Ronald Reagan -- Our First Black President?

Townhall.com ^ | January 19,2011 | Michael Reagan

[gusopol3]

ut the past two years have made one thing clear: Ronald Reagan was a far better friend to black Americans than Barack Obama has been. Just compare the Reagan and Obama records. Under Obama, black unemployment rose from 12.6 percent in January 2009 to 16.0 percent today. This means that black unemployment has increased by more than one-fourth since Obama took office.

And the Reagan record? African-American columnist Joseph Perkins has studied the effects of Reaganomics on black America. He found that, after the Reagan tax cuts gained traction, African-American unemployment fell from 19.5 percent in 1983 to 11.4 percent in 1989. Black-owned businesses saw income rise from $12.4 billion in 1982 to $18.1 billion in 1987-an annual average growth rate of 7.9 percent. The black middle class expanded by one-third during the Reagan years, from 3.6 million to 4.8 million.

[gusopol3]

Watching Chris Matthews try to distract Prebius and even Gingrich into racial politics, it's clear they need to focus on the fundamentals. I'm sure this article was posted when it first came out, but next time Chrissie waves his bloody shirt to exacerbate racial animosity, these numbers need to be stuffed in his face.