The Big Lie Throughout The Decades

Myth of the 1980s:

The perilous contest died, but a dangerous myth lived and thrived-- that President Ronald Reagan won the day with unmatchable hikes in military spending and by being tough and uncompromising. Today, that myth tugs daily in wrong directions regarding the most momentous U.S. policy decisions in hotspots like Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, and China.

The myth that military power and true grit conquer all locks every major dispute into a test of wills. It blocks the full deployment of American powers. It does no justice to the sophisticated diplomacy employed by Reagan and his successor, George H.W. Bush. Above all, it blinds today’s policymakers from seeing clearly what actually won the Cold War and what matters most in 21^st-century global affairs—the strength of the U.S. economy.

The next decade as well:

Winning the Past

Newt Gingrich "is running for president on a dazzling record of success in the 1990s -- a record that encompasses a booming economy, balanced budgets and a historic welfare reform law. It just so happens there's someone else who lays claim to that record: Bill Clinton," Politico reports

"Now, as the former House speaker -- whose rocky relationship with Clinton when both were in office is the stuff of legend -- steals some of the ex-president's thunder and touts the '90s as a Newt Gingrich production, former Clinton aides are crying foul."

Huffington Post: "Like most campaign pitches, the one framing Gingrich as the shepherd of the boom-boom '90s avoids gray areas and peddles falsehoods. Over the past few weeks, the Gingrich campaign has been publicly corrected by two fact-check organizations... Being fact-checked is a small price to pay for a galvanizing campaign message. And even those officials who sparred with Gingrich while in President Clinton's administration concede that there are worse platforms to run on."

The past, obscured before your very eyes.