Praising Reagan,or showing great insight and honesty?

amaIt never ceases to amaze me how dishonest we can get in this country. The latest flap over Barack Obama's take of how fundamental change comes about in a society is another example of this. I viewed the Obama interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal and he is 100% right in his analysis. Ronald Reagan did change the trajectory of America. But the core argument is that it was possible because there was an underlying current that wanted change. Margaret Thatcher did it in Great Britain.

No where did he imply that he agreed with the direction this change took us in.

Yet, Senator John Edwards, probably more in his zeal to score political points rather than lend his unmistakable skills towards elevating this debate made this rather self-serving comment, “You think about what Ronald Reagan did to America, the American people, to the middle class, to working people. He was openly, openly intolerant of unions and the right to organize."

We all know the main theme of Edward's candidacy and no one can fault him for fighting for the working class.

But to not understand or to misconstrue what Obama is saying, is to display a total lack of objectivity, a quality you should not want in your next president.

Or worse, to bend it to suit your own objectives is so Bushlike, it is scary. And these are precisely some of the things that Obama correctly sense that the American people are tired of.

Whether or not you agree with his politics, you have to admit that Obama brings a level of freshness to politics and public discourse America has not seen in decades, and the country seems to be ready for this. This is a great example of how the man thinks and the type of leadership he would offer.

For people to be expressing shock that Obama is “praising” Reagan is just absurd and is part of the problem with a large part of the American electorate. We fall too easily for second hand news and analysis, too lazy to do our own research. The video of the interview is out there for anyone to view and listen to. If you come away with the notion that Obama is praising Reagan for the direction he took the country in, you are either a fool or just lack plain understanding.

What you should come away with is the realization that you have someone running for the presidency who has insight and great judgment, a firm grasp of where this country needs to go, demonstrated time and time again.

The real question is not whether Obama is ready to be president, the real question is whether the American people are willing to follow what is stirring in their souls - a desire for profound and meaningful change that will rebuild the middle class, restore our can-do attitude and have a political system that is geared towards solving huge problems rather than nitpicking about a small number of our differences.