It was 16 degrees warmer in my upstate New York town this morning than it was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. If any further portent of the apocalypse is necessary, consider that on his MSNBC show this evening, Cenk Uygur compared Barack Obama to Ronald Reagan . . . and clearly came down on the side of Ronaldus Maximus.
The subject was Egypt. Uygur played the clip of Reagan's immortal "tear down this wall," and contrasted it with Obama's wan words on the need for "orderly transition" in Egypt.
View video after the jump.
Watch the video, be amused by Uygur's unmistakable upbraiding of Obama, and above all recall Reagan and remember what a real leader looked like.
CENK UYGUR: When Pres. Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in November of 2009, he said it was premature, since it was at the beginning of his work as a leader. Well, now is his chance. Mr. President, this crisis in Egypt is your opportunity to earn your Nobel Peace Prize. Barack Obama already had a sense of history when he was running for office. During his campaign, candidate Obama spoke looking towards the Brandenburg Gate, where JFK told Nikita Khrushchev we are all Berliners, and where Ronald Reagan famously challenged the Soviets. [Cut to clip.]
RONALD REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
UYGUR: Will Pres. Obama have his "Mr. Mubarak, tear down this regime" moment? Last night he said this. [Cut to clip.]
BARACK OBAMA: Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt's leaders. Only the Egyptian people can do that. What is clear, and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak, is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.
UYGUR: Now, he's definitely pressuring Mubarak to leave. But does talk of "orderly transitions" reverberate throughout history? I'm not sure.
Ouch! Pres. Obama, you've been dissed. One of your normally dependable cheerleaders has compared you with Ronald Reagan, and found you weak and wanting.
