According to New York Magazine, President Obama’s rhetoric is the closer to President Reagan’s than to any other president.

Payack says that Ronald Reagan, the master of folksy explanation, is Obama’s closest match among recent presidents, with speeches that usually come in around 9 or 10. “The word was that he spoke in sound bites, but they’re very well-crafted sound bites.” The two presidents may differ in affect, content, and approach—Obama sometimes seems to develop his ideas through the very process of turning them into oratory, whereas Reagan more or less only had one idea—but not in linguistic complexity. Indeed, Obama has often expressed admiration for the Gipper’s ability to frame issues.

I never thought of Reagan while listening to Obama, but again, I never heard Reagan live. I would be curious what Steve Hayward has to say about that. Steve?

As for me, since the “Yes We Can” speech, I can’t help but thinking that this president gets most of his ideas from the truly awful children’s TV show Bob the Builder.