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Distorting The Reagan Dispute

By Big Tent Democrat

Ezra Klein writes a post that to me simply distorts what the dispute was about regarding Barack Obama's statements about Ronald Reagan and Republican ideas. Ezra writes:

As Jake Tapper argues, there's really no dispute as to whether Hillary Clinton is distorting Barack Obama's statements on Reagan. She is.

Actually there is quite a dispute over this. I know I dispute it. I know Paul Krugman disputes it. And I know that in this dispute, the only people I see actually quoting what Obama said are people like me and Paul Krugman. Those who claim there is no dispute never actually cite what Obama said. That speaks volumes. Moreover, Ezra continues distorting the dispute when he writes:

Bill Clinton's take on this was that Obama "said President Reagan was the engine of innovation and did more, had a more lasting impact on America than I did. . . .

That is not a take. That is a fact. That is what Obama said. Obama also said that the GOP has been the party of ideas for the last 10 to 15 years. That period coincides with Clinton's presidency (and also Bush's) so it clearly WAS about Bill Clinton among other Democrats. It is not surprising that people like Barney Frank felt alluded to. Ezra's post is a complete distortion, making it seem Bill Clinton was making something up here. That is false and wrong of Ezra. Bad show.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 23, 2008 (boomark / email).