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Thread: Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

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    Default Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    I thought someone would post a topic on President Reagan passing away. So, I looked in the mirror and pointed at someone...

    Anyway, I realized that most of you were like 10 years old when he left the presidency, but for me, these were some great years. If you take the petty party politics out of it. (I sure someone will insert them later!) President Reagan brought a nice way of dealing with people . We dug our way out of a hell of a mess. When he came into office, I think our mortgage rates were at 12% and the unemployement rate was at 9.6%.

    It was nice to see someone pass away that wasn't all tied up with a sex or fraud scandal.

    I hope that our current congressmen/women sit back and evaluate how they conduct themselves today after seeing the tribute to him.

    Any thoughts from anyone else? Hopefully this does not stir up a political debate!!!!!!!!!!

    But if it does, at least I won't be leafing throught the troll droppings...looking for some meat..


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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    President Reagan was the right person for the right position at the right time in history for our country. He reinstated the respectability of the Presidency after the Iran Hostage Crisis and rekindled the belief that Americans can do things right and that the American Dream is still very much alive.


    As a side note -- recognition should go to Paul Volker who was the Federal Reserve Chairman during Reagan's tenor -- he was instrumental in bringing down interest rates (at one time as high as 18.5%) and unemployment (almost 10% in 1981).
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Reagan was president when I was born, I dont remember much about his term in office beings I was so young....my mom has told me many stories about how great of a president he was.
    I watched the memorial services and funeral and the chats of Reagan on TV afterwards.
    It sad... for it seems our country lost a great leader and one of the greatest presidents.



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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    You know, Sitri, I was actually considering posting a Ronald Reagan thread the afternoon the news broke that he passed away, I just didn't have the opportunity.

    I believe that he should be honored, for everything he did. They just don't make Presidents like him anymore, or even men like him. I actually did cry when I heard the news. I cried for his wife, and the loss of his Light in the world.

    I watched the coverage of his funeral rites. My heart went out to Nancy, as she patted her husband's casket and whispered something to him, before gracefully and proudly walking away.

    They had shown a special on one of the news channels, I think it was from back in '93. Nancy was giving them a tour of the Reagan Library. She was saying that President Reagan had no memory of even being the head of our country. Alzeimers is so terrible. It truly destroys a person.

    She stood by him, and took care of him until he left this life. Fifty-Two years worth. They also don't make marriages like theirs anymore.

    Overall, yes, I'm extremely saddened at the loss of him. I only hope that current leaders, and future leaders will take a lesson from him. He accomplished so very much in his 8 years as President, his time as Governor, and even his time as President of the Screen Actor's Guild.

    Very sad loss indeed.

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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    I served in the military while he was in office. I can tell you that he sure did a lot for morale in the armed forces. Defeatism, self-doubt, and lack of vision infected the military ever since Vietnam and went to new lows under Carter. Military pay was worse than a joke. Sergeants applying for food stamps, living in run-down trailer parks, and sneaking food out of the base cafeteria to feed their families was common place. Then Reagan came along and things started to change. He gladly associated himself with soldiers and got our pay increased. Grenada, which I participated in, gave a shot of confidence in the military's arm. Trying to win the Cold War instead of just trying to survive it was another welcomed change.

    And Reagan cutting taxes was a great idea and should have been a no-brainer to everyone. That some politicians still cannot grasp this just amazes and saddens me. As someone asked Bill Clinton during one of his presidential campaigns, "When has any nation in history taxed themselves into prosperity?" Personally, I remember asking my father why he stopped giving paid speeches after March. He was a psychology professor who was a recognized expert on MMPI and the criminally insane. He said if he made much more, he would be put into a new tax bracket and it would require him many more months of paid speeches before he make up for the loss in take-home income being in that new tax bracket put him into. It just wasn't worth it. I've been a big advocate of a flat tax ever since then.

    Now I did and do disagree with Reagan on some social issues (abortion, illegal drugs, pornography, etc.), but what I did admire in him ... even in regards to these issues ... was the lack of hypocrisy. He didn't say one thing and do another in private ... as politicians before and after him have done. What you saw was what he was.

    One other thing that I greatly admired in him was his lack of holding a grudge or letting politics affect personal relationships. George Bush Sr. was his vice president ... after George ran against him in the primaries. Tip O' Neal, Democratic leader of the US House, was a good friend of Reagan. If our petty politicians today were to learn anything from Reagan, I wish it was this. Attack an opponent's position on the issues, but not the opponent themselves. Ad hominem attacks shouldn't even take place on the playgrounds of elementary schools. And they most definitely shouldn't take place in our nation's capital.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    I always find it ironic that the claims made about Reagan during his 1980 candidacy and first year in office sound extremely similar to claims made about George W. Bush ! Not surprising, since Bush is still advocating many positions which Reagan pioneered (tax cuts, kick ass military, Western European foreign policy) which he undoubtedly had ingrained in him when visiting dad at the White House during the Reagan years.

    My biggest recommendation to George W. is to take some other lessons from Ronald Reagan as well - like Nicaragua for instance.

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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    I was asked to use my history background to assess whether Ronald Reagan was a good President or not.

    Well, the full, long term impact of his Presidency remains to be seen. Sometimes that doesn’t become apparent until long after he is out of office. Even today we are living with the vestiges of FDR, Truman, Kennedy and LBJ.

    Was Reagan a great President? Well - he was and he wasn't. Every single president and presidency has good points and great achievements, and bad points and bungled opportunities. Every single one of them.

    As Pumpkin Pie stated, Reagan indeed pulled the Military out of the post-Viet Nam era, both in terms of morale and necessary material. A vast number of today’s military weaponry, logistical equipment and procedures and delivery systems have their origins in the Reagan era. The United States has really the premier military today, thanks in large part of Reagan.

    Reagan also has been rightfully lauded for bringing down Communism without war. The Communist ideology applied by the Soviet Union left no margin for internal error, so it was doomed to eventually collapse on itself until there was a shift in its doctrine - an event that would never happen. Reagan understood this, and upped the arms and strategic race to the point where Communism could not sustain itself, and it fell. That would NOT have happened in our lifetime had the US not had a strong leader willing to do such things. Ronald Reagan indeed was the catalyst for the ending of the Cold War.

    His "Tough America" approach also proved to be the right approach at the time. America was seen as "The Great Satan" by a number of radical Islamic leaders and their flocks, but they knew that anything they did against America would cause retaliation. That surely staved off anything close to a 9/11 operation, which incidentally only happened after Bin Laden and others were convinced that the USA was too soft to fight back.

    Reagan also won both elections by huge huge majorities. That is considered a mandate of the people. In 1984 Walter Mondale won only 3 electoral votes. As Dennis Miller once said "That’s only 3 more then me, and I didn’t even run". Reagan’s popularity must definitely be considered in assessing his presidency.

    On the other side of the coin, his social programs reflected his conservatism, but not the reality in the streets. It was a noble sentiment to scale back funding on social programs, which were seen as enabling poverty, rather then helping the impoverish. That may well have been, but it left people high and dry. Homelessness rose during the Reagan era. He also believed in the "trickle down" effect of economic prosperity. If the higher ups prosper, that would trickle down to the middle class, then the welfare people. Well, that didn’t happen either.

    His deficit spending also was the cause of the economic recession during the early 90s. He would calculate the budget on what it should take in, rather then what it did. That was an enormous leap of faith in the American people, but it turned out to be unrealistic. His "its okay to gain all the wealth you can" business ideology brought immediate business prosperity (and facilitated the merger-happy era of the late 80s), but also sowed the seeds of the practices of today’s CEOs (they cut their business teeth while Reagan was in office) that resulted in the pension fund raiding, corporate graft and scandal, and such unsavory folks like Ken Lay.

    Further, it's been well documented how during the AIDs epidemic of the early 80s Reagan's administration did little to help (if I recall right, then-Surgeon general C. Everett Koop would complain later that his office was "interfered with at every step" by the White House).

    So you take your pick. Someone who lost a loved one to AIDS in the 80s would vilify Reagan with some justification. Someone who lived under Communism, and was freed from it when it collapsed would idolize Reagan, and rightly so. Whether Ronald Reagan was a great President depends upon who you talk top right now. As far as I can tell, it’s too premature for history to pass its judgment yet.

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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Not to crash what I guess was begun as a laudatory thread, but it's hard to really mourn the guy, since it seems like he died in 1994. He hasn't been visible for ten years.

    And like so many of our presidents, his popularity was a triumph of style over substance. He is the reason I'm a radical today.


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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Very thoughful post.
    I adored Ronald Regan as president.
    No games, no hype, no BS - he just got the job done.
    It was quite obvious at his funeral being that so many leaders from other countries were there and even royality from abroad.
    His last years were very sad and thankfully the media allowed him to live with his sickness in his own private world without exploiting the gory details, as they do for everything else.
    IMO, he was the best president that has been in office in my lifetime
    May he RIP
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Sometimes history does take time to bring in a judgment on Presidents. Sometimes not. It is interesting to see how these things play themselves out.

    That Reagan didn't act quickly due to AIDS is debatable ... especially when you consider how long it took before the gay community own up to the reality and take the necessary preventive steps. That Reagan didn't own up to the reality at the same time is a bit hypocritical for those that stated such. And any that say he didn't care about AIDS victims just shows how little they know about the Reagans ... as Rock Hudson was one of their long-time close friends.

    As for the economy, it depends on how you shuffle the stats. However, even his greatest critics cannot deny that he ignited the longest economic boom in US history.

    As for the deficit, Reagan said at the time and did after he left office that if it was a choice between running a deficit or running the Soviet Union into the ground economically, he'd always choose the latter. To him, the Cold War wasn't theoretical. It was hot ... just not directly between the combatants but in small theaters by way of third parties around the world. He called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and no one now disputes that ... not even the Russians these days.

    This is not to say that I admired everything Reagan did in office. No, the Meese Commission was nothing but a ugly puritanism. Reagan's war on "illegal" drugs was never won and can never be won. You'd think we would have learned from the failure of Prohibition. Oh well. If you don't learn from history, you repeat it.

    On one of the news programs about Reagan's death they had on a panel of respected presidential historians and they were asked how they'd rate Reagan. Not surprisingly, they said it is too soon to cast a judgment on Reagan. What was surprising was what they said could be said and that was his legacy is rising and not falling. All four historians said that cannot be said of any of the other living former presidents.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Quote Originally Posted by Susan Wayward link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg122523#msg122 523 date=1087276459
    Not to crash what I guess was begun as a laudatory thread, but it's hard to really mourn the guy, since it seems like he died in 1994. He hasn't been visible for ten years.
    He hasn't been visible for ten years because he wanted to be remembered for the person he was before Alzheimer's disease took its toll. I do not begrudge him that. And he bowed out gracefully and publicly in a letter to the American people. He told what was happening to him and why he now wanted to completely withdrawal from public life.

    And I'm not mourning his death. I don't think America is either. He lived until he was 93. I think ... as was repeatedly said by commentators on all the news media ... that we have been more celebrating his life. If there is any tears for him it is how he was slowly destroyed by Alzheimer's disease over the last ten years. No one should die that way. To slowly lose all your memories ... until you cannot even recognize your children or wife of fifty years.

    And like so many of our presidents, his popularity was a triumph of style over substance. He is the reason I'm a radical today.
    I'd have to disagree. I think he had both style and substance. I might not have agreed with all his objectives, but I would never say he wasn't a man of convictions and willing to stick by those convictions. And this is a libertarian saying this.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    First off I want to say that I'm sorry for the loss that his family experienced, and the tragedy of losing a loved one to Alzheimer's.

    That being said, unless you were an upper-middle class or wealthier white heterosexual male, Reagan wasn't very good to you. What angers me most about the Reagan years was the contempt that he had for the poor.

    Reaganomics just plain sucks. His administration did everything short of saying that poor people deserved being poor because they were too dumb and lazy. Of course Reagan's famous "optimisim" comes into play here, since he just made America believe in the so-called "American Dream" again. Except for all the people it left behind even if they still worked hard and were honest.

    The willful ignorance of the AIDS crisis, funding illegal wars in Central America, Iran-Contra, Star Wars, deficit spending, decimating social programs, KETCHUP AS A FRIGGIN' VEGETABLE!

    I'll take a president who got a BJ from a fat intern over that any day.

    And the man got way too much credit for the collapse of Communism. It just happened on his watch. He wasn't exactly a master of foreign policy, although I guess compared to Dubya, my cat could do a better job.

    BTW, it wasn't Reagan who got the hostages released from Iran. It happened the day he came into office and he didn't have a team working on it prior. It was a calculated decision on the part of the terrorists.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Good post Pumpkin Pie.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pumpkin Pie link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg122335#msg122 335 date=1087249474

    Now I did and do disagree with Reagan on some social issues (abortion, illegal drugs, pornography, etc.), but what I did admire in him ... even in regards to these issues ... was the lack of hypocrisy. He didn't say one thing and do another in private ... as politicians before and after him have done. What you saw was what he was.

    One other thing that I greatly admired in him was his lack of holding a grudge or letting politics affect personal relationships. George Bush Sr. was his vice president ... after George ran against him in the primaries. Tip O' Neal, Democratic leader of the US House, was a good friend of Reagan. If our petty politicians today were to learn anything from Reagan, I wish it was this. Attack an opponent's position on the issues, but not the opponent themselves. Ad hominem attacks shouldn't even take place on the playgrounds of elementary schools. And they most definitely shouldn't take place in our nation's capital
    It is interesting how the unforgivable rancor of party politics continues even after death. Is it so hard to respect what someone has done even if you disagree with it?

    In contrast, Clintons Presidential Portrate was presented yesterday. The people who you would most think would villify each other acted graciously and respected what Mr. Clinton did in the White House. I guess being magnanimous is a tough behavior to learn... :o

    Let the historians debate all of those things. For me, I will remember that these men won the presidency and deserve credit for that. I will say the same when Mr. Carter or Mr. Clinton or Mr. Ford pass away.

    The story on the Presidential Portrait follows below.

    June 14, 2004, 2:58 PM EDT


    WASHINGTON -- President Bush offered a glowing tribute to former President Clinton on Monday as the White House unveiled the official portraits of the 42nd president and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

    Bush rode into office on a promise "to restore honor and dignity" to the White House after eight years of Clinton, and he was bitter at Clinton for defeating his father in the 1992 presidential contest. Moreover, Clinton plans to campaign for the man trying to oust Bush from office, Democrat John Kerry.

    But on Monday, Bush delivered a lengthy, forceful defense of his predecessor, and welcomed dozens of Clinton administration officials back into the White House. It was Clinton's first return to the White House since leaving office, said a spokeswoman, Tammy Sun.

    "As a candidate for any office, whether it be the state attorney general or the president, Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal," Bush said. "As chief executive, he showed a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need and the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."

    Bush left Clinton laughing so hard that his face turned red with a jibe about Clinton's optimism in campaigning in Texas for George McGovern in 1972.

    Mostly, though, Bush gave an almost nostalgic tribute to the Democratic former president.

    "Bill Clinton could always see a better day ahead and Americans knew he was working hard to bring that day closer," Bush said. "Over eight years it was clear that Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy. He's a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service."
    Clinton and his wife -- now in the Senate -- returned to the White House for the official presentation of the portraits that will hang in the White House. The former president's portrait will hang near the Grand Staircase just inside the north entrance. It will bump a portrait of the first President Bush to another position in the hall. The portrait of Mrs. Clinton will be displayed one flight below with other former first ladies.

    "She inspires respect and loyalty from those who know her, and it was a good day in both their lives when they met at the library at Yale Law School," Bush said of Mrs. Clinton and her husband.

    Clinton said: "The president, by his generous words to Hillary and me today, has proved once again that in the end, we are held together by this grand system of ours that permits us to debate and struggle and fight for what we believe is right."

    "And because it's free, because it is a system of majority rule and minority rights, we're still around here after over 200 years. And most of the time, we get it right. And I'm honored to be a small part of it."

    As for Clinton's plans to campaign on Kerry's behalf, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said, "He has offered to help and we are pleased to take him up on that offer."

    Kerry advisers have concluded Vice President Al Gore made a mistake by distancing himself from Clinton in the 2000 campaign. While Democratic polling still suggests that many independent and moderate Republican voters dislike Clinton, the former president is popular among Democrats, particularly among minorities.

    Clinton's portrait was painted by Simmie Knox, a self-taught artist born in 1935 in Aliceville, Ala., to a family of sharecroppers.

    Quote Originally Posted by NinaDaisy link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg122549#msg122 549 date=1087288697

    That being said, unless you were an upper-middle class or wealthier white heterosexual male, Reagan wasn't very good to you. What angers me most about the Reagan years was the contempt that he had for the poor.

    Contempt for the poor??????? That is pretty strong.

    Reagan had a vision that was based on creating self-respect by creating jobs and getting people working. If you want something contemptuous, try living on a welfare check or working at a low paying job when inflation is running at 15%.

    I don't believe any rational person could describe Reagan as having contempt.





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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    I was coming to America from China when he was Our President.I grew up watching his speeches while I was learning English.I remember taking a field trip with my class to go see him.As I was growing up recalling his presidency,I thought to myself,"He really is a great man."This is the way you should do you your job.The presidents that we've had since then were all jokes.Reagan was a man's man.You never heard any controversy involving him like we all did with Clinton.He was made of steel,not taking any shit and making no bones about it.If we still had men of steel like him running this country till this day,disastous events like 9/11 would not happen.Call me nostalgic,but I know balls when I see them.And he had big ones.and a big heart too.GOD rest his soul in peace.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    FUCK THAT REPUBLICAN!

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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Quote Originally Posted by Susan Wayward link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg122523#msg122 523 date=1087276459
    Not to crash what I guess was begun as a laudatory thread, but it's hard to really mourn the guy, since it seems like he died in 1994. He hasn't been visible for ten years.

    And like so many of our presidents, his popularity was a triumph of style over substance. He is the reason I'm a radical today.

    To this I add that our governor declared 30 days of mourning (you read right) with flags flown at half mast. Such is life in a colony :'(



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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Quote Originally Posted by NinaDaisy link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg122549#msg122 549 date=1087288697
    First off I want to say that I'm sorry for the loss that his family experienced, and the tragedy of losing a loved one to Alzheimer's.

    That being said, unless you were an upper-middle class or wealthier white heterosexual male, Reagan wasn't very good to you. What angers me most about the Reagan years was the contempt that he had for the poor.

    Reaganomics just plain sucks. His administration did everything short of saying that poor people deserved being poor because they were too dumb and lazy. Of course Reagan's famous "optimisim" comes into play here, since he just made America believe in the so-called "American Dream" again. Except for all the people it left behind even if they still worked hard and were honest.

    The willful ignorance of the AIDS crisis, funding illegal wars in Central America, Iran-Contra, Star Wars, deficit spending, decimating social programs, KETCHUP AS A FRIGGIN' VEGETABLE!

    I'll take a president who got a BJ from a fat intern over that any day.

    And the man got way too much credit for the collapse of Communism. It just happened on his watch. He wasn't exactly a master of foreign policy, although I guess compared to Dubya, my cat could do a better job.

    BTW, it wasn't Reagan who got the hostages released from Iran. It happened the day he came into office and he didn't have a team working on it prior. It was a calculated decision on the part of the terrorists.
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Reagan, IMO, was a repectable, honest American, with good intentions as president, however I cant appreciate him as this country's leader. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intention.


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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Just don't ask Bruce Springsteen what he thought about Reagan.

    Reagan latched onto Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and made a speech about how great it was that someone created a song about how great the USA was, etc.

    The song was actually more of a protest concerning the plight of large numbers of people out of work due to factories being shut down. Bruce was pissed, and rightfully so.

    I could never summon much respect for Reagan, especially after he publicly stated that trees were polluting the atmosphere. I think the guy meant well, but he started several bad precedents.

    He wholeheartedly embraced the religious right--who are still trying to tell us how to raise families, what we can watch on TV, and worst of all, whether it should be legal to strip or not. I don't care if the legislation passed has in some cases made it easier for women to make money (by giving higher contact dances as an inadvertent result) or not. They want to shut us down, plain and simple.

    Everyone likes to give him credit for bailing out the economy--well, maybe so, but he also presided over the creation of a hude deficit. A lot of people didn't really see much improvement, though CEOS across the nation certainly did. Clinton also is credited by some with bailing out the economy, and eradicating the deficit, which Bush Jr. is now happily pumping up again. Many will deny Clinton any credit for causing an economic upswing. I am equally skeptical concerning the real, long-term contribution of Reagan.

    The people were tired of having no faith in Government, after Nixon showed us just how badly a president could betray the nation's trust. So along came this actor who had a squeaky clean, all-American image, and gave people something to believe in again. But to me, as well-intentioned as he may have been, he was still just an actor, playing his most convincing role.

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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    So along came this actor who had a squeaky clean, all-American image, and gave people something to believe in again. But to me, as well-intentioned as he may have been, he was still just an actor, playing his most convincing role.
    While I don't agree completely with your assessment, I will grant you that after what Jimmy Carter did to America's economy, foreign policy, and world standing, that Bonzo the Chimp could have been elected in 1980 and thought of as a great president in comparison !

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Well, Reagan's economic policies are what cost Georgie the first so many problems in office. Reagan made quickie-fix short term decisions that in the long run only caused problems.

    I am saddened that Reagan passed, however, it seems that he led a full life and it was his time. I have noticed, though, that when people die...everyone sort of forgets their "transgressions" and only remembers the good.

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    Senior Member ace_barker's Avatar
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Eleanor Clift of Newsweek and the McLaughlin Group says Reagan is the greatest US President since WWII. And she may be the biggest liberal on the planet.
    Also I was watching Colin Powell (who I have a great deal of respect for) and he gives Reagan the credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
    Venus Goddess, I have to think it's a good thing that when a person dies they only remember the good. IMO the eulogies and tributes are there to comfort the family and friends in thier time of grief. Not to get a last shot in.

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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Some perspective
    When RR was elected the misery index of the unemployment rate + year over year inflation rate ( a Democratic invention by the way) was 20% and when he left office it was 9.9%. Using a more accurate timing of 6 months after the number are 18.3 and 9.9%.
    At present it is about 7.5-8% and the worst it got after 9/11 and the jobless recovery was 8.7%. As bad as one perceives the worst of recent situations, imagine a world which was 2.5 TIMES as bad.

    Did RR do it all? Of course not. Neither did he cure the common cold

    As for AIDS, consider if 3 times as much money would have been spent in 1983. Would it have made a difference? As it was every scientist with a dream of getting a Noble prize was worling on it. Probably no more difference than if the US today spent 3 times as much money in Iraq, on homeland security, or fighting the common cold.

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Quote Originally Posted by ace_barker link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg124829#msg124 829 date=1087655317
    Venus Goddess, I have to think it's a good thing that when a person dies they only remember the good. IMO the eulogies and tributes are there to comfort the family and friends in thier time of grief. Not to get a last shot in.
    Well, it's good not to get a last shot in...and it's great to remember someone for what they did do. But, people tend to forget every wrong and get ready to apply for the person's canonization. I think we all need to keep things in perspective, that's all.

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    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Re:Ronald Reagan - Remembered.

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie link=board=1;threadid=10124;start=msg124807#msg124 807 date=1087650910
    ...I will grant you that after what Jimmy Carter did to America's economy, foreign policy, and world standing, that Bonzo the Chimp could have been elected in 1980 and thought of as a great president in comparison !


    Melonie, that's good...

    As far as adding a "last shot" goes, I am not going to worry about what the poor ghost of RR thinks of my opinion. Especially with the entire nation bending over backwards to glorify him endlessly on television, in magazines, with special DVDs, you name it.

    It is never pleasant when someone dies, but it happens every day. We can remember someone for the good things they tried, and perhaps succeeded, to accomplish. Some may feel better glossing over the possible errors of the deceased, but others don't feel a need for it. History never does, and history will be the judge of this statesman's ultimate contribution.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

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