On Monday night during his opening “Talking Points Memo” segment, “The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly compared President Barack Obama and his last three years in office to former President Ronald Reagan and his first three years in office.
That comparison, according to O’Reilly, means that the ghost of Reagan is haunting Obama since the outcome for Reagan proved to ultimately be a good one for the country.
“The ghost of Ronald Reagan haunting President Obama — that is the subject of this evening’s ‘Talking Points Memo,’” O’Reilly said. “Mr. Obama opened up a new front in his battle against Mitt Romney today by going back to the ‘tax the rich’ mantra. The president is trying to force Romney into defending wealthy Americans by opposing tax increases on them. So, say hello once again to our little friend, class warfare.”
Reagan’s success began with his portrayal of his predecessor Jimmy Carter “as incompetent” in the 1980 election, O’Reilly explained, a similar charge that Obama faces from presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
“But here is an interesting sidebar: The ghost of Ronald Reagan may be haunting President Obama,” he continued. “Thirty-two Years ago America was also in bad economic times. The incumbent president Jimmy Carter had expanded the federal government and lost control of the private sector. Unemployment and inflation were very big problems. The challenger, Ronald Reagan, took full advantage of that, portraying Carter as incompetent. And of course, Reagan won the election.”
O’Reilly noted that after being sworn in at his inaugural address, Reagan immediately spoke of the problems he inherited and why the policies of his predecessor failed. Ultimately that tact worked for Reagan, O’Reilly continued, but Obama’s approach to the presidency is the opposite of Reagan’s successful time in office.
“Mr. Reagan kept the federal government mostly in check during his eight years in office, adding about 12,000 workers in that time,” O’Reilly explained. “By contrast, Jimmy Carter added almost 100,000 federal jobs in just four years. During Mr. Obama’s first three years in office. The feds have added about 130,000 employees, more than 10 times what Reagan added in eight years. So, you can see that Mr. Obama’s philosophy is the exact opposite of Mr. Reagan’s.”
If Obama were true to history and what worked in that setting, O’Reilly said, Obama would have followed Reagan’s course versus the path he is currently on.
“History shows President Reagan was successful in reviving the American economy, so that’s why Obama’s policies are a bit perplexing,” O’Reilly said. “In June, just 80,000 jobs were added in the U.S.A. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But 85,000 workers — 85,000 left the marketplace in order to get disability payments. Since June of 2009, there have been 2.6 million jobs created in America, but 3.1 million people have gone on disability. The math is clear. American workers are leaving their jobs to get paid by the taxpayers. Disability payments are at a record rate. That’s a disaster for America. Yet, Mr. Obama continues to believe that he can tax his way out of the situation and that raising taxes on the wealthy will somehow stimulate the economy.”
O’Reilly also explained that should Obama get his way and the Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire for those earning $250,000 or more, then the government would only raise enough revenue to run for a mere eight-and-a-half days.