Always a silver lining

In 1981, his first year in office, Reagan pushed sweeping tax cuts through Congress. To get the necessary votes, Reagan had to agree to phase in the cuts over three years, starting in July 1981. I still remember the TV news coverage in May or June 1981, in which serious-faced news people -- Dan Rather comes to mind -- complained that Reagan's tax cuts weren't working (even though they hadn't yet gone into effect).

Contrast that with the breathless coverage of the Messiah's current economic plans. And in particular, contrast it with the headlines about continuing increases in the unemployment rate. (I'm far from the first to notice the tenor of current news coverage.)

I always laugh when the "progressives" say that news coverage is biased in favor of the right, because corporations own TV stations and newspapers. Anyone with the slightest analytical ability would realize that these news sources are totally in the tank for the man. Just from this Saturday's front pages:

WaPo, May 9: "In Poor Jobs Numbers, Hints of Improvement"

NY Times, May 9: "U.S. Jobless Rate Hits 8.9%, but Pace Eases"

So, of course, I started pondering what the headlines might have been for important events in history if Obama had been president at the time. Feel free to add your own headlines in the comments.

August 25, 1814: "British Troops Set Fire To White House, But Are Expected to Leave Washington Promptly"

December 21, 1860: "S.C. Legislature Votes to Secede from Union / Northern States Vow to Remain"

April 15, 1912: "Ocean Liner Titanic Sinks, Killing 1500 / First Major Accident in 35 Years"

October 30, 1929: "Market Drops Another 11 Percent, Less Than Yesterday's 12 Percent Loss"

December 8, 1941: "Japanese Planes Bomb Pearl Harbor / Many of Injured Expected to Survive"

June 14, 1980: "Candidate Reagan Decries 22% 'Misery Index', But Experts Trace Problem to Ford Era Policy"

September 13, 2001: "Fires Continue to Burn at Trade Center Site / No New Attacks on Next Day"

UPDATE (6/7): It continues....

New York Times, June 6: "Hints of Hope Even as Jobless Rate Jumps to 9.4%"

Washington Post, June 6: "Jobless Rate Rises, but Pace of Losses Slows"