Reagan

An oranges to oranges comparison of the cost of living in 1978 versus 2008

“The Republican Party is on the cusp of losing an entire generation.”

Remember the new conservative coalition that was to provide a "permanent Republican majority?" Today that pipe dream is mostly associated with Karl Rove, but originally it was envisioned by Richard Nixon as the fruit of his Southern Strategy. This strategy was supposed to retain the party's traditional Northeastern and Midwestern conservative base while reaching out to Southerners disaffected by civil rights and the role of Democrats in the demise of Jim Crow. It was designed to meld the Puritan tradition of small government and individual responsibility with the historical sense of loss and grievance that infected the South.

Reagan used it, Scooter Libby used it, George Allen used it, Rumsfeld used it, Denny Hastert used it, Cheney threatened to use it and now Condi Rice is using it. When the truth gets in the way, apparently the best defense is, "I don't recall"!