Except he doesn’t even praise him. He simply acknowledges that Reagan’s election was a paradigm shift from big government to small government (one which the GOP failed to sustain) and, importantly to Obama’s message, from division over war and scandal to something new. The hope that he can pull off something similar if elected explains probably 90% of his appeal to Republicans and right-leaning independents. Naturally this is cause for much head-shaking among the nutroots, as it shows once again Obama’s alleged propensity towards conservative “framing” or whatever pitiful buzzword they’re using nowadays for Democrats who don’t quite have the fight fight fightyness that the nutroots cherishes in losers like, say, John Edwards.

Update: Who’s the real target here?