Fact Checking Obama Using Reagan In Debt Ceiling Debate

Figures don't lie but liars figure! ~ Mark Twain
When a small man can't do the job, he seeks to hide behind a big man! ~ Ozark Guru

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SodaHead:
Regan Obama Parody

Have you noticed that President Barack Obama has been slipping in a Ronald Reagan reference every chance he can get? What you may not know is how distorted some of those insertions are for the debate at hand. Obama has justified his huge debt ceiling hike by saying that the United States raised the debt ceiling 18 times during Reagan's term. This is very misleading. Did Obama really believe that us old "Reganites" would not notice?

The facts are:

• Reagan’s debt hikes were comparatively small and usually were temporary (thus the high number of changes)
• Obama in two years has already added a trillion dollars more debt than Reagan did in eight
• Total debt hike under Reagan ($1.865-T) was almost identical to under Clinton ($1.805-T)
• As a percent of GDP, all later Presidents’ hiked total debt notably higher than under Reagan

Charting the Data:
Below is chart from the 2011 Heritage Foundation Budget Chart Bookthat illustrates some of the points:

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