Paul Krugman Calls Barack Obama The Most Consequential President Since Reagan

On ABC’s This Week, Paul Krugman argued that although President Obama has been unable to get anything done since Republicans took over the House, “his first two years make him the most consequential president in — you know, since Ronald Reagan.”

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Transcript from This Week:

STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE) best speech could you have?

KRUGMAN: I’m not sure. I mean, I thought that, gee, you know, this is a laundry list of small items, and I’m not interested. But people who, you know, pollsters tell me that actually the public likes laundry lists of small items. But probably because the public doesn’t have a sense of what’s small and what’s big.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And they support an increase in the minimum wage.

KRUGMAN: That’s right. That’s a list of a bunch of things that are popular, a bunch of things that, in fact, lots of Republicans support but the Republican Party does not.

And so, you know, my view on Obama is basically he has been — in one sense, he has been a lame duck since November 2010, since Republicans took control of the House, he has been unable to get anything passed scorched earth opposition.

On the other hand, his first two years make him the most consequential president in — you know, since Ronald Reagan.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Health care and —

KRUGMAN: — health care and actually financial reform, which he didn’t mention, but it’s actually a much bigger deal than most people imagine. So just on the basis of what he has done, all he has to do is hang on there and create the appearance that he’s doing something and that’s his goal.

Krugman’s point was an extremely strong one. Most presidents don’t get one major reform done in a term. Obama accomplished two major reforms in his first two years. Is is still a little known fact, but President Obama accomplished 85% of his stated agenda for his entire presidency during his first two years in office.

By the time Republicans took control of the House in 2011, it was already too late. President Obama had accomplished almost everything that he intended. This is why House Republicans have been obsessed with rolling back everything that this president has accomplished. They got to the game too late, and have been left with nothing to do but unsuccessfully try to play catch up and repeal.

Barack Obama has been the most significant presidents that this country has had since Ronald Reagan. His accomplishments are likely to live on for generations. He has not only made significant policy changes, but his candidacy helped to change the make up and face of the electorate.

Even some of his supporters sometimes forget what this president has achieved. Krugman’s comments were a nice reminder that era of Obama will go down as a significant time in American history.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association