The Gipper loses one
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The Gipper loses one
America is a center-right nation...really? Why did voters (in a nationwide survey by Rasmussen Reports) just elect Franklin Roosevelt over Ronald Reagan in a political dream match-up, by a solid margin?
Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say FDR, the Democratic father of the big government New Deal who led the country to victory in World War II, was the better president of the two.
But 40% say Reagan, the Republican champion of small-government conservatism and the winner of the Cold War, was a better president. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure which of the two they like better in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
For a plurality of all voters (43%), however, it’s still best to describe a political candidate as being like Reagan. Twenty-six percent (26%) see it as a negative, while 29% regard it as somewhere in between.
The last part is critical: Americans liked Reagan, the man, back in the 1980s, and they still like the idea of him, a leader who exudes optimism, today. But they didn't like his actual policies back then (55 percent of Americans wanted to move away from Reagan's policies, according to a 1987 poll), and they especially don't like the bastardized version re-written by Grover Norquist and imposed by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Americans want a New Deal...again.But 40% say Reagan, the Republican champion of small-government conservatism and the winner of the Cold War, was a better president. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure which of the two they like better in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
For a plurality of all voters (43%), however, it’s still best to describe a political candidate as being like Reagan. Twenty-six percent (26%) see it as a negative, while 29% regard it as somewhere in between.
Sounds like a good idea for a book.
Comments (24)
Well, sure, that's how Americans feel about Reagan - but like a typical liberal, you only care about what Americans say. What did Lech Walesa have to say about Reagan? Does anyone know?— Talking point sleuth- In a poll (Pole?) of Lech Walesas, Reagan won 100-0 percent, so there!— will
Comment removed.- Most Americans are taught to like FDR, even if it's based more on fiction than fact.— dreinterests
- Roosevelt was a great President, Reagan played one.— adman
- Hmmm, maybe I should have written the FDR myth book, if that's true. I actually don't think FDR is OVER-mythologized. Since most of us didn't live through the Great Depression, we have to rely on historians and such to grasp how effective the New Deal was. The bottom line is decades later, most Americans continue to support a lot of the safety net that was put into place, especially Social Security and also the FDIC. So I think he was on the right track, just as he was a couple years ahead of the public on what was clearly the right decision on WW II. Except for the internment camps -- one of the worst decisions in American history.— will
- Have trouble reading Will's post, batboy? A plurality of *Americans* rated FDR over Reagan. then again, maybe it wouldn't be a surprise that you'd care more about Welesa's opinion than Americans' opinion. Heck, your BFF, sloboat, thinks we should be asking his Martian buddies for their political advise. And anyway, why should reading Will's post get in the way way of obsessively posting your fantasies about me in leotards.— Talking point sleuth
- ---}}} Except for the internment camps one of the worst decisions in American history. ---((( Not according to our resident Welesa quotarian, Xi Jah, who once claimed that "history judged FDR kindly" for interning innocent Japanese-Americans.— Talking point sleuth
- Comment removed.
- If America isn't a 'center-right' nation, then why isnt your blog more popular? Your paper? Your opinions?— E Plebnista
"Americans want a New Deal...again." Where exactly do you find evidence for that conclusion? The article says 59% voters in October, not 1987, agree with RR that government is the problem, and most voters reject New Deal type programs like national health care. Victory in WWII weighs heavily in FDR's favor, hence his understandable victory in th poll. However, you can't use a wartime victory to mean we want a new New Deal.— jmc- What are the center-right papers and blogs that are so popular?— will
- Really, jmc? March 2, 2007: "A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.While the war in Iraq remains the overarching issue in the early stages of the 2008 campaign, access to affordable health care is at the top of the public's domestic agenda, ranked far more important than immigration, cutting taxes or promoting traditional values.Only 24 percent said they were satisfied with President Bush's handling of the health insurance issue, despite his recent initiatives, and 62 percent said the Democrats were more likely to improve the health care system.Americans showed a striking willingness in the poll to make tradeoffs to guarantee health insurance for all, including paying as much as $500 more in taxes a year and forgoing future tax cuts."— will
- This thread is proof of the genius of Republican toadies. Batboy responds to a poll of Americans by telling us he favors the opinion of a labor leader over Will. Brilliant. Fake Plebby thinks that the popularity of Attytood is more reflected of popular political sentiment across the country than a resounding defeat of a Republican presidential candidate and significant Republican losses in the Senate and House. And jmc thinks that Bush's failure to get any popular support for his attempts to dismantle Social Security somehow proves that Americans "reject New Deal type programs." Next, all three will tell us how much they hate Attyood, as they do almost daily when they read and comment on virtually every thread. Republican toadies and logic. Like oil and water.— Talking point sleuth
- jmc, I can't claim to know why the 57% voted for Roosevelt, but in my mind its not even close. Yes, Roosevelt did preside over the nation during WWII, while Reagan "served" in the PR unit making movies. He was denied oversees service because of his poor eyesight, although he never saw a teleprompter he couldn't read. Roosevelt steered the nation through some its darkest hours, and created some the most successful social programs in the nations history. Reagan tried unsuccessfully to dismantle social security. FDR created the United Nations, Reagan became the only US president to be condemned for illegal use of force (Nicaragua). Both men pushed to expand the powers of the Executive Branch but the Reagan era was far more sinister, Central American torture camps, supporting terrorists like the Contras, Saddam Hussien, Usama Bin Laden and many more, secret & illegal arms deals with Iran... How many of Reagans original cabinet were indicted or forced to resign? Talk about corruption... The guy was an actor, and a brilliant communicator who somehow managed to never have anything negative stick to him. He didn't know about Iran Contra.. " I Can't Recall" and America felt sorry for grandpop, because that's what he was, lovable old grandpop who could do no wrong draped in patriotism and god— adman
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