Obama a Republican in Democrat's clothing

In just 14 short months, President Obama has become a serious challenger for the title of the greatest Republican president of the last 50 years.

He has accomplished this as a result of his flip-flops on issues such as: bringing the troops home in 16 months from Iraq, offshore drilling, promising not to sign a health care bill that did not include a strong public option, cutting pork and waste in the budget, and deals with the insurance and pharmaceutical industries that prevented real health care reform. As a result, President Obama now ranks only behind President George H.W. Bush.

Admittedly the competition is weak. President Nixon was forced to resign; President Reagan sold missiles to Iran, began the era of deficit spending and cut and ran from Lebanon shortly after terrorists killed 241 Marines; while President George W. Bush began an unnecessary and costly war in Iraq, bungled the prosecution of the Afghanistan war, doubled the national debt and conducted illegal surveillance on Americans.

But what is truly amazing about his rise on the list of the greatest Republican presidents of the last 50 years, is that President Obama has done it while masquerading as a Democrat.

Victor Darst

West Dundee