David Brooks appeared on the St. Patrick’s Day edition of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and made this sensible comment:
You choose the reality you want to see. And, then, the Clinton years, when you had the reverse, this time, it was the Republicans' turn to be more pessimistic and wrong. People choose the reality that flatters themselves.
This statement certainly applies to those small government conservatives who worship at the alter of St. Ronald Reagan – as witnessed by all the recent revisionist history as to the level of Federal spending relative to GDP during the 1980’s. But it was this statement that drew fire from Media Matters:
People choose the reality that - that flatters their partisanship. For example, in the Reagan years, unemployment went from 13 percent to 5 percent. If you asked Democrats, at the end of that, did unemployment go up or down under Reagan, 60 percent said it went up. Republicans said down.
I know conservatives love to paint Jimmy Carter as an awful President but doesn’t Mr. Brooks have inflation and unemployment confused here? After all, the highest unemployment rate in the post World War II era was 10.8% - not 13% - and that occurred a couple of years into the Reagan term of office. If you are old as I am, you might recall the 1984 GOP campaign slogan called Morning in America with the operative lie being put forward to voters back then that it was Jimmy Carter who presided over the 1982 recession. Yes, we had a recession during Carter’s term, just as we had a recession during Bush41’s term. In both cases, the economy was slowly recovering with the unemployment rate just over 7% when their Administrations were turned over to Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, respectively.
Also notice this line from the recent WSJ oped “Still Morning in America”:
Where Republicans have most strayed from the Reagan vision has been on controlling federal spending.
Really? Twenty years ago – this same rightwing crowd blamed the Reagan deficits on too much spending rather than those Reagan tax cuts.
While Mr. Brooks wishes to see a “reality” divorced from the facts, I have provided graphs of the unemployment rates during both the Reagan and the Clinton terms. Given that George W. Bush has been the worst President in at least my lifetime, I can see why folks would long for the good old days. I especially have sympathy for conservatives given that they were the ones who supported Bush for President some six years ago. But if one has to praise Ronald Reagan by misrepresenting the historical record- why even bother?
I agree Mcwop,,I feel at times Bill Clinton is given to much credit for the economy during his run. I fell a lot of the up rising of the economy had a lot to do with Bill Gates and Windows 95, not Bill Clinton.
Reagan also left Office with a deficit. I would say that is more akin "leaving the paint chipping" . Bush41 would inherit this deficit, and w/ it the imminent recession. Conservatives believe in lower taxes, which was done by BUSH43, and higher spending on Defense, which Bush, and Reagan did exactly. Bush 41 would be the one who was not conservative in that he would raise taxes (which would help put the economy back on track towards recovery(debt reduction), and lower spending on Defense (after fall of SOviet Union).
TOO BAD YOU FAIL TO MENTION THAT REPUBLICANS REFORMED WELFARE REFORM, NOT CLINTON, WHO OPPOSED IT.
REAGAN DID A MUCH BETTER JOB IN ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT OBAMA. COMPARING THE TWO IS UTTERLY IDIOTIC. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY GDP GROWTH UNDER OBAMA, YET REAGAN HAD PLENTY OF IT.
OBAMA HAS NOT ACCOMPLISHED A DAMN THING INSOFAR AS CREATING JOBS AND REDUCING THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, FACE IT: BUSH AND REAGAN WERE SO MUCH BETTER THAN OBAMA. OBAMA IS AN IDIOT.
NOW YOU CAN SAY THAT OBAMA IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN YOUR LIFETIME.
You the the reserve has more to do with this? Under Reagan, jobs were leaving the country so fast that you couldn't keep count and we had 12 years of Reaganomics because we also had Bush 1. With Clinton, the economy was picking back up when the repubs weren't bogging him down with old girlfriends and a bj here and there. Remember Ken Star? The repubs had him swinging for 4 years to come up with something on the president. He didn't of course so the repubs were left looking like morons once again. Enter Lewinsky and her lips but the there was the "Swift Boat Veterens" against Kerry. Of Course none sailed with Kerry and it was just a repub hack job. I could go on but what's the use. Unless you guys get off of Fox News you're brain dead anyway.