A respected political scientist says Barack Obama's rapid rise to power closely parallels Ronald Reagan's ascension to the White House in 1980.
University of New Hampshire political scientist Dante Scala says the United States was facing serious economic and foreign policy problems when Ronald Reagan took office in 1980, and Americans wanted "change" back then just as they do now. Scala points out if president-elect Barack Obama delivers the type of economic and foreign policy "change" that many Americans have been clamoring for, Democrats have an opportunity to redefine the political map for the foreseeable future. "You look at the map and you see the Republican Party becoming essentially the party of the South and the Great Plains states. [In this election] they were shut out throughout the Northeast. They were shut out in a good part of the Midwest and on the Pacific Coast," he contends. "So, Republicans have their work cut out for them. But certainly, getting elected is not the same as governing well. And so Obama could be Ronald Reagan. He could be Jimmy Carter, for that matter. We'll just have to wait and see." The top priorities in Obama's domestic agenda, according to Scala, will likely include attempts to shore up the ailing economy, implement nationalized healthcare, create new environmental or "green" jobs, and curb the federal budget deficit. The political scientist notes Bill Clinton ran on a very populist economic message in 1992, but once he began governing, he was very strict about balancing budgets.
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