The Way We Were.

Only in 1988 and 1989 (Ronald Reagan's final 13 months in office) was the TOP MARGINAL rate down to 28%. It was 69.13% when he went into office, and went from 69.13%-50% from 1981-1986, then 38.5%, then 28%.*

Barack Obama has proposed a top marginal tax rate of 39.6%, which was the rate under Bill Clinton. So with the exception of 13 months of Reagan's time in office, Obama's rate is lower than Reagan's.

Furthermore, really look at those rates. Take the Tax Policy Center's historical top marginal tax rate chart. Under previous Republicans:

Taft: (1909-1913)--income tax began in 1913 at 7% for top rate
Harding: (1921-1923): 56%-73%
Coolidge (1923-1929): 24%-56%
Hoover (1929-1933): 24%-63% (63% after Roosevelt took power)
Eisenhower (1953-1961): 91-92%
Nixon (1969-1974): 70-77%
Ford: (1974-1977): 70%
Reagan (1981-1989): 28%-69.13%
Bush I: (1989-1993): 28%-39.6% (39.6% after Clinton took power)

Low taxes for the TOP RATES are the exception even under Republican presidents, not the norm. 

Under all Republican presidents since federal income tax began, NOT including the years where the Republican transferred power to a Democrat (i.e the Republican was only in office for 1-3 months at the beginning of the year), the top marginal tax rate average was 52.38%, a full 12%+ HIGHER than Barack Obama's proposal.  I took the 49 years during which the Republican was in power for the majority of the time, added the tax rates, and divided by 49 to get the figure of 52.38%.

Barack Obama wants to raise the top marginal tax rate to Bill Clinton's former rate, which is 12%+ LOWER than the average for all Republican presidents combined.

People get confused about tax brackets as well.  39.6% tax rates aren't going to apply to ALL income--just to the top tax bracket income. 

This handy tax bracket form helps you compute your "effective" tax rate--the percentage of your total income that you actually pay in taxes, considering the first $8,025 is taxed at 10%, the next $8,026-$32,550 is taxed at 15%, and so on.

You do not see the TOP marginal tax bracket--currently 35%, proposed to be 39.6% under Barack Obama--until you reach $357,701 in income. 

Everything under $357,701 is taxed between 10% and 33%.

*Daily Kos