The actions of the Obama ‘08 campaign does draw some analogies that do seem to fit rather more appropriately. Perhaps if we really wanted to make a comparison to a past president we could find a closer match.
The campaign contribution scandals, allegations of potential funding of ACORN and inferred voter registration issues, and an all out, no holds barred double standard venomously applied by his staff and supporters bears a closer resemblance. The difference is only that Richard Nixon’s indiscretions were found out after he was elected. Rereading the accounts of Watergate sounds like the old Dragnet saw, “Only the names have been changed . . .”.
The other comparison which may actually hold up is that of Herbert Hoover. A clever politician and political operative, Hoover was a smart man, an author. Hoover’s downfall was a rigid adherence to his ideology of government intervention. The stock market crash of 1929 dealt a heavy blow to the economy. Like Hoover, Obama plans to solve it with volunteer efforts and government action, none of which produced economic recovery during Hover’s term.
If we want to draw comparisons, we should look at both sides of the coin. Looking at similarities in history isn’t a bad idea if we’re willing to be honest about how we go about it. The trouble with the lopsided approach being taken by Obama’s marketing mangers is that it will only delay the inevitable. The other side of this coin will eventually turn up. If it isn’t considered now Obama may be faced with another comparison to Nixon.
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5 Responses
Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Obama: “Elect me, and I’ll send you a check for $1,000.00, and your kids can sign up for my National Security Force Brownshirts.”
Posted on October 11th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Nixon “I am not a crook!”
Posted on October 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
JFK would be my choice of comparissions. My hope he won’t end up like him. I am registered Republican and I approve Obama for President.
Posted on October 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I’m surprised that no-one has yet drawn the comparision of an Obama presidency to the Harding presidency.
Most historians agree that Warren Harding — if he had not died in office after eating a bad crab while on a trip out west — would have been impeached due to the massive corruption in his administration. And what was the source of all the corruption? Nothing less than HARDING’S FRIENDS, who he had put in his cabinet.
Is there any doubt that Barack Obama’s friends — whom Obama would likely put in his cabinet — would do less damage than the friends of Harding did?
Posted on October 12th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Interesting comparison!
Posted on October 12th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
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