Barack Obama's not the only one calling him a 'transformational' leader. So is Sean Wilentz.
Comment:
Once Reagan received the nomination for the presidency, the Reagan-Bush team insured their victory in the 1980 election by making a deal with the Ayatollah not to release the American hostages in Iran until after the election. Nobody should ever forget the surreal images of the hostages boarding a plane in Tehran on one side of the screen and the inauguration ceremony on the other side of the screen.
Comment: It is an amazing testament to the awfulness of our current president that Reagan should be regarded as the SECOND worst president in American history, if one were to judge it on results rather than spin. Remember, though he was not as irresponsible about holding onto a no tax hikes policy in the face of ballooning deficits as current Republicans in DC and California (he gave Social Security decades of extra life by raising payroll taxes), he did leave us with the greatest deficit ever and showed Republicans that they only needed to talk fiscally responsible and not act it. He was totally out to lunch about Soviet power and wasted a fortune on a Star Wars that never worked. Jimmy Carter and his secretary of Defense Brown gave Reagan a military based on the F14/15, M1 Abrams tank and a navy that NEVER had any true doubts about controlling the ocean. We HAD the dominant hardware in the air and on land. Soviet equipment in Iraq proved to be a sad joke, so we did not need to build up as massively as Reagan ordered. The soviet system lacked a feedback mechanism to correct failures (like our market or democracy system) so poor management and corruption ran the place into the ground. It was bust in 1989 and they always overspent on their military, so don't feed that line about Reagan forced them to give up with his wreckless spending. They also lost because of the Afghan resistance that bled the Red Army, started under Carter and supported by Democrats and Republicans because it addressed real aggression. Unlike the terrorist sideshow in Nicaraugua where Contras were illegally funded with stolen US arms and killed civillians and destabilised a legally elected government. Reagan was asleep on AIDS, he pandered to racism, looked the other way as Saddam WAS actually gassing Kurds at the time. We could have colonised the moon or littered the Arizona deserts with solar panels with all the money Reagan overspent on the military (including some very mismanaged programs like the early Bradley development and Star Wars) or simply had a stronger economy without his huge deficit debts. While Polish unions were laying the groundwork for freedom in eastern Europe, with the right to a better future in solidarity, Reagan was breaking PATCO so that employers would feel free to declare war on the middle and lower class in favor of higher CEO pay and stock prices. He picked stupid fights in Grenada and Beirut that had no bearing on American security and ratcheted up a drug war that will never succeed because you can't beat a black market. Look up Prohibition. But in Reagan's world it was better to build hundreds of prisons and hire well paid guards instead of building universities and offering pay that would lure our best and brightest into teaching and research, which would have kept us more competitive as our jobs were being poached around the world. Truly an awful president, but, I have to give him this, he was never quite as bad as W.
Comment: It is an amazing testament to the awfulness of our current president that Reagan should be regarded as the SECOND worst president in American history, if one were to judge it on results rather than spin. Remember, though he was not as irresponsible about holding onto a no tax hikes policy in the face of ballooning deficits as current Republicans in DC and California (he gave Social Security decades of extra life by raising payroll taxes), he did leave us with the greatest deficit ever and showed Republicans that they only needed to talk fiscally responsible and not act it. He was totally out to lunch about Soviet power and wasted a fortune on a Star Wars that never worked. Jimmy Carter and his secretary of Defense Brown gave Reagan a military based on the F14/15, M1 Abrams tank and a navy that NEVER had any true doubts about controlling the ocean. We HAD the dominant hardware in the air and on land. Soviet equipment in Iraq proved to be a sad joke, so we did not need to build up as massively as Reagan ordered. The soviet system lacked a feedback mechanism to correct failures (like our market or democracy system) so poor management and corruption ran the place into the ground. It was bust in 1989 and they always overspent on their military, so don't feed that line about Reagan forced them to give up with his wreckless spending. They also lost because of the Afghan resistance that bled the Red Army, started under Carter and supported by Democrats and Republicans because it addressed real aggression. Unlike the terrorist sideshow in Nicaraugua where Contras were illegally funded with stolen US arms and killed civillians and destabilised a legally elected government. Reagan was asleep on AIDS, he pandered to racism, looked the other way as Saddam WAS actually gassing Kurds at the time. We could have colonised the moon or littered the Arizona deserts with solar panels with all the money Reagan overspent on the military (including some very mismanaged programs like the early Bradley development and Star Wars) or simply had a stronger economy without his huge deficit debts. While Polish unions were laying the groundwork for freedom in eastern Europe, with the right to a better future in solidarity, Reagan was breaking PATCO so that employers would feel free to declare war on the middle and lower class in favor of higher CEO pay and stock prices. He picked stupid fights in Grenada and Beirut that had no bearing on American security and ratcheted up a drug war that will never succeed because you can't beat a black market. Look up Prohibition. But in Reagan's world it was better to build hundreds of prisons and hire well paid guards instead of building universities and offering pay that would lure our best and brightest into teaching and research, which would have kept us more competitive as our jobs were being poached around the world. Truly an awful president, but, I have to give him this, he was never quite as bad as W.
Comment: George Will is the only writer that I know who can make reading about baseball worse than watching paint dry. In fact, I would rather watch paint dry and smell the fumes than being forced to read "Men At Work" again.
According to Will, "[Reagan] said that when the American people are happy, good things happen: they invest, they save, they have children. So he thought that getting America back to cheerfulness was an intensely practical program." What he does not say that once the rose colored glasses were knocked off in October 1987, Reagan and his idealistic administration were not prepared to deal with the harsh reality of a down cycle.
Will then compares the concept of an "effective leader," meaning Reagan, to Margaret Thatcher. What Will does not recognize is that as Prime Minister, Thatcher and her successors are members of Parliament and expected to participate as a representative of their district. Thatcher was very hands on and willing to make enemies to clean up the British government. The result was that the country was governed from 10 Downing Street and not from Westminster Castle or the party offices. Reagan allowed his appointees to make policy to the detriment of the environment (remember James Watt?), those of us who were in college at the time who lost their student loans, the traveling public (remember PATCO?), and Iran-Contra, to name a few.
Not to keep picking on George Will, Sean Wilentz said, "I don't think, though, that it was simply a matter of his personality. Ronald Reagan was much more serious than people have given him credit for." I found this interesting after reading interviews from Mikhail Gorbachev and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl who were not complimentary of Reagan's "engagement" during their meetings.
And lest we forget that Ronald Reagan propped up the Saddam Hussein regiem to fight against Iran. Saddam was supposed to rid of the US of the Iranian problem. In the mean time, the Reagan administration was selling arms to Iran after arm-twising Israel to be the "middle-man" and divert some of the funds to the Contras in Nicaragua--after Congress passed a law (and Reagan signed) that said the US would not fund the Contras. Iran-Contra showed how out of touch Reagan was with the working of his own administration.
But Reagan was an actor and looked directly into the camera and turned on his concerned face and Hollywood charm that sold whatever garbage he was selling to his adoring fans surrounding the virtual red carpet. He was the kind old uncle that would tell us everything was Ok even when we knew it was not. He fooled a lot of people much of the time because the failures of his administration were more catastrophic than the success of the successes!
Comment: George Will is the only writer that I know who can make reading about baseball worse than watching paint dry. In fact, I would rather watch paint dry and smell the fumes than being forced to read "Men At Work" again.
According to Will, "[Reagan] said that when the American people are happy, good things happen: they invest, they save, they have children. So he thought that getting America back to cheerfulness was an intensely practical program." What he does not say that once the rose colored glasses were knocked off in October 1987, Reagan and his idealistic administration were not prepared to deal with the harsh reality of a down cycle.
Will then compares the concept of an "effective leader," meaning Reagan, to Margaret Thatcher. What Will does not recognize is that as Prime Minister, Thatcher and her successors are members of Parliament and expected to participate as a representative of their district. Thatcher was very hands on and willing to make enemies to clean up the British government. The result was that the country was governed from 10 Downing Street and not from Westminster Castle or the party offices. Reagan allowed his appointees to make policy to the detriment of the environment (remember James Watt?), those of us who were in college at the time who lost their student loans, the traveling public (remember PATCO?), and Iran-Contra, to name a few.
Not to keep picking on George Will, Sean Wilentz said, "I don't think, though, that it was simply a matter of his personality. Ronald Reagan was much more serious than people have given him credit for." I found this interesting after reading interviews from Mikhail Gorbachev and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl who were not complimentary of Reagan's "engagement" during their meetings.
And lest we forget that Ronald Reagan propped up the Saddam Hussein regiem to fight against Iran. Saddam was supposed to rid of the US of the Iranian problem. In the mean time, the Reagan administration was selling arms to Iran after arm-twising Israel to be the "middle-man" and divert some of the funds to the Contras in Nicaragua--after Congress passed a law (and Reagan signed) that said the US would not fund the Contras. Iran-Contra showed how out of touch Reagan was with the working of his own administration.
But Reagan was an actor and looked directly into the camera and turned on his concerned face and Hollywood charm that sold whatever garbage he was selling to his adoring fans surrounding the virtual red carpet. He was the kind old uncle that would tell us everything was Ok even when we knew it was not. He fooled a lot of people much of the time because the failures of his administration were more catastrophic than the success of the successes!
Comment: Talking about transformation. I heard Hillary Clinton is going to break off with her own party and supporters with the support of Ralph Nader and his supporters in a bid for the White House. Man, now that'll be some election in November !! Obama , Hillary and McCain. Let the fireworks begin.
Comment:
His administration was scandal ridden from the first day to its last day with over 170 top officials indicted or forced to resign because of criminal behavior. However, if they wrapped themselves in the flag and praised the Lord their crimes were swept under the rug. He pressed Congress to label ketchup a vegetable so he could cut spending for the school lunch program and expand his Star Wars program. He sent Marines ashore in Beirut and when the Hezbollah murdered hundreds of them, he ran like a whipped cur. He then invaded tiny Grenada scaring the bejeebers out of a few Cuban construction workers. Now that???s a war to be proud of American tanks against Cuban wheelbarrows. He thought ICBMs could be recalled after they were launched. It's a miracle that he didn't blow the *** out of this planet. He cut the taxes of the rich and afterwards raised the taxes on the poor and middle class. The CIA's report on the downfall of the Soviet Union proves Reagan had nothing to do with the downfall of communism. In fact, the report points out that Polish unions and other dissentients were a major cause in the downfall of the Soviet Union. Dissentients not unlike the antiwar protesters Reagan threatened to massacre. The only legacy he left for America was more than doubling the national debt by spending more than all 39 of his predecessors combined.
Comment: How can Reagan be glorified? People forget this man promoted a campaign of terror and death in Central America. Reagan funded the Contra terrorists in Nicaragua who raided villages, executed thousands, raped and pillaged. He also fully backed, armed and funded the brutal military regimes in El Salvador and Guatemala that also left thousands dead and those countries in pieces. Reagan also backed and funded Saddam Hussein and the Islamist fighters in Afghanistan who evolved into the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Americans may try to dream-up a fantasy about this guy, but the people in other countries who we tend to ignore, certainly have not forgotten the terror Reagan exported.
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers! Basically, he was saying to racists everywhere, "I am with you!" Republicans remember him as the President who lowered taxes, but for those paying attention, we now that he lowered taxes his first year in office, then raised them 7 consecutive years!!! He also championed smaller governement, but the rank and file beauracracy increased by 50% under his watch. Finally, the myth of some senile old man ending communism is just that... a myth and a joke!
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers! Basically, he was saying to racists everywhere, "I am with you!" Republicans remember him as the President who lowered taxes, but for those paying attention, we now that he lowered taxes his first year in office, then raised them 7 consecutive years!!! He also championed smaller governement, but the rank and file beauracracy increased by 50% under his watch. Finally, the myth of some senile old man ending communism is just that... a myth and a joke!
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers! Basically, he was saying to racists everywhere, "I am with you!" Republicans remember him as the President who lowered taxes, but for those paying attention, we now that he lowered taxes his first year in office, then raised them 7 consecutive years!!! He also championed smaller governement, but the rank and file beauracracy increased by 50% under his watch. Finally, the myth of some senile old man ending communism is just that... a myth and a joke!
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers! Basically, he was saying to racists everywhere, "I am with you!" Republicans remember him as the President who lowered taxes, but for those paying attention, we now that he lowered taxes his first year in office, then raised them 7 consecutive years!!! He also championed smaller governement, but the rank and file beauracracy increased by 50% under his watch. Finally, the myth of some senile old man ending communism is just that... a myth and a joke!
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers! Basically, he was saying to racists everywhere, "I am with you!" Republicans remember him as the President who lowered taxes, but for those paying attention, we now that he lowered taxes his first year in office, then raised them 7 consecutive years!!! He also championed smaller governement, but the rank and file beauracracy increased by 50% under his watch. Finally, the myth of some senile old man ending communism is just that... a myth and a joke!
Comment: When I think of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I remember the Republican who did too little to fight apartheid in South Africa, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I think of the California governor who tried to obliterate the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. I recall that he vigorously attacked the Fair Housing Act of 1966. Nor can I forget that he was instrumental in breaking labor unions, cutting aid to the poor, building up Saddam and Osama and championing law enforcement that was overly punitive and discriminatory. (LAPD treats you like a King??? Rodney King!) Plus, his voodoo economic policy did nothing more than make the rich more wealthy, sent our country into massive debt and spawned too many corporate takeovers that resulted in nothing more than loss jobs and layoffs. And, if all that isn???t bad enough, he kicked off his run for President in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yes, the town where the three civil rights teenagers were brutally murdered and the racist culprits were freed by a jury of their peers!
Comment: Celebrating Reagan overlooks his racism & code-word bigotry. The language of "welfare queens driving Cadillacs" paid for by taxes - falsely characterizing the majority of recipients as black and deceptive. His "drug war" that ignored 70% of drug users (white) and used "crack codes" to double the imprisonment of blacks. He made it easy for whites to feel comfortable persecuting blacks with the language of drugs and welfare.
Comment: Neos wrote: "In 1976 Jimmy Carter first spoke of the lack of a national health care plan as a "national disgrace." Since that time to the present plans have existed for implementing universal health care in this country. Hillary had a plan in the 90's but it went nowhere - partially due to her stubborn unwillingness to compromise and deal effectively with others; she was convinced that she was the only one who had the right plan (hasn't changed much, has she?)
Neos,
It is important to know about the history of health care reform in the U.S. Noteworthy, in 1993, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, an "ultra-right-wing," politically conservative association of physicians and medical professionals, litigiously defeated the Task Force led by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on National Health Care Reform.
This bastion of medical professionals opposes mandatory vaccination, universal health care and government intervention in healthcare. It???s no wonder why nearly 50 million Americans are uninsured.
Much to the dismay of the misanthropic ill-informed, Senator Clinton's early attempts at universal health care were not defeated by HRC's mismanagement or any other purported characterological deficits.
Rather than researching facts, some believe otherwise. The powerful AAPS which believes that there is no right to medical care, and opposes efforts to implement a national health plan defeated the nation???s right to access good health care.
Although 15 million persons might remain uncovered under Senator Obama's plan, that's a much better figure than 50 million, and a move in the right direction.
Comment: When Ronald Regan became president that national debt was under 1 trillion dollars, when he left it was over 3 trillion. Jimmy Carter left Reagan with an 80 billion dollar defecit. Reagan's defecits were always over 100 Billion dollars. When Reagan was President U.S. Marines were killed in Lebenon. hostages were taken on a regular basis in Lebenon, we had a proxy war in Central American and terrorist were blowing up and highjacking planes. Reagan did transfrom this country from a creditor to a debtor, from a country with the economy and resources to solve its problems to one dependent on countries that either despise or hate us. Ronald Reagan's administration laid the foundation for the disaster that is the Bush Administration.
Frank H.
Comment: Not only that but Ollie North and others conspired with the Teheran hostage takers to hold them until Reagan was inagurated. Is that not very close to treason?
Comment: When Ronald Regan became president that national debt was under 1 trillion dollars, when he left it was over 3 trillion. Jimmy Carter left Reagan with an 80 billion dollar defecit. Reagan's defecits were always over 100 Billion dollars. When Reagan was President U.S. Marines were killed in Lebenon. hostages were taken on a regular basis in Lebenon, we had a proxy war in Central American and terrorist were blowing up and highjacking planes. Reagan did transfrom this country from a creditor to a debtor, from a country with the economy and resources to solve its problems to one dependent on countries that either despise or hate us. Ronald Reagan's administration laid the foundation for the disaster that is the Bush Administration.
Frank H.
Comment: When Ronald Regan became president that national debt was under 1 trillion dollars, when he left it was over 3 trillion. Jimmy Carter left Reagan with an 80 billion dollar defecit. Reagan's defecits were always over 100 Billion dollars. When Reagan was President U.S. Marines were killed in Lebenon. hostages were taken on a regular basis in Lebenon, we had a proxy war in Central American and terrorist were blowing up and highjacking planes. Reagan did transfrom this country from a creditor to a debtor, from a country with the economy and resources to solve its problems to one dependent on countries that either despise or hate us. Ronald Reagan's administration laid the foundation for the disaster that is the Bush Administration.
Frank H.
Comment: Time for definitions from our dictionaries
holy,
adjective
dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose
roller,
noun
a cylinder that rotates around a central axis and is used in various machines and devices to move, flatten, or to repeatedly spread something.
Need I say more?
Comment: When Ronald Reagan became President the national debt was less then 1 trillion dollars and defecit was under 100 billion dollars. After eight years the debt was over 3 trillion dollars and the deficets were over 200 billion dollars a year. While this was happening programs that aided the middle class were cut or eliminated. President Carter laid the ground work to wean us from foriegn oil supplies the the synthetic fuel corporation and other programs that Reagan ended. It was under Reagan's watch that a plane was blown up over Scotland, U.S. Marines were killed in Lebenon, a proxy war was conducted in Central America and hostages were taken in Lebenon. Reagan did transform this nation from a creditor nation to a debtor nation from one independent because of its own resources to one dependent on countries that either hate us or despise us for our self centered view of the world. Ronald Reagan laid the foundation for the disaster that is the Bush Administration. Frank H
Comment: I think that Reagan was a very influential President. The only problem I see is that he drained away the desire and moral authority for big-scale government -led solutions to societal/global problems outside of defense. Now we are facing an extistential environmental threat (global warming) whose solutions will need to come from a different playbook and his legacy has made it all but impossible to do that.
If the solution to climate change needs to be higher taxes to re-structure society. If the solution to climate change involves living small and extensive international cooperation, I think his legacy is exactly the opposite of that, so we have to realize the limits of his apporach and intentionally choose a different approach. secondly, he and especially his political decendents created a whole new cast of bad guys. The louder voices warning of global warming are coming exactly from the sectors of society (e.g. academics) who we have been told to denigrate, sneer at and ignore. The models of behavior and approach (ie the Europeans) are those who we are supposed to feel superior to. How do you solve a problem when the best solution comes from people you aren't supposed to acknowledge, far less respect? I don't think Reagan's legacy allows us to do that easily.
Comment: I think that Reagan was a very influential President. The only problem I see is that he drained away the desire and moral authority for big-scale government -led solutions to societal/global problems outside of defense. Now we are facing an extistential environmental threat (global warming) whose solutions will need to come from a different playbook and his legacy has made it all but impossible to do that.
If the solution to climate change needs to be higher taxes to re-structure society. If the solution to climate change involves living small and extensive international cooperation, I think his legacy is exactly the opposite of that, so we have to realize the limits of his apporach and intentionally choose a different approach. secondly, he and especially his political decendents created a whole new cast of bad guys. The louder voices warning of global warming are coming exactly from the sectors of society (e.g. academics) who we have been told to denigrate, sneer at and ignore. The models of behavior and approach (ie the Europeans) are those who we are supposed to feel superior to. How do you solve a problem when the best solution comes from people you aren't supposed to acknowledge, far less respect? I don't think Reagan's legacy allows us to do that easily.
Comment: I think that Reagan was a very influential President. The only problem I see is that he drained away the desire and moral authority for big-scale government -led solutions to societal/global problems outside of defense. Now we are facing an extistential environmental threat (global warming) whose solutions will need to come from a different playbook and his legacy has made it all but impossible to do that.
If the solution to climate change needs to be higher taxes to re-structure society. If the solution to climate change involves living small and extensive international cooperation, I think his legacy is exactly the opposite of that, so we have to realize the limits of his apporach and intentionally choose a different approach. secondly, he and especially his political decendents created a whole new cast of bad guys. The louder voices warning of global warming are coming exactly from the sectors of society (e.g. academics) who we have been told to denigrate, sneer at and ignore. The models of behavior and approach (ie the Europeans) are those who we are supposed to feel superior to. How do you solve a problem when the best solution comes from people you aren't supposed to acknowledge, far less respect? I don't think Reagan's legacy allows us to do that easily.
Comment: It seems odd to call Obama an "elitist" when he has no dominant traits to suggest that he is...there are a lot of elitists in the US, but Obama would be at the lower end of the pack...
Comment: One of the oher ills of the Reagan era was name calling. If you did not go along with Reagan's rather idiotic ideas, you were called a Communist. Now, you're an elitist. For real??? I don't recall getting invited to any of Reagan's shin digs up in Bel-Air. During the Reagan era I taught in an inner city high school Reagan once praised a "high school in Watts" which was working miracles despite cuts in education. During my first year, I had no books, so I had to buy paper backs and pay for them out of my own pocket. I taught in bungalow that was a left-over from World War II. The roof leaked. The heater did not work. But when it didn???t I was lucky. Otherwise, I got air conditioning. The surface of my desk was so chipped and marred that I couldn???t write on it, but no big deal. I simply shoved the desk into the corner under the biggest leak and stayed on my feet all day (You can???t teach teenagers if you sit behind a desk.) During that time, I happened to see an add featuring George F. Will sitting at a cushy desk in a posh study. And he has the nerve to call me an elitist.. Will'ss wife had a job with the Department of Education, in spite of Reagan'r rhetoric about government hand0-outs/ However she ever trid to do anything about my crummy classroom? It???s still there. For real, who???s the elitist.
Comment: Because of all his rhetoric about Big Brother government Reagan failed to understand the importance of government intervention. We could have avoided the mortgage meltdown if we had more stringent regulations on home loans. That also would have kept the price of real estate within the means of the average buyer. Stricter regulation of the stock market could have prevented the ENRON meltdown. It would have saved Californians in particular billions of dollars, lost to energy manipulators. .The New Orleans disaster could have been less severe had we paid the full price to fix the levies rather than the nickel-and-dime approach. A healthy Mississippi Delta would have blunted the force of hurricane Katrina. Instead the delta is getting poisoned by selfish industrial interests. Restoring the Mississippi Delta is far cheaper than rebuilding New Orleans. Worse, thousands of Americans are getting sick and dying because of our failures to clean up toxic wastes and because we are gutting regulatory agencies like the OSHA, EPA, the FDA and Consumer Protection Agencies. We need to put those agencies back into business and we need to pay enough taxes to enable them to do their job.
In sort we will not survive is we merely deify the fictional myths of dead leaders. The USSR did that and look at what happened. If we want to avoid the fate of the USSR we need to change - drastic change- and that, not Rev. Wright, is really what this election needs to be about.
Comment: Yes, and lets have the government handle everything for you. You talk about not wanting to have what happened to Russia happen to us, yet you want the government to control everything, do everything for you (just like communist Russia). At least pull your head out for a breath of air and maybe start making some sort of sense. Government intervention is the big problem, not the solution.
Comment: You've drank the Reagan Kool-Aid - every time government privitizes something, it costs us more tax dollars to pay them their profit. Governments operate their programs at a NON-PROFIT rate. They have been awarding cost plus contracts to these businesses. Take KBR who decided they wanted their logo on all the towels the supply the troops - It raiased the cost of the towels, but they didn't care, because they were getting paid "cost plus." Government employees have been dissed by the Republicans so they can give these contracts to their buddies. Business may know how to do it better, but rather than turn over contracts to them, they should be paid only a consultant fee to help government agencies do it on their own without the profit for a public service. Based on what I've seen with companies taking over the utilities, they dont make it better. They charge more, and then part out th company until cities/counties/states have to come in and pick up the pieces. Government is not the problem. Homeland Security is a shell agency being run by private industry. Do you want their minimum wage employees who are temps with no benefits to have access to your private information? Thanks, but no thanks.
Comment:
Maybe we should privatize Fire Departments, Police Departments, Arm Forces which are all social programs approved by congress to protect the American people.
Ridiculous Correct?
Your argument is insanity at the least and it is that only certain Social Government Agencies should be allowed to exist.
Try calling up a privatized Fire Fighting Corporation at 3:am and see if they will come and protect your house when its on fire and have them say no because they haven't recieved your monthly payment!
We the American People are the Government and we are not the problem your Pretzel Logic and how you and your ilk munipulate the American voters is the problem!
Comment: One of the other great lies of Ronald Reagan was that platitude ???It???s morning in America.??? It gave everybody a feel-good feeling, but did nothing to solve the problems of the future. In the 80's we should have begun fuel conservation, starting with stringent fuel economy standards for motor vehicles. But some of the folks raising the loudest objects were Reagan Democrats, the same folks who expect Hillary Clinton to buy them a tank of gasoline to get to work. (Talk about government handouts.) The 80's was the era we should have started developing sustainable energy: solar and wind. Biodiesal and ethanol from kelp, switch grass, algae and even bacteria. (But NOT corn-based ethanol.) We???re now paying the bill. Claiming to be super ANTI-Tax, Reagan gave a lot of tax holidays for the rich. They squandered the money. As a result we have a crumbling infra-structure that will be that much more expensive to repair. The big problem with the no-tax platitudes of Ronald Reagan is simple. They delay problems. The crumbling Interstate system is one example. I???ll also add that giving tax breaks to the rich means taxing everyone else indirectly. When I started as a freshman at UCLA, there was no tuition. Now tuition is sky high. As a result we have a whole generation that is paralyzed with debt. They cannot buy houses, start families, begin new businesses because of their student debts. They also cannot go into teaching or provide legal or medical services for the poor. They are paying the rich folks??? taxes and their debt burden will destroy our economy. Lower taxes now mean higher taxes later. We desperately need to change that mentality. Tax-and-spend liberals are really the only true financial conservatives.
Comment: It???s nice that both Wilentz and Thomas are white. Because white is right was really Reagan???s wining formula. Reagan jump started his political career in California after Pat Brown, a Democratic governor, singed a fair housing bill. A lot of whites never forgave the Democrats.They never forgave the Democrats for passing the Civil Right???s legislatin. Reagan started his presidential bid in 1980 in Philadelphia, Mississippi where 3 civil rights activists were brutally murdered. Democrats always had the choice, they can either do what???s just or they can alienate the Reagan Democrats. Had the Democratic party decided to pander to Reagan Democrats, African-Americans would still be riding on the back of the bus and in California, African-Americans would have to call themselves realtists, not realtors.
Now the Democratic party is getting attacked for not properly ???vetting??? Barack Obama because if they ever decide field a black candidate, it must be one that all white people, including I suppose the KKK, will approve of. Ironically, no one ???vets??? white candidates to measure their appeal to African-Americans. Rev. Wright makes a convenient excuse, Obama also has a funny name, he eats funny food, he wore a funny Muslim costume, he reads the works of Reingold Niebuhr. African-Americans are always walking on the tightrope; one false step and they are doomed. If this is NOT small minded racism, what is? The only people who can escape the validation obstacle course are psychopatic murderers, pimps, gang bangers, and rapists.. And race baiters like Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright. It too bad neither Wilentz nor Thomas can walk a mile in Jeremiah Wright???s shoes. Then they???d know what I mean. That???s the reason I like Obama. He's advocating the change we need to effect in order to become Amaerica.
Comment: Welcome to the 21st century. Come out of the dark and pay attention to what you are writing because you are stuck in the past. Your posts show your own racist views and attitudes
Comment: It???s nice that both Wilentz and Thomas are white. Because white is right was really Reagan???s wining formula. Reagan jump started his political career in California after Pat Brown, a Democratic governor, singed a fair housing bill. A lot of whites never forgave the Democrats or pat brown. They never forgave the Democrats for passing the Civil Right???s legislatin. Reagan started his presidential bid in 1980 in Philadelphia, Mississippi where 3 civil rights activists were brutally murdered. The ???Reagan Democrats??? loved him for it. In short, Democrats always have choice, they can either do what???s just or they can alienate the Reagan Democrats. Had the Democratic party decided to pander to Reagan Democrats, African-Americans would still be riding on the back of the bus and in California, African-Americans would have to call themselves realtists, not realtors.
Now the Democratic party is getting attacked for not properly ???vetting??? Barack Obama because if they ever decide field a black candidate, it must be one that all white people, including I suppose the KKK, will approve of. Ironically, no one ???vets??? white candidates to measure their appeal to African-Americans. Rev. Wright makes a convenient excuse. And that???s what it is. As Jon Stewart pointed out, Pat Robertson also said American brought 9/11 on themselves, and all sorts of GOP politicians kow-tow for his political support. Even without Rev. Wright, Obama has a number of damning short-comings. He has a funny name, he eats funny food, he wore a funny Muslim costume, he reads the works of Reingold Niebuhr. African-Americans are always walking on the tightrope of white approval. One false step and they are doomed. If this is NOT small minded racism, what is? The only people who can escape the validation obstacle course are psychopatic murderers, pimps, gang bangers, and rapists.. And race baiters like Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright. It too bad neither Wilentz nor Thomas can walk a mile in Jeremiah Wright???s shoes. Then they???d know what I mean. That???s also the reason Obama is one of the greatest Americans of the 21st century. He???s demanding courage, hope and change.
Comment: What is the best thing about Reagan?
Reagan survived the assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. that made George Bush Sr. acting President.
The John Hinckley family and the George Bush Family were friends.
John Hinckley SR. owned Vanderbilt Oil and George Bush SR.owned Zapata Oil. OIL BUDDIES.
Scott Hinckley was supposed to go to Neil Bush's party days after the assassination attempt but the party was cancelled.
Now why do you think John Hinckley Jr. was able to get out to go to his father's funeral in Virginia earlier this year?
Why don't these so-called journalists-Evan Thomas and Sean Wilentz -do some real reporting.
Comment: What is the best thing about Reagan?
Reagan survived the assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. that made George Bush Sr. acting President.
The John Hinckley family and the George Bush Family were friends.
John Hinckley SR. owned Vanderbilt Oil and George Bush SR.owned Zapata Oil. OIL BUDDIES.
Scott Hinckley was supposed to go to Neil Bush's party days after the assassination attempt but the party was cancelled.
Now why do you think John Hinckley Jr. was able to get out to go to his father's funeral in Virginia earlier this year?
Why don't these so-called journalists-Evan Thomas and Sean Wilentz -do some real reporting.
Comment: What is the best thing about Reagan?
Reagan survived the assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. that made George Bush Sr. acting President.
The John Hinckley family and the George Bush Family were friends.
John Hinckley SR. owned Vanderbilt Oil and George Bush SR.owned Zapata Oil. OIL BUDDIES.
Scott Hinckley was supposed to go to Neil Bush's party days after the assassination attempt but the party was cancelled.
Now why do you think John Hinckley Jr. was able to get out to go to his father's funeral in Virginia earlier this year?
Why don't these so-called journalists-Evan Thomas and Sean Wilentz -do some real reporting.
Comment: Regan, had seriouse aging problems early on in his admistration, acording to my reading of the books by his Aids and speech writers. Sleeping in meetings, not recognizing his Cabinet.
Also, I feel his Pay your way drive put many Boat and Aircraft Manufactures at risk.
In my area the Power Squadron and Coast Guard Auxillay was ready to help Boaters in trouble, free of charge. They left the water to allow for profit businesses to do a much poorer job for more money.
Frank from Florida
Comment: You are correct. I was on a boat in Florida and we had to pay $500.00 to be towed 2ft. when we ran aground. Also navigation chart prices doubled and were not updated, weather reporting fell toward third world quality. All that and more to cut taxes and spend more on weapons.
Comment: Reagan started the right shift in the US that lasted almost 30 years. It included some good things, that made us more competitive (like what Thacher did in GB) but it started a lot of bad things. One is the concept that government regulation/oversight is bad by definition. This lead to an FDA, FAA, FCC, etc., that believe that its job is not to protect the people but maximize the profit of corporations, especially the ones financing the GOP
Comment: Reagan started the right shift in the US that lasted almost 30 years. It included some good things, that made us more competitive (like what Thacher did in GB) but it started a lot of bad things. One is the concept that government regulation/oversight is bad by definition. This lead to an FDA, FAA, FCC, etc., that believe that its job is not to protect the people but maximize the profit of corporations, especially the ones financing the GOP
Comment: Reagan started the right shift in the US that lasted almost 30 years. It included some good things, that made us more competitive (like what Thacher did in GB) but it started a lot of bad things. One is the concept that government regulation/oversight is bad by definition. This lead to an FDA, FAA, FCC, etc., that believe that its job is not to protect the people but maximize the profit of corporations, especially the ones financing the GOP
Comment: Reagan started the right shift in the US that lasted almost 30 years. It included some good things, that made us more competitive (like what Thacher did in GB) but it started a lot of bad things. One is the concept that government regulation/oversight is bad by definition. This lead to an FDA, FAA, FCC, etc., that believe that its job is not to protect the people but maximize the profit of corporations, especially the ones financing the GOP
Comment: Reagan started the right shift in the US that lasted almost 30 years. It included some good things, that made us more competitive (like what Thacher did in GB) but it started a lot of bad things. One is the concept that government regulation/oversight is bad by definition. This lead to an FDA, FAA, FCC, etc., that believe that its job is not to protect the people but maximize the profit of corporations, especially the ones financing the GOP
Comment: It's very true that Reagan shaped political discourse in the US for decades, in fact moved the entire argument rightward, while at the same time exploiting the divisions in the democratic coalition.
One should not be surprised if again in 2008, the GOP is able to exploit those divisions (so freshly re-sown by Sen. Clinton) in the democratic party to win the election, against all odds. And Ronald Reagan's legacy would be no small part of that result -- no small part at all.
Comment: In 1993, I went to Gdansk Poland. As soon as I got my room, I took a street car to the fomer Lenin Shipyard, the sit of the strike that shook the world. There was a memorial to Solidarity and as I looked at the memorial, an 0ld man came out of small maintenance center to talk to me. Communicating in a mixture of my bootleg Polish and his limited German, he pointed to the intersection where he and his fellow workers faced off the Red Army, the mightiest military machine in the world. The Red Army fired, the old man told me, his voice trembling as he fought back tears, and many of his comrades were killed. Ronald Regan has not business claiming credit for destroying communism. By the time he demanded Gobrachev to tear down the wall, everyone new that Communism was on its last legs, Glasnost, Gobrachev's answer was too little too late. Credit belongs to the workers. As early as 1956 workers in Poland and Hungary rebelled. That created a new generation of "pragmatists" - Gomulka and Kadar, who attempted to "give in" in a very limited way to workers' demands. That grew into an independent, democratically labor union, like Solidarity. Once soldarity start, it signaled the beginning of the end. Yet Reagan attempted to stamp out labor unions in this country, and Elaine Chao is working hard to destroy the surviving labor unions. These fools don;t understand.
Democratically elected labor unions can cross barriers. I know because my union UTLA consists of racial and ethnic groups with long histories of mutual hatred, enmity and distrust. USW and other labor unions are already attempting to organize unions abroad. We should help them ,not hinder them Labor unions are a far more potent engine for democracy that the multi trillion defense budget championed by Reagan and his disciples. We need to change, recognizeing the importance of labor unions as an engine of democracy.
Comment: The USSR had Lenin; the USA has Reagn. Now Willentz, a liberal rethinks Regan.
First of all, it's nice that both Willentz are Evan Thomas are white because white is right. That's precisely what Reagan broadcast during his political career. He jump started his campaign in California after Democratic governor Pat Brown signed the state's first fair housing bill. Before then, white could be called realtors, black has to settle fore realtist. Many white in California never forgave Pat Brown or the Democratic party. A lot of whites hated the Democrats for punshing Civil rights Bills too, so they became the core of the Republican party. Regan began his presidential bid in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where 3 Civil Rights activist were brutally murdered. That was Reagan's signal of white solidarity. And little has changed; Currently the Democratic party is getting shafted for not properly "vetting" Barack Obama to see if white people would approve of him. Do white people ever get "vetted" to for their appeal to black people? Rev. Righ is only an excuse. As comedian John Stewart just pointed out, Pat Robertson also said Americans were to blame for 9/11. Instead of getting sent to Siberia, all sorts of GOP candidates court his support. Besdies, everyone trashes obama for his funny name, his funny origina. his funny eating hapbits, and his funny Muslim costume. It seems as if African-Americans must alsways walk on a tightrope, over a crocidle pit; one false step and he or she is doomed. If this is not small-minded racism, what is? It seems also that the only people to break free of the system are psychopaths, pimps gang banger, murders, and race baiters, like Louis Farrakhan or Jeremiah Wrigtht. These people don't have to worry about acceptance, but God help any African-American male who reads the works of Reingold Niebuhr. That's one of the big reasons Obama in one of the great leaders of the 21st century. He's calling on All of America to change - particularly to change from the America of Ronadl Reagan.
And P.S. to Retired marine. If you listened to the straight talk Barack Obama has leveled on African-american audiences. (Johnathan Alder mentions is), you'd discover that handouts are NOT on the agenda. He contantly stresses responsiblity, education, and self-reliance, He even criticzes some African-american churches for preaching anti-semitism and homophobia. The media as well as Evan Thomas has got it all wrong
Comment: Mwalimu, maybe you should go back to school and re learn history. Lennin believed in large government control, Reagan believed in small government getting out of the people's personal business so right of the bat, your comparisons are rediculous. The republican party was established well before "Civil Rights" movement.
Your smirks about "White People" simply show that you yourself are racists. Whites are scrutinized when they run for office just as much as Obama. Your attempt to twist this into a guilt trip to not criticize him simply because of his skin color, and reference of him being "African-American" reveals your real intent. You don't want fairness, you want special treatment. You don't want equality, you want privilege because he is Black. You are no different than the racists in the KKK or black panthers - full of hate.
You are blind to his policies because you are so for his success as a "Black man". Hand outs are exactly what are on his agenda. He wants to raise taxes, take from some to give to others. Wants government control over everything so that the government doles out goods, services, etc.... This is socialistic views from any point of view. Back up a little, get skin color out of the picture and judge for yourself ... if you can actually do that
Comment: Reading these comments and the article, I would agree that the Reagan democrats are large in number and an important segment of the voting population. Obama does not appeal to this group because he is too liberal. If the Republican party would leave McCain alone, he is probably more likely to have appeal to Reagan dems because he isn't historically right-wing. Clinton is smart and has a very smart husband...she has been aiming for this group for quite awhile and I think that's why she is going up in the polls. I wonder how many of the early voting states would rethink their Obama selection if given the opportunity.
Comment: HolyRoller wrote: "Are you even American? Reagan saved this country. Mr Peanut had interest rates at 20%. Put the ,"man of God" Ayatollah Khommeni in power and got Americans taken hostage. . . I voted for the idiot in 1976, my first election. But I grew up and repented."
Dear Roller and Reagan fans,
It was a 1953 coup led by the U.S. put the Shah of Iran into power for nearly three decades. The mighty triumvirate, Kissinger, Rockefeller and John J. McCloy helped give birth to chaos in Iran by paying back a ???favor??? to the Shah. It was this favor, NOT President Carter, that gave rise to U.S. hostages taken in Iran, and ultimately, Reagan's Freedom Fighters, the Taliban. Carter warned them, but with political pressure from Kissinger, ultimately, Carter was "forced" to concede.
It was these men and a few others who helped put the Reagan Administration into motion which provided military training, armament and monetary support to the Taliban during the entrenched Soviet-Afghanistan War. Hence, it was during the Reagan Administration that gave rise to the Taliban, and quite clearly, NOT the Clinton Administration.
The Taliban were created by corporate sponsorship, Chase Manhattan Bank, and by a few powerful men: Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller and John J. McCloy, who, instrumentally provided impetus for the Iranian Revolution; the U.S. funded and aided our erstwhile ally, Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War while illegally providing weapons to Iran during the Iran Contra Affair.
Newsweek readers seem to forget the relevance of some of the largest untruths to be told: After the weapon sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred. The foreign branch of the US intelligence community still denies that they helped bin Laden recruit radical Islamic "fighters" that they trained to fire hand-held missiles, to detonate explosives and employ guerrilla tactics; they provided funding for the Taliban during the Soviet-Afghanistan War, which, ultimately, helped bring about the demise of the Soviet Union.
In violation of the Boland Amendment, Reagan outwardly lied to the American public and yet his illustrious presidency remains untarnished.
Reagan helped foster an abysmal divide between the poor and the prosperous.
One refrains from arguing the merits of William Jefferson Clinton???s statesmanship, eight years of peace and prosperity, but leaves another to ponder this: When world-renown economic scholar, Alan Greenspan, was asked who he thought was the most capable and smartest man he ever worked with, he both penned and answered it was, Bill Clinton. His wife is no less capable.
Share this while calling pledged delegates.
Comment: If by peace under the Clinton presidency you mean US citizens and property being attacked without response (i.e. doormats for the terrorists) then I guess you would be correct. Your hero Clinton did nothing.
Thinking that Kissinger, Rockefeller and McCloy gave "Birth to chaos in Iran" shows that you know absolutely NOTHING about middle eastern history since the creation of the world.
Thinking Bill Clinton was an honorable and capable president simply shows that you are an out of touch with reality mental patient
Comment: HolyRoller wrote: "Are you even American? Reagan saved this country. Mr Peanut had interest rates at 20%. Put the ,"man of God" Ayatollah Khommeni in power and got Americans taken hostage. . . I voted for the idiot in 1976, my first election. But I grew up and repented."
Dear Roller and Reagan fans,
It was a 1953 coup led by the U.S. put the Shah of Iran into power for nearly three decades. The mighty triumvirate, Kissinger, Rockefeller and John J. McCloy helped give birth to chaos in Iran by paying back a ???favor??? to the Shah. It was this favor, NOT President Carter, that gave rise to U.S. hostages taken in Iran, and ultimately, Reagan's Freedom Fighters, the Taliban. Carter warned them, but with political pressure from Kissinger, ultimately, Carter was "forced" to concede.
It was these men and a few others who helped put the Reagan Administration into motion which provided military training, armament and monetary support to the Taliban during the entrenched Soviet-Afghanistan War. Hence, it was during the Reagan Administration that gave rise to the Taliban, and quite clearly, NOT the Clinton Administration.
The Taliban were created by corporate sponsorship, Chase Manhattan Bank, and by a few powerful men: Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller and John J. McCloy, who, instrumentally provided impetus for the Iranian Revolution; the U.S. funded and aided our erstwhile ally, Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War while illegally providing weapons to Iran during the Iran Contra Affair.
Newsweek readers seem to forget the relevance of some of the largest untruths to be told: After the weapon sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred. The foreign branch of the US intelligence community still denies that they helped bin Laden recruit radical Islamic "fighters" that they trained to fire hand-held missiles, to detonate explosives and employ guerrilla tactics; they provided funding for the Taliban during the Soviet-Afghanistan War, which, ultimately, helped bring about the demise of the Soviet Union.
In violation of the Boland Amendment, Reagan outwardly lied to the American public and yet his illustrious presidency remains untarnished.
Reagan helped foster an abysmal divide between the poor and the prosperous.
One refrains from arguing the merits of William Jefferson Clinton???s statesmanship, eight years of peace and prosperity, but leaves another to ponder this: When world-renown economic scholar, Alan Greenspan, was asked who he thought was the most capable and smartest man he ever worked with, he both penned and answered it was, Bill Clinton. His wife is no less capable.
Share this while calling pledged delegates.
Comment: HolyRoller wrote: "Are you even American? Reagan saved this country. Mr Peanut had interest rates at 20%. Put the ,"man of God" Ayatollah Khommeni in power and got Americans taken hostage. . . I voted for the idiot in 1976, my first election. But I grew up and repented."
Dear Roller and Reagan fans,
It was a 1953 coup led by the U.S. put the Shah of Iran into power for nearly three decades. The mighty triumvirate, Kissinger, Rockefeller and John J. McCloy helped give birth to chaos in Iran by paying back a ???favor??? to the Shah. It was this favor, NOT President Carter, that gave rise to U.S. hostages taken in Iran, and ultimately, Reagan's Freedom Fighters, the Taliban. Carter warned them, but with political pressure from Kissinger, ultimately, Carter was "forced" to concede.
It was these men and a few others who helped put the Reagan Administration into motion which provided military training, armament and monetary support to the Taliban during the entrenched Soviet-Afghanistan War. Hence, it was during the Reagan Administration that gave rise to the Taliban, and quite clearly, NOT the Clinton Administration.
The Taliban were created by corporate sponsorship, Chase Manhattan Bank, and by a few powerful men: Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller and John J. McCloy, who, instrumentally provided impetus for the Iranian Revolution; the U.S. funded and aided our erstwhile ally, Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War while illegally providing weapons to Iran during the Iran Contra Affair.
Newsweek readers seem to forget the relevance of some of the largest untruths to be told: After the weapon sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred. The foreign branch of the US intelligence community still denies that they helped bin Laden recruit radical Islamic "fighters" that they trained to fire hand-held missiles, to detonate explosives and employ guerrilla tactics; they provided funding for the Taliban during the Soviet-Afghanistan War, which, ultimately, helped bring about the demise of the Soviet Union.
In violation of the Boland Amendment, Reagan outwardly lied to the American public and yet his illustrious presidency remains untarnished.
Reagan helped foster an abysmal divide between the poor and the prosperous.
One refrains from arguing the merits of William Jefferson Clinton???s statesmanship, eight years of peace and prosperity, but leaves another to ponder this: When world-renown economic scholar, Alan Greenspan, was asked who he thought was the most capable and smartest man he ever worked with, he both penned and answered it was, Bill Clinton. His wife is no less capable.
Share this while calling pledged delegates.
Comment: The first time I was old enough to vote - I crossed party lines and voted for Reagan, just to get Jimmy Carter out. I feel Obama is just like Carter - YUCK - Go Hillary.
Comment: I was in grade school when Reagan was elected and am not much of a history buff, so my opinion is admittedly ill-informed, but I don't think you can judge his complete legacy quite yet as many of his philosophies have not come to complete fruition. Yes, he was instrumental in ending the cold war and eliminating ridiculous tax rates; he was also the father of Trickle Down Economic policies and began a pattern of massive deficit spending that will more or less bankrupt our government within the coming decades if drastic corrective action is taken immediately.
Over the past 25 years our middle class has shrunk drastically, home ownership has decreased and become far more expensive, social security has become a pipedream and future generations have been straddled with backbreaking debt. Reagan's economic policies produced illusory short term prosperity that we have just now begun to pay for. It's easy to feel rich if you borrow a ton of money and go on a spending spree, but when the bill comes and you have to mortgage all those fancy trinkets and bobbles to pay the piper it's hard not to conclude that the temporary good times weren't worth the protracted period of repayment (with interest).
Those of us who prospered in the 80's and 90's have Reagan to thank. Those of us who will suffer over the next century also have Reagan to thank. Let's not be too quick to cannonize Mr. Reagan. Those who will be most affected by his policies haven't had their say yet.
Comment: Wrong. We have the liberal democrats who basically undid what Reagan did for the economy to thank for todays troubles. Government spending was down. Reagans philosophy of SMALL government has been proven successful. Problem is that after all his hard work, these liberals got into office and undid what he had accomplished. Put the blame on congress and big government. Reagans policies would have been long term had they not screwed things up.
Comment: On Inauguration Day 1981, I and all of my colleagues at the time believed the world was about to end. And it did for many of us who cotinued to think for ourselves and refused to become sheep. Few remember that Reagan kicked his first campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The significance was not lost on those of us who remembered the civil rights activists murdered there. We also remembered that Mississippi was among the most vocal "states' rights" states, especially in the 1964 election. And we remember the right-wing politicians, including Reagan, who allowed such metaphors to thrive and flourish.
And speaking of Barry Goldwater (1964), I have much greater respect for him than for Ronald Reagan. At least Barry Goldwater later learned and spoke about the error of his ways. I am still dumfounded by the Reagan apologists who call him "the great communicator." He was able to communicate less and less effectively over time and now we know why. We should have guessed he had some form of dementia, if not alzheimer's desease itself. So I guess it did not hurt him much for him to say little of subtance; he told the masses what he thought they wanted to hear and whatever was politically expedient. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall" was so inane and even backstabbing to the Soviet premier who actually made tearing the wall, although only a symbol, a reality. But Reagan was great with symbolic gestures that had no substance. His legacy? He effectively trained people who were struggling economically to vote against their own best interests and effectively kept races and classes of people separated by telling each group that the other was the real enemy.
There are many, I hope a great many, leftitsts who remember Ronald Reagan for what he really was -- a two-bit actor, a slick politician, and a horrible president.
Comment: I envision a new era for the "Left" (so called) that will take into account the best ideas from the Right (regarding the economy, free markets, etc) but temper these with a winning vision for helping as many people as possible with a viable safety net -- for health care, education, social welfare, etc. The Right is Wrong - they've proven themselves incapable during the past 8 years (if not more) of being able to effectively lead a nation - Bush has merely lined his pockets, and those of his buddies (like McCain and Wall Street, to mention just a few), with war profits. He was put in place to start the war against Iraq.
9/11 happened on George Bush Jr's watch - and don't anybody forget it. Keeping us safe? Bringing "honor and dignity back to the White House"? I think not. McSame is also a moron only out for his own best interests. We can no longer afford to be duped by the dummies who lead us by the noses to sell out our country's (and countrymen's) best interests to the very few riches Americans. They don't care about Government, they care about Profit.
OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
Comment: On Inauguration Day 1981, I and all of my colleagues at the time believed the world was about to end. And it did for many of us who cotinued to think for ourselves and refused to become sheep. Few remember that Reagan kicked his first campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The significance was not lost on those of us who remembered the civil rights activists murdered there. We also remembered that Mississippi was among the most vocal "states' rights" states, especially in the 1964 election. And we remember the right-wing politicians, including Reagan, who allowed such metaphors to thrive and flourish.
And speaking of Barry Goldwater (1964), I have much greater respect for him than for Ronald Reagan. At least Barry Goldwater later learned and spoke about the error of his ways. I am still dumfounded by the Reagan apologists who call him "the great communicator." He was able to communicate less and less effectively over time and now we know why. We should have guessed he had some form of dementia, if not alzheimer's desease itself. So I guess it did not hurt him much for him to say little of subtance; he told the masses what he thought they wanted to hear and whatever was politically expedient. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall" was so inane and even backstabbing to the Soviet premier who actually made tearing the wall, although only a symbol, a reality. But Reagan was great with symbolic gestures that had no substance. His legacy? He effectively trained people who were struggling economically to vote against their own best interests and effectively kept races and classes of people separated by telling each group that the other was the real enemy.
There are many, I hope a great many, leftitsts who remember Ronald Reagan for what he really was -- a two-bit actor, a slick politician, and a horrible president.
Comment: On Inauguration Day 1981, I and all of my colleagues at the time believed the world was about to end. And it did for many of us who cotinued to think for ourselves and refused to become sheep. Few remember that Reagan kicked his first campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The significance was not lost on those of us who remembered the civil rights activists murdered there. We also remembered that Mississippi was among the most vocal "states' rights" states, especially in the 1964 election. And we remember the right-wing politicians, including Reagan, who allowed such metaphors to thrive and flourish.
And speaking of Barry Goldwater (1964), I have much greater respect for him than for Ronald Reagan. At least Barry Goldwater later learned and spoke about the error of his ways. I am still dumfounded by the Reagan apologists who call him "the great communicator." He was able to communicate less and less effectively over time and now we know why. We should have guessed he had some form of dementia, if not alzheimer's desease itself. So I guess it did not hurt him much for him to say little of subtance; he told the masses what he thought they wanted to hear and whatever was politically expedient. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall" was so inane and even backstabbing to the Soviet premier who actually made tearing the wall, although only a symbol, a reality. But Reagan was great with symbolic gestures that had no substance. His legacy? He effectively trained people who were struggling economically to vote against their own best interests and effectively kept races and classes of people separated by telling each group that the other was the real enemy.
There are many, I hope a great many, leftitsts who remember Ronald Reagan for what he really was -- a two-bit actor, a slick politician, and a horrible president.
Comment: Obama is TOP OF CLASS in so many ways - his intelligence and achievements and his outlook and talent in the political arena. We are very lucky he came along.
Do we want to continue voting for Mediocrity like McCain, Bush and other leaders (maybe even Reagan, dare I suggest it) or do we want to finally elect someone of superior intellectual capacity who can also be a superb communicator? The choice is yours America, and I would shed all prejudices in favor of doing the right thing - for the good of the country, the people and the rest of the world.
We can't afford another Moron in the White House. Only someone truly exceptional, like Obama, can help us out of the quagmire we're in.
Comment: What was sad, also, about the Gipper began while he was still in office. His mind began to cloud. I remember one particular incident on the evening news when he stood by Nancy and a question was asked by a reporter that he didn't appear to understand fully. Nancy was clearly heard speaking without moving her lips, saying, "Tell him...........". I don't remember either the question or the answer, but it was obvious that his lights were going out and it wouldn't be long when he would have to start hiding his disability.
Comment: Dementia diseases are devastating. I have seen it up close. A close friend's mother has been battling hers for five years.
Comment: What was sad, also, about the Gipper began while he was still in office. His mind began to cloud. I remember one particular incident on the evening news when he stood by Nancy and a question was asked by a reporter that he didn't appear to understand fully. Nancy was clearly heard speaking without moving her lips, saying, "Tell him...........". I don't remember either the question or the answer, but it was obvious that his lights were going out and it wouldn't be long when he would have to start hiding his disability.
Comment: Reagan's early and unsuccessful efforts to be nominated occurred during the time just before the Panama Canal treaty was to expire and revert back to Panama. As our government began to assist this transfer in advance of the date, Reagan tried to get some votes by arguing that we should retain "our Panama Canal", so many times and so blatantly incorrect, that William F. Buckley, mister conservative, finally slapped Reagan down for his ignorance, illustrating the actual fact that this was a treaty and that we honor our treaties, and certainly that we did not "own" the canal.
The old boy wasn't that smart, but he did have good instincts and did us some good mixed in with the usual mistakes.
