CPAC speakers led by former Speaker Newt Gingrich sought to blow holes in the recent liberal narrative comparing Barack Obama to Ronald Reagan Thursday.
The president and a chorus of liberal pundits have increasingly compared him to Reagan in recent weeks. These pundits have included the late president’s son, Ron Reagan, who recently said his father had more in common with Obama than with Sarah Palin.
Gingrich made light of the trend and held up a recent “Time” magazine cover celebrating Reagan’s 100th birthday with the title, “Why Obama Loves Reagan” splashed across the front.
“I knew Ronald Reagan,” Gingrich said, echoing late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen’s line from his 1988 debate with Dan Quayle. “… I hate to tell this to our friends at MSNBC and elsewhere: Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan.”
Other speakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and former Sen. Rick Santorum, were quick to concur.
McConnell dismissed the rhetoric comparing the two presidents as lacking substance and promised to hold Obama and the Democrats accountable for their track record over the last two years.
“A lot of liberals have been saying a lot of nice things lately about Ronald Reagan, and that’s nice to know,” McConnell said. “They want you to forget what they’ve been up to for the past two years.
“The good news is nobody’s buying it; the American people are no convinced [Obama] looks up to Ronald Reagan than they thought Obamacare would make health care better.”
The Senate minority leader went on to accuse Democrats of “trying to rewrite history” by attempting to convince Americans they believe in what Reagan believed in despite their historical antipathy for him and his policies.
“You can’t stand up for your principles if you don’t have any,” McConnell said.
Santorum sought to draw a contrast between Obama’s pessimism and Reagan’s optimistic belief in what was best about America.
“Ronald Reagan believed in American exceptionalism and that America is the ‘shining city on a hill,’ but Barack Obama runs around the world apologizing for America,” Santorum told The Daily Caller. “There’s a big difference between the hopeful, optimistic greatness and someone who sees America as a force for ill and who criticizes every aspect of our society other than government.”