Politics

‘The Hill’ columnist A.B. Stoddard: Reagan couldn’t win today’s GOP horse race

Jeff Poor Media Reporter
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Is President Ronald Reagan not conservative enough for the modern-day Republican Party? Although that sounds like heresy, The Hill columnist A.B. Stoddard says the Gipper could not win his own party’s nomination in 2011.

In the wrap-up after President Barack Obama’s Monday address on the Fox News Channel, Stoddard said that’s the reason Obama is using Reagan in his public speeches, including his Monday night address.

“Well, first of all Ronald Reagan, as everyone at this table knows would not be able to win the Republican nomination in the Republican Party of 2011, period,” Stoddard said. “This is one of the reasons President Obama continues to mention him.”

“If you look at the polling — last week’s national polling on how vastly these numbers have moved on the debt ceiling question — I believe that the president believes that momentum is on his side,” she said. “People are paying attention this late in the game. They’re worried about their mutual funds. They’re afraid of default and they are going to respond to his call for a balanced approach.”