The Obama Report

Speaking at the Republican convention Wednesday, Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, asked a question that was reminiscent of a question posed by the late Ronald Reagan during his debate, in 1980, with former President Jimmy Carter:

"Right now, 23 million men and women are struggling to find work," said Ryan. "23 million people [are] unemployed or underemployed. Nearly one in six Americans is in poverty. Millions of young Americans have graduated from college during the Obama presidency, ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. Half of them can't find the work they studied for, or any work at all. So here's the question: Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?"

In the 1980 Presidential debate, President Reagan, asked the following question in his closing argument [statement]:

"Next Tuesday is election day. Next Tuesday, all of you will go the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision it might be well if you ask yourself are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago?... And if you answer all of those questions, 'yes', why then I think your choice is very obvious as to who you'll vote for. If you don't agree, if you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have."

In a February 2009 interview, President Obama was asked the following question about his stimulus program; his reckless government spending spree:

"At some point will you say, 'wait a minute, we've spent this amount of money, we're not seeing results, we've got to change course dramatically'?"

Obama replied that, "I will be held accountable. I've got four years. If I don't have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition."

Video clip of Paul Ryan at the GOP convention, Ronald Reagan at the 1980 debate and Barack Obama in the February 2009 interview, below: