*ding!*

I'm only printing the following from the Talking Points Memo blog because it makes my comments seem semi-smart. Despite this, it's interesting.

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Obama: Reagan Changed Direction Of Country In Way Bill Clinton Didn't
By Greg Sargent - January 16, 2008, 3:19PM
This is interesting -- Obama is turning up the volume of his argument with what he terms Clinton style "incremental" change, arguing that Ronald Reagan fundamentally changed the direction of America in a way Bill Clinton didn't. Obama made his case in a sit-down interview with officials from the Reno Gazette-Journal...

Some will find Obama's words about Reagan overly kind. And this is the first time I've heard him mention Bill Clinton in the context of saying such generous stuff about Reagan.

But Obama is also making an argument about the readiness of the electorate for change, comparing today's desire for a new direction with the electorate's mood in 1980. In this context, Obama is presenting himself as a potentially transformational figure in opposition to Hillary, who, Obama has been arguing, is unequipped to tap into the public's mood due to her coming of age in the sixties and her involvement in the political battles of the 1990s.

Juxtaposing Reagan and Bill Clinton in this way, however, decidedly takes his argument to a whole new level.