Michael Reagan: ‘Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Yesterday?’

[delta22]

As the Democratic National Convention swings into high gear, Michael Reagan tells Newsmax that President Barack Obama is fumbling to find an easier litmus test than the one his father posed in his successful race against then incumbent Jimmy Carter.

“Forget are you better off today than you were four years ago? How about 'are you better off today than you were yesterday?' ” declared Reagan, the son of America’s 40th president in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Inspired by Ronald Reagan's winning 1980 election pitch, Republicans have urged voters to ask themselves "are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

Urgent: Does Paul Ryan Really Help Defeat Obama? Vote in Exclusive Poll

Uncomfortably for Democratic supporters, the question has elicited a dizzying array of responses from President Barack Obama's allies, first "no" then "sort of" and finally "absolutely."

Republicans salivated at such rare campaign vacillation — no doubt sensing a much-needed advantage as polls continue to show a tight race ahead of November's election.

"Apparently, for the 23 million Americans struggling for work, things have improved greatly in the last 24 hours," crowed Republican operative Joe Pounder.

The younger Reagan also took aim at reports that Democrats have abandoned the words “God” and “Jerusalem” from the party’s official platform, which was adopted at the outset of the Democratic gathering in Charlotte.

“I’m not surprised at all,” he said. “I mean I don’t know why people would be surprised that the Democrat Party removed Jerusalem and God from the platform.”

Reagan added, “I think every year they get more Godless anyway.”

Reagan said he “certainly” hopes that Republicans never do the same in the spirit of political correctness.

“If the Republicans ever remove God, as my father once said, ‘When we forget that we’re one nation under God, we’ll be a nation gone under.’ And Democrats have proved that they’re under.”

The Democrats may have good reason to alter Reagan’s famous litmus test with unemployment at 8.3 percent today as compared to 7.8 percent when Obama took office. Moreover, one in every 686 homes in the United States was in the process of being repossessed in July, according to RealtyTrac, a data provider.

Forty-three percent of Americans say economic conditions are "poor," according to Gallup. Almost two in three think things are getting worse, while 49 percent of adult Americans describe themselves as middle class, down from 53 percent in 2008, according to the Pew Research Center.

Urgent: Does Paul Ryan Really Help Defeat Obama? Vote in Exclusive Poll

Reagan joked that there may be a reason why Obama chose former President Bill Clinton to introduce him at the DNC other than Clinton’s popularity.

“The only reason I think Bill Clinton is introducing him is nobody else wanted to,” Reagan quipped. “I mean the fact of the matter is Clint Eastwood had the first empty chair. Now you’re going to see many more.”

AFP contributed to this article.