American Glob notices that Democrats always seem to cite a Republican president when they want to compare Barack Obama to someone successful. (H/T, Instapundit)
The only Republican I would put in the same league as Barack Obama is Herbert Hoover, and I see him as more like other Democrats such as Jimmy Carter or James Buchanan.
There was an expectation among some folks after the 2008 election that the Obama Administration would be very much like a second Carter term. And there were those of us who felt that was a best case scenario. That pessimism now seems well founded.
There is, however, one area where Barack Obama has been more fortunate than Jimmy Carter. At least he hasn’t had a whole embassy taken over, only a consulate. Of course, the Benghazi incident has provided a great opportunity for the President to emulate one of the other 20th-century presidents he resembles, Richard Nixon, and so we are once again asking, “What did the President know, and when did he know it?”
The competence of Carter, the integrity of Nixon, the economic success of Hoover …
Is it November yet?
Roger Simon suggests that contrary to conventional wisdom the former president with whom Barack Obama has the most in common is Richard Nixon rather than Jimmy Carter. He does point out some important similarities, and misses one. Enemy Lists.
The tie to Jimmy Carter comes more from the initial expectation that the Obama Administration would be “Carter’s Second Term,” but that has turned out to be an unachieved best case scenario.
May I suggest two other former presidents whose single terms fit somewhat with what we’ve seen of Barack Obama?
Herbert Hoover–a Progressive who did all the wrong things during an economic recovery.
James Buchanan–a weak president whose lack of leadership contributed to the Civil War has a parallel in our current president’s “voting present” on issues such as deficit reduction which are leadings toward a possible economic train wreck.
Is it November yet?
UPDATE–Hoover and Buchanan were the presidents who immediately preceded significant discontinuities in how the society/government interface worked, the Civil War and the New Deal.
Hmmmm.
UPDATE 2–A commenter at Mr. Simon’s original post suggests Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Could be …
Jennifer Rubin blogs at WaPo that Barack Obama is killing the Democratic Party. Killing may be too strong of a word, but he certainly is crippling it.
Not even Jimmy Carter did this much, I would suggest, to jerk his party to the left and hobble its electoral prospects. No wonder Clinton is on a rampage.
You know, I think the continuing comparisons with Jimmy Carter miss the point. If you look at the kind of economic policies President Obama has followed and the results he has achieved, Herbert Hoover is a closer match. And, as I see it, the Republicans will be able to run against Barack Obama for a generation just as the Democrats used memories of Herbert Hoover to frighten voters until well into the 1960s.
Is it November yet?
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.
–Herbert Hoover
