Ronald Reagan



Ronald Reagan was a GREAT President.

I was in high school for his first term and college for his second. Anyone who lived through the four years of Jimmy Carter can tell you that the nation was completely different at the end of Reagan's second term (and completely for the better).

Anyone who was in college during Reagan's Presidency can also tell you that he was not a popular figure on campus. To many - Reagan was a dumb cowboy who was both the pawn of special interests (tax cuts for the rich!) and a danger to world peace through his unilateral build-up of America's military.

To historians he will be remembered as a man who restored the optimism to the United States. He took an economy stuck in "malaise" and turned it into the envy of the world. He took a military that was still mired in some sort of depression over Vietnam and revitalized it and rebuilt it so that the US military is now considered the greatest power in history. Most importantly - Reagan restored the pride in being from the USA.

Ronald Reagan is now dead at age 93. I don't think many people were surprised at his passing because of his age and his battle with Alzheimers. I am saddened by the news but not shocked.

Most of all - I am struck by the similarities between Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

- Both Presidents were dumb cowboys to their critics but both Presidents never took the word cowboy to be an insult - instead in their eyes it was a compliment

- Both Presidents took heat for cutting taxes. The critics called it "tax breaks for the rich" but the policy worked for both Presidents because they both understood that the American people can more wisely spend their own money then the politicians in Washington. (As an aside - when you read news about the economy these days please take note that most of the articles include the words "exceeded analysts projections" but don't include any reference to 9/11. Bush has brought the economy back above where it was on 9/10/2001 but none of the business writers seem to want to acknowledge the effect 9/11 had on the economy.)

- Both Presidents were protested anytime they visited Europe because their military policies were the "greatest threat to world peace" (instead of more correctly the greatest hope for world peace). If you saw pictures of protests against Bush and Reagan - it would be hard to tell which pictures belonged to which protests because most of the signs and giant papermache heads are the same.

- Ronald Reagan focused his Presidency on lowering taxes and fighting Communism. George W. Bush has focused his Presidency on lowering taxes and fighting terrorism.

I said above that I was saddened by the news of Reagan's passing but not shocked. I think the emotion I feel the most though is grateful. I am grateful that this country had Ronald Reagan as a President and I am grateful for the leadership and vision Reagan provided for this nation when it was most direly needed.