The Anti- Achiever

There was a time when we elected a president in the midst of a decade long financial decline. Inflation was choking our economy, and the outgoing president had resigned himself to making speeches about managing America's decline.

This president spoke of Morning in America, and getting government out of the way. Of allowing people to create their own prosperity and reducing inflation, and growing the economy, of winning the cold war, and making America pre-eminent again. He entered office amidst horrible economic numbers, and in 30 months, his policies had taken America from inflation of 11.6% to 4.4%. Prime rate of 21.2% to 8.5%. Unemployment of 10.3% to 5.1%, and an economy growth rate increase from 1.2% to 5.7%. He confronted our enemies, and won the cold war, ending the threat of nuclear war. That man was Ronald Reagan. Love him or hate him, he led, and did so regardless of what his enemies said about him.

Currently we have a president who was elected during another time of fiscal crisis. Instead of a ten year decline, he came into office one year into what should have been a short, sharp recession. Discarding the demonstrated success of Reagan for the decades long malaise of FDR, He began emulating the father of modern inflation. In his first 30 months, his policies took inflation from 0.03% to 3.87% and rising rapidly. They increased unemployment from 7.3% to 9.3%, however at the same time they declined the labor participation rate by 4.2%, meaning that if that rate remained unchanged since 2009, the true unemployment rate today would be 12.6%. His policies have created no revenue, and unlike Reagan, who tax cuts doubled federal income tax revenues in under 4 years, Obama's revenues are flat, as is economic growth. His policies have taken the deficit from 1.17% of GDP to 12.4% of GDP, and our debt has topped 100% of GDP for the first time since WWII. Our president, who campaigned upon lofty rhetoric of hope and changes has sunken to a cheap campaign demagogue, offering no leadership, but decrying his opposition for not falling in line with his wishes. He has gone from uplifting although generic speeches, to childish whining as to why others will not obey him.

History will come to regard this president as the first president of style, but no substance.