Skip Navigation

The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

A Liberal Reagan? Ctd.

By The Daily Dish
Jan 7 2008, 9:33 AM ET

A reader points out the following quote from Obama in October 2006:

Most of the time, it seems, that the president has maybe 10 percent of his agenda set by himself and 90 percent of it set by circumstances. So, you know, an Abraham Lincoln is defined by slavery and the war, FDR defined by the Depression and, and World War II. So I'm not sure that I can categorize what is, is are those ingredients in each and every circumstance.

But I think, when I think about great presidents, I think about those who transform how we think about ourselves as a country in fundamental ways so that, that, at the end of their tenure, we have looked and said to ours that's who we are. And, and our, our and for me at least, that means that we have a more expansive view of our democracy, that we've included more people into the bounty of this country. And, you know, there are circumstances in which, I would argue, Ronald Reagan was a very successful president, even though I did not agree with him on many issues, partly because at the end of his presidency, people, I think, said, "You know what? We can regain our greatness. Individual responsibility and personal responsibility are important." And they transformed the culture and not simply promoted one or two particular issues.

My thoughts on the Reagan parallel here.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

The fEARLESSness of Jeremy Lin The Fearlessness of Jeremy Lin
9 fACES of the New Egypt 9 Faces of the New Egypt
What Matters in President Obama's 2013 Budget What Matters in President Obama's 2013 Budget
Third Grade Again: The Trouble With Holding Students Back The Trouble With Holding Students Back
Is Burma the Next Asian Tiger Cub Economy? Burma: The Next Asian Tiger Cub Economy?
Special Report
The Civil War National Portrait Gallery The Civil War
A 150th-anniversary commemorative issue, with Atlantic work by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and others. Read more ›

Just In

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Valentine's Day 2012

Feb 14, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)