This is Leadership –
“From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.
But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.” –Ronald Reagan. 1981. First Inaugural Address
Leadership
This is NOT Leadership –
“As I said over and over again on the campaign trail, we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. If we’re serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue – and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes” - Barack Obama. After Winning Re-Election in 2012.
Dispair
Mar 06, 2013 @ 11:01:54
Neither statement had anything particularly to do with leadership, so I suppose you adopted that label because you found a picture of Reagan standing in front of the word.
The two statements outline differences of opinion regarding whether or not our tax system should be “flat” (everyone pays the same rate, which benefits the rich) or whether those who have more should owe more. In a way, you’ve compared apples to oranges by quoting from an Inaugural and contrasting it against a non-Inaugural quote. But, it’s your space. Be as biased as you like.
Mar 06, 2013 @ 13:00:08
I should add, You can if you want, solely compare inaugural addresses. Look at how many times Ronald Reagan in both of his addresses, says the words, “we”, “Americans”,”us”. Then look at Barack Obama in both of his and look for the words, “fair share”, “I”, or “their”.
Also, compare Ronald Reagan’s 2 terms and what he came into under Jimmy Carter versus Barack Obama and George Bush (43).
There is an article by The Wall Street Journal which touches base on these issues: http://m.wsj.com/articles/a/SB123431484726570949?mg=reno64-wsj
Mar 06, 2013 @ 11:44:11
First, let me say thanks for taking the time to come across my blog; any and all visitors, even if in a difference in opinion, are welcome.
Now down to business –
The realization is that this post is not subjective of any picture. The point is that Obama does nothing but cut down the opposition; can you tell me of any time where he details on working together? All he does in this, divides this great nation down the middle. If you want proof of this, just look into his current statements against the Republicans on the Sequester.
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SIDE BAR: Doesn’t it make you wonder why the current administration rallied behind the cry of the negative effects of the Sequester and then days later, send $250 million in foreign aid to Egypt?
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The effort of restoring American greatness resolutes in every American doing what we, Americans, do best — hard work and compromise.
The current blame game strategy of this administration does not care for unity or prosperity in America — It cares about the divide and conquer platform that is centered around securing a populous vote.
Now for a little side story:
For many years of my life I was a Democrat. In 2008, I voted for Barack Obama because I wanted “change” in America. I wanted our troops home, Gitmo closed, and more accountability for government spending. This was the “change” I believed in. I believed in the Democratic mentality, its fundamentals, and ideals. Then one day, I woke up to find that the very aspirations to which I defended had left down the road without me. Gone were the ideas of caring for America as a whole and its prosperity. Gone were the beliefs of individual responsibility and staying united under a common cause. All of these things were replaced with ideas of blaming others for their actions as a collective and granting government a credit card with no accountability.
I love this country and this is why I have taken the stand I have against the current administration. So if you go back to the post, the pictures are as I said, not subjective, but rather ideas — of the American spirit. Compare each of the timeframes of what it felt like to be “American” and tell me that you don’t think that this current trajectory is headed in the wrong direction.