I was with you Mike–I really was–until you blithely compared W to the Gipper, writing, “So he’s not right-wing on the deficit; the same was true of Reagan.”
Well, yes, but that simply hops over a critical distinction: Reagan most certainly was right wing about spending, and W most certainly is not. Compare Reagan’s 39 first-term vetoes with W’s zero first-term vetoes, or Reagan’s cuts in domestic discretionary spending with W’s wild and giddy spending spree.
Yes, W is very good on defense and tax cuts, and two out of three ain’t bad.
But it also ain’t what it could be.