Why is Ronald Reagan considered to be a good president ?

Question

He was already half senile. He put the USA into deep financial debt. He sponored murderous thugs in Central America. He traded with the hated enemy, Iran, in order to support terrorists in Nicaragua. Oh yeah, he gutted numerous federal agencies, so when you get the runs at Taco Bell, you know who to blame.

Answer 1

There were problems with the Reagan administration like many others. There were mistakes made and I never believed that he not was directly involved in Iran/Contra. However, there were also good things accomplished by his administration. Here are a couple. He brought us out of a crippling recession which we endured during the seventies. Or perhaps you just don't remember the misery index. He stood firm against communism and was directly responsible for the eventual fall of an evil empire which most considered the greatest threat to our security of this or any other time period in our history. He restored pride to Americans and rebuilt the military which had become weak and ineffective under the previous 2 administrations. For me though his greatest strength was in his never ending optimism and constantly stated belief that the United States is a great nation. We he spoke you knew he believed it and he made me believe it also. For that I will always consider him a great man. Now you can mire yourself in the faults if you choose, but since his term ended almost 20 years ago I choose to remember the positives and look ahead to the new challenges facing us, rather than mire myself in possible mistakes from the past. Lastly, you may not like the man, but the voters of this country would disagree with you based on landslide victories in not one, but 2 elections.

emt_dragon339: If you believe that you have no concept of history whatsoever. I have great admiration for John Kennedy and what he accomplished. Standing up to the Soviets regarding Cuba was a masterful play and definitely showed the content of his character. Lyndon Johnson did nothing to lessen communism period. Unless you consider the debacle that was Vietnam a blow against them. Even the Soviet leaders of the day acknowledge that Reagan's steadfast dedication to ridding the world of communism, his refusal to negoatiate on their terms and his military buildup destroyed the Soviet Union. So you will pardon if I have a dim view of someone who is trying to second guess those at the top who publicly state otherwise.

Answer 2

Not only those things, but he also closed many mental institutions and threw all those folks into the street to fend for themselves....

He was an actor - and he played the part well. Many bought into his glad-handing. He had great script writers.

Anyone who really wanted to know just how awful he was only had to take a look at what he did to California when he was governor of that state. They are still living with some of his antics. But..as usual, the American people only vote what they are told, what they can see and hear. They don't take the time to find out just what the candidates background might be. Reagan played to the theater and won the Oscar....

Answer 3

Your question reveals that you - like so many younger liberals - really have no grasp on historical fact and cling to the jingoistic hate-phrases of the left.
Mr Reagan was the first truly great president since FDR in terms of accomplishment.
No one since has even come close.
As for 'gutting federal programs'...yes, thank God, he did!
If only the current congress were more like Reagan, we would be far better off.
The deficit spending under Reagan was his one great flaw, but those of us who were around then remember that his choices were very limited - an overwhelming Democratic majority in Congress - in return for some key legislative victories (tax reform being, by far, the most important along with the rebuilding of a badly delapidated military) he turned a blind eye to Democrat spending.
History will show Reagan to stand among the greatest 5 presidents of all time.
That is just a fact.

Answer 4

He's not a great president, in current republican standards. Even then he ran up spending and cut taxes (which the rich always love). He tried to force religion on children of America by proposing a constitutional amendment on school prayer when the first amendment contradicts it. He created biased TV like FOX News by helping to eliminate the Fairness Doctrine which sought to, "require the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was... honest, equitable, and balanced." He took part in a treasonous "October Surprise" during the election of 1980, making a secret deal with radicals in Iran to postpone the release of 52 hostages thwarting Carter's attempts to obtain the hostages' release. He was a shill for the tobacco company, meaning that if you paid him he'd say anything. Iran/Contra. Reagan doesn't deserve to be in the top 15, but he did some good things, unlike W

Answer 5

Mainly because he gutted federal agencies and vetod spending bills. Whereas the last Republican Congress and the president increased discretionary spending by 40% in 12 years. We will have a coming sever recession due to this Monster govt and many more of our freedoms are gone in areas like Education due to regulations. Reagan believed in freedom and that the govt was the enemy.

Answer 6

Reagan was the best President in modern times because:

1. Brought the hostages home from Iran. The Iranians knew once a cowardly democrat was out of office and Reagan was elected that he would have stomped them.

2. Traded with the hated enemy, Iran? Utilizing your logic, Roosevelt should not have allied himself with the USSR to fight the nazis, eh?

3. Ended the cold war.

4. Rebuilt the military.

5. Brought down inflation and brought back jobs and prosperity to the United States.

6. Was honest and sincere, unlike clinton who was held in contempt of court for lying under oath and disbarred for unethical legal practices.

Answer 7

He is consdiered to be one of the best by alot of conservitives to the point of it almost being a god-like worshiping if not some kind of man love thing. He did raise a lot of spirits in the country, and made alot of money for bigger businesses, but he also sliced and diced alot of excellent social programs, raised the national debt to ungodly high levels, made huge deficits in the budget that weren't corrected for several years. And to those that say he stopped the Soviets, what a line of BS that is....He came in at the end of the cold war, as if the others before him: Kennedy, Johnson etc did nothing to help in that effort at all.

Answer 8

We had American students in Grenada the Cubans were there and got what they deserved Lockerbie was before we bombed Libya and just fine with you killing women and children We are not going to sit back and let you Left wing hating America set up in our back yard If you don't like it who cares Just what are you going to do about it ? Just how silly are you jimmy carter lost the election because of the hostage The Iranians know that Mr Reagan would have declared war on them as he said he would I well never understand why y'all wear a picture of a dead failure The only thing i find ''utterly reprehensible'' [Brit talk] is you and your kind If I see you wearing that t-shirt I'm blocking your path I don't care if you are old or with your wife your walking around me I/ve don't it before and I'll do it again You are right the bombings toke place before Lockerbie

Answer 9

Because he didn't take no crap off anyone. He new right from wrong and stuck with what was right. He caused the collapse of the Soviet Union which enabled the end of the military build up and saved us more money in the long run than it cost us initially.

He was a good man and not aligned with any major sector of private industry so he didn't care who he made mad as long as he did the right thing.

Answer 10

Reagan wasn't my cup of tea but he had the soviets believing in star wars, which drove them broke, to try and duplicate the
technology. Marxist style economy's could not sustain the burden,thus the fall of Communism !