President Obama tried to make the argument today that he’s the real small-government leader, not Reagan and other Republicans.
“After there was a recession under Ronald Reagan, government employment went way up,” Obama said at a college in Albany, N.Y. “It went up after the recessions under the first George Bush and the second George Bush. So each time there was a recession with a Republican president, compensated — we compensated by making sure that government didn’t see a drastic reduction in employment.”
“The only time government employment has gone down during a recession has been under me,” he continued. “So I make that point just so you don’t buy into this whole bloated government argument that you hear.”
The purpose of the speech was for Obama to announce his “to-do list” for Congress — “just like when Michelle gives me a list, I check it off.”
“I’m going to need you to pick up the phone, write an email, tweet, remind your member of Congress we can’t afford to wait until November to get things done,” Obama said.
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