Op-Ed: Obama And Reagan: Campaign Parallels

Much dismay by Obama's opponents has been filed under "all words, no substance" due to his apparent inexperience in the political world. The same was said about another former president when he campaigned. A Republican one, at that.

"Reagan has never held any political office before and here he is seeking the top spot in the government of California."

This quote is attributed to Pat Brown, Reagan's opponent in his California gubernatorial bid. Brown had been a two-term incumbent and saw little chance for Reagan to win since he had no political experience and was simply a retired actor. He criticized Reaan for just making speeches and even alluded that Reagan memorized someone else's writings "like he memorized the lines that were fed to him by his screenwriters in the movies". Reagan wrote his own speeches. Reagan did end up winning that election by a 15% margin and he went on to campaign for the presidency. During the Presidential campaign he came under similar fire from both sides, saying he wasn't ready for the presidency. Again, he didn't have the political experience and was all talk. Yet his inspiring words and demand for change eventually won over the American people. Eventually Reagan won the election, promising to get the country back into the glory status it was before the 70s milked us dry and Carter's over use of diplomacy did little to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. So when we see someone like Barack Obama run for the presidency and people say he's "all talk, no substance", it makes me think about Reagan. Sure, Reagan didn't have a lot of experience as a politician, but that was a great asset. He was deemed as too old (like McCain), but Reagan was great about getting the right people to do the right job. Although parts of our economy suffered under his presidency (see Reaganomics), he managed to inspire enough hope in Americans that led us to believe we were better than we were acting. Obama has been through the same ringer so far. His own party rival during the primary hammered him for having inexperience. But she later acquiesced that his wisdom and inspiration would be good enough to promote the positive change needed in the country. Obama acknowledged his status as an "outsider" during his acceptance speech in Colorado. I

get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me; it's about you.

It's too early in the game to say that Obama would be just as good of a president as Reagan. This isn't a direct comparison of Obama's proposed policies next to Reagan's. You can't compare that unless Obama is elected and serves his term or terms. This is a comparison about inspiration and the powers that it can have. We must remember that Reagan largely got into office not with his vast political experience or lengthy political connections. Reagan got in because he inspired people to change and look up instead of out. It's safe to say that with the acceptance speech, the speech given during the New Hampshire primary, the speech given about race relations after the Wright debacle, Obama could do just the same as president- inspire Americans to want better and more for themselves and the country.