Was SNL's Fair Or Funny? What Did Ronald Reagan Do In His First Year?

[TomCADem]

I watched the SNL sketch, and the point of the sketch appeared to be: "Why is the right wing so riled up about the dramatic changes of President Obama's policies when he really has not changed anything?"

Yet, I think most people (except for certain astro turf types) have no problem telling the difference between President Obama and Dubya. Also, isn't a Presidential term four years?

Well, assuming that the first year is the touch stone, what did Reagan do in his first year and how does it compare to what President Obama has accomplished?

The truth is that Reagan can't hold a candle to President Obama's (1) getting the stimulus passed, (2) restarting diplomacy with both North Korea and Iran, (3) preventing the collapse of the U.S. auto industry, (4) preventing the collapse of our financial system, (5) making the most progress on health care reform in decades, (6) reversing a policy of denial on climate change, (7) appointing the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court, and (8) dramatically reset relationships with Muslim countries while angering Israel in the process.

Sure, some people will laugh and think that the SNL skit was spot on and that President Obama has not really done much in his first ten months, and that President Bush or McCain would have not dome much differently. Then again, some people believe the President was born in Kenya.

Here is a timeline of the major events in President Reagan's first year for comparison:

###

Jan. 20, 1981
Reagan is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. On the same day, Iran releases the 52 remaining hostages who had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.

March 30, 1981
Reagan is shot in the chest upon leaving a Washington hotel but makes a full recovery after surgery. Three other people, including Reagan press secretary James Brady, are wounded in the assassination attempt. John Hinckley Jr. is charged but found not guilty by reason of insanity.

April 28, 1981
Reagan appears before Congress for the first time since the assassination attempt. He receives a hero's welcome and overwhelming support for his economic package, which includes cuts in social programs and taxes, and increases in defense spending.

July 29, 1981
Congress passes Reagan's tax bill. Instead of a 30% tax cut over three years, Reagan accepts 25%.

Aug. 3, 1981
Air traffic controllers go on strike. Reagan gives them 48 hours to get back to work, and fires those who refuse.

September 1981
Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oct. 18, 1981
Reagan concedes that the United States is in "a slight recession" but predicts recovery by the spring.

Nov. 10, 1981
Budget Director David Stockman charges that the 5% economic growth rate that the administration had assumed was a "rosy scenario," and pans "supply side" economics as a way to benefit the rich.

###

[YOY]

1. Fuck Reagan.

n.t.

[FSogol]

6. Agreed. Reagan was scum and just as incompetent as W.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. Zombie Reagan will make you eat those words.

[zulchzulu]

15. Did someone say Ronald Reagan?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBx5-alXisY

[TomCADem]

2. Also, Here Are The Major Events In Bill Clinton's First Term

President Obama did a lot of the same things President Clinton did, except for signing NAFTA:

###

Jan. 20, 1993 -- Clinton is sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States.

Jan. 22, 1993 -- Signs orders overturning Reagan- and Bush-era restrictions on abortions.

Feb. 5, 1993 -- Signs his first law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows workers at large companies to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family concerns.

April 19, 1993 -- Attorney General Janet Reno authorizes a federal raid to end a standoff at the compound of a Waco, Texas, cult, resulting in a fire and dozens of deaths.

July 19, 1993 -- After disputes over whether to allow homosexuals to serve in the military, Clinton proposes a "don't ask, don't tell" compromise with military leaders. The policy allows homosexuals to serve in the military if they do not reveal their homosexuality and refrain from homosexual conduct.

July 20, 1993 -- White House attorney Vince Foster is found dead.

Aug. 10, 1993 -- Clinton signs first federal budget -- which calls for reducing spending and increasing taxes to reduce the deficit -- after it narrowly gained Congressional approval.

Aug. 10, 1993 -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg sworn in to replace Justice Byron White, becoming the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sept. 13, 1993 -- Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization sign peace accord at the White House outlining limited Palestinian self-rule in Israeli-occupied territories.

Sept. 21, 1993 -- Signs legislation establishing the AmeriCorps program, which allows people to volunteer for national service and earn money for college.

Oct. 3, 1993 -- Eighteen U.S. soldiers, part of a peacekeeping and humanitarian force sent to Somalia by President Bush, are killed after coming under fire.

Nov. 30, 1993 -- Clinton signs the Brady Bill, imposing a waiting period and background checks for purchasing handguns.

Dec 8, 1993 -- Signs the North American Free Trade Agreement, which reduces tariffs and other trade barriers between North American nations.

###

[Phx_Dem]

3. I'd forgotten that he was shot just two months into his presidency.

And we had no idea how close he came to dying or the complete chaos that ensured behind the scenes.

Thankfully, he survived. I'm no fan of Reagan, but he was the President and I don't take kindly to lunatics trying to assassinate a U.S. Presidents, whether I like him or not.

[TomCADem]

5. Most People Also Forget That Unemployment Zoomed To 10 Percent And Stayed There

Under Reagan's first two years or so, and that Reagan's approval rating drifted down to 35%. Also, Unemployment was actually steadily in Carter's last year and most of Reagan's first year at about 7 percent unlike President Obama who came into office with the economy shedding over 700,000 jobs a month.

[Phx_Dem]

19. They seem to forget those pesky facts when it's a Republican, and

when it's a Dem (Clinton), the Republicans forget how prosperous we were.

Funny how that works.

[TomCADem]

4. George H.W. Bush's First Year - *yawn*

Woohoo! Dubya's dad invaded Panama.

###

January 20, 1989 Bush is inaugurated as the forty-first President of the United States.

February 23, 1989 Bush attends the funeral of the Showa Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo, Japan, making him the first President to visit Asia before visiting Europe.

February 26, 1989 Bush becomes the first President to speak live on Chinese television.

March 1, 1989 Bush establishes the National Space Council, headed by Vice President Dan Quayle.

April 30, 1989 Bush attends the Bicentennial celebration of George Washington’s Inauguration in New York City.

May 21, 1989 Bush delivers the commencement address at Boston University in the presence of French President Francois Mitterand and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammed, noting that “an ideological earthquake is shaking asunder” the foundations of Communism.

May 28, 1989 Bush attends the Summit celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium.

August 10, 1989 Bush nominates General Colin L. Powell to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

November 9, 1989 The East German government announces that, after 28 years, border crossings would again be permissible.

December 2, 1989 Bush meets with Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta to promote U.S.-Soviet relations.

December 20, 1989 Bush announces U.S. military action in Panama leading to the capture of renegade dictator Manuel Noriega.

###

[thunder rising]

7. They didn't make stuff up, so however painful it was watch it was fair.

[TomCADem]

10. So, You Think That President Obama Is Not Really A Change From Bush?

As the guy playing President Obama stated in reference to people accusing him of being a Nazi or a Socialist?

[msallied]

11. IT was fair?

Obama promised to have Iraq troops withdrawn within the year, huh?

[CakeGrrl]

21. That's the problem. It was SUPPOSED to be a joke, but it's being taken seriously

by some.

It really is a distortion, and it's absolutely a joke to take seriously the notion that the President has been sitting on his thumbs since the Inauguration.

Because it isn't seen as clear-cut satire, it's a fail. For those who think SNL was on the money, it's a fail.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

8. He was a lousy president, and yet, many Americans--even Democrats--got suckered in by

the right-wing rhetoric. They elected him twice. Pappy Bush was elected and Dumbya was twice elected.

That's nearly 30 years of Republican rule. 30 years of fucking up this country.

And yet Obama can't even get a year to clean up the mess.

That leaves me with no other choice to argue that this is about race, plain and simple. It's one thing to disagree with Obama's policies. It's altogether something different to vilify a man who has done nothing wrong and who has tried to make everything right. And still, he is blamed for it all.

And please don't go there and tell me that Clinton had it just as bad. I have never seen hate like this before in all my life. PERIOD!

[Ineeda]

13. Same here.

And I've never seen hate so open and so tolerated.

[4lbs]

18. The Democrats got suckered in 1984 because Mondale dared to speak the truth.

He said that to pay off the growing federal deficit, that we would have to raise taxes.

That killed his chances right there. Even though it was the truth, people feared the T word and re-elected Reagan overwhelmingly, who lied and said he wouldn't raise taxes (even though he did afterwards).

[democraticinsurgent]

12. more fun than not

Clearly it was not "fair" but then...SNL is not necessarily about fair, they are looking for the joke.

I enjoyed the skit even knowing that it wasn't really accurate.

[Prism]

14. Oh boy

Comedians aren't fair, and I really don't think getting up in arms about a skit is particularly productive. No, it wasn't fair on some things. It was quite fair on others. But, it was really just meant to be funny.

And let's be honest, the jokes against the President came from the Left. He was being criticized for not doing all the liberal things he promised. Furthermore, it mocks the Right for hyperventilating over the socialism of a man who is really quite centrist.

It was the mildest of skits and subtley favorable to the President by revealing how empty the Right's hysteria truly is.

If something as minor as this is going to freak people out, it's going to be a real, real long three to seven years. It's going to get worse, especially when employment doesn't pick up. A lot worse. Gird yourselves.

[Honeycombe8]

16. Four more months to go to hit one year mark. 'Nuff said. nt

[PurityOfEssence]

17. Raised taxes on the poor, cut taxes on the rich and cut social services

No wonder reactionaries cream their jeans at the mere mention of the name...

He was a supreme asshole, and history will drive that point home.

[Phx_Dem]

20. I don't like to call comedians unfair. It's their job to make fun of people, BUT

it's not that funny if the joke isn't based on reality.

SNL's premier show was a disaster. I would have laughed harder if I poked myself in the eye with a fork. Megan Fox may be beautiful, but her beauty isn't that funny.