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Goodbye Ronald Reagan

For the rest of my life, whenever I think of "The President of the United States", it will always be you that I think of. You inspired me to be proud of being an American.

A limited role for the federal government, lower marginal tax rates, a firm stance against America's enemies, the belief that America can do good in the world and bring freedom to those who live under oppression. This is what you taught me and what I still believe in.

I doubt that, in my lifetime, there will ever be another President as worthy of the title.

posted Saturday, June 05, 2004

2 Comments:

By Anonymous:

God Bless Ronald Reagan.

I thought he was a fool when I was a teen in the 80's, but life has taught me since then that I was the real fool. My children will never know what fearing the Soviets was like and I'll be forever thankful for that blessing.

MKD

posted at 6/06/2004 12:02 AM

By Truth-in-History:

You are fool now...and ignorant...and so is anyone who hangs on to the notion that this former B-movie actor had any element of political greatness. It's amusing that this is the symbol that conservatives choose to hang onto. His politics were about image...and myth...and very little substance. If America came out of the '80s a more productive nation, it was more the result of the natural cycle of things than any particular policy of the Reagan Administration. Remember supply-side economics? Benefit the rich while the situation for the poor became worse. Ending the cold war? It was more to do with the inevitable collapse of the doomed Soviet economic system than Ray-gun policies. His endless military spending...and countless fiscal scams by favored military contractors...all while lowering taxes for the weathly...created a deficit that was more than that encumbered by all previous presidentatial administrations combined. Ah but he was the darling of Christian conservatives. This man...the only divorced president we've had...who had no sense of a close relationship with his children by his second wife...some father figure...the daughter poses for playboy and his son, his name-sake, chooses to pursue a lifestyle with values that are diametrically opposed to that of his dad's. It seems to demonstrate that even his children didn't have a real belief that his dad's moral musing were really all that sincere...in fact, looking at Reagan's political life, most of his actions, most of his stances left an impression that he was just acting a part...the tough leader. His was a superficial, comic book, old Hollywood version of reality. His pronouncements were calculated, and insincere. Call for re-adoption of school prayer...even though you have no intention of following through. It'll make the religious conservatives happy...keep the fools backing you. Talk tough about American military pride and defense then go invade an island the size of a Washington, DC suburb to prove how tough we are. Make backroom deals with Arab/muslim terrorists...send marines into Lebanon without proper supplies so 256 will get blown up by suicide bomber...as well as allow countless Americans to be kidnapped and held hostage for years. Do nothing about real security for our overseas citizens on military bases so that terrorists can attack them or blow up commercial airflights, killing American. Yeh...he was all about protecting America. And don't get me started on his "star wars" defense plan...did he spend his days reading comic books in the White House? God knows he couldn't be bothered reading any of the reports or policy briefings sent his way. He just made his staff give him the cliff-notes summary. Who needs details anyway. If American felt better about themselves under Ray-gun...it was because too many citizens were desperate to feel that way. We don't want to investigate what the real story is. Just give us bright sunny sound-bites, or tough-talk that sounds like it's straight out of a Hollywood B-movies. And who better to do all this than Uncle Ronny! He had the right training. His best background attribute to qualify him to be President? Years of study as part of an international think-tank developing his expertise? Running a major corporation? Working an an analyst in the world of finance? No...he was Boraxos spokeman and the voice of "Death Valley Days." The good news for his political operatives is that America is full of simple-minded, don't-bother-me-with-the-facts-I-know-what-know kind of people. The good news for the rest of us is that he didn't do too economic much damage...although George Bush Sr may not think so, since it was the inevitable results of Reagan's economic agenda that finally caught up with America during Bush's presidency that did in George Sr.

posted at 8/08/2006 4:15 PM