Ronald Regan presidency?

Question

was listening to an old episode of the radio show Loveline, which was recorded the day after Ronald Regan died.



Adam and Drew (the hosts) were saying that, its surprising that Regan is being regarded as such a hero and great president, because his presidency sort of mirrors Bush's presidency in that Regan was highly criticized, even being called an idiot and the worst president and stuff. I know that right after a president dies, there not exactly gonna say bad things about him, but you know.





My question is do you think 20 years from know Bush will be considered a great president? Also, for those of you living through the Regan presidency: How was he regarded by the public and the media?

Answer 1

Reagan was not as good as some think he was. He had a good gift of gab and charisma that enabled him to shovel BS and so many would believe him. He was a cheer leader at a time we really needed one. His economic policy was one of the worst ever but his foreign policy was only okay. He out spent the Soviet Union in military spending. He was an opportunist. Itelligence, for example, informed him of problems within the Soviet block and particularly in East Germany. As a result he went to Berlin and told Gorbechev to tear down the wall. Believe me, if Gorby wanted the wall up it would have remained up and orders from Reagan would have made absolutely no difference. People give Reagan for credit for much he was not responsible for. Then there was the Iran/Contra affair. Reagan claimed to know nothing about it but evidence has surfaced that proves that he and Vice President George HW Bush did know about it and had a hand in it.

Reagan was no great president but he wasn't terrible either. He was mediocre. George W. Bush is and will in 20 years still be the worst president ever. This comes from one who is an expert on the presidency.

Answer 2

Reagan won the presidency in a landslide at a time that the country was sort of lost. We had come out of the Vietnam War to a recession and high gas prices. Jimmy Carter was pretty much a do nothing president especially when it came to the US hostages in Iran. Reagan united the Republicans and Democrats more so than they had been in many years and basically gave the country a good feeling. During his presidency we were truly proud to be Americans. The hostages in Iran were released the day he took the oath of office, showing just how much weight he either carried or made people think he carried.
Reagan was well known as a successful Actor and then as a popular Governor of California.
He did have difficult times and controversy as every president has, but mostly it was the way he handled them that gave him the nickname the "Teflon president".
His sense of humor and personality are probably what people think of most when remembering Reagan and in this light it's hard to see the flaws that really were there.

20 years going by didn't make people think Reagan was a better president, most people liked him from the start. Only to look back from the future with 20/20 vision will we know how to fully judge Bush’s presidency, but he'll never compare in esteem.

Answer 3

There is NO WAY Bush will ever be considered a great president. Unless a miracle happens in Iraq he's as good as sunk. The man doesn't compromise, he doesn't listen. Nothing that he has done has been anything but a failure.

So what if he made a decent speech after 9/11. He didn't protect us from 9/11. The man is beyond the pale.

Ronald Regan had principles. He stood for something and you knew where you stood with him. He was charming and ingratiating. But until his second term and Iran Contra he had a realively good presidency.

Those that rank him so high give him way too much credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union. The policies of the 50's starting under Eisenhower and continuing through Regan culminated in the collapse.

There is no way Bush is in a league of Regan. He's in the same league as Hoover.

Answer 4

I doubt seriously Bush will ever be held in anything other than contempt.

The public resentment towards Regan never ever reached the outright hatred people have towards Bush, One note it's pretty much the no candidate\anti-abortion\hedge fund managers drooling for social security Republicans that are pining for Regan.

Answer 5

Reagan was a complete IDIOT PUPPET...we all spent our time trying to figure out who was really pulling his strings and when the schmuck was going to start WWIII. NOBODY thought Ronnie Raygun was in charge...he was just ACTING as president. History, for those who care to READ it, has proved that Reagan was a complete abomination (Iran/Contra, illegal arms sales to Iran, record deficit...the list almost challenges Bush Jr.) of a president...only to be eclipsed by the current (and last) president.

20 years from now? Seriously...the USA will probably not last another 20 MONTHS.

Answer 6

I do not believe that in 20 years that Bush II will be seen as anything close to great. His policies have had detrimental effects on his own people (i.e. leaving New Orleans in shambles, allowing eavesdropping on American citizens, etc. etc.) Having been through Regan's presidency, he was okay. . .

Answer 7

Reagan was viciously attacked in the press, just like Bush. They portrayed him as a doddering old man, when in fact he was extremely dynamic and well respected, especially by the leaders of foreign countries.

Liberals warned us that Reagan's head-on, no compromise approach with the USSR would lead to nuclear war. The Libs were wrong, just as they are wrong about the Iraq war (read below)

Libs dismissively called Reagan "Raygun". Even though history has completely vindicated Reagan, (Margaret Thatcher summed it all up rather succinctly in that Reagan "won the Cold War without firing a shot") I still saw some idiot Yahoo! poster last week use this same term. I guess it's really true about what they say about Liberals: they never learn.... even 20 years later.

Reagan was criticized for not tackling the national debt as he promised. However, that deficit spending he employed was the best investment ever: it forced the USSR to dismantle its empire. They realized they could never keep up with us.

Once Iraq becomes stabilized, and the new Iraqi government will soon be able to assume control and fix their own country, Bush will be vindicated. Read this snippet from the Spiegel Online magazine:

"Germany loves to criticize US President George W. Bush's Middle East policies -- just like Germany loved to criticize former President Ronald Reagan. But Reagan, when he demanded that Gorbachev remove the Berlin Wall, turned out to be right. Could history repeat itself?

Many Germans don't like President George W. Bush and like to criticize his foreign policy. But could Bush be right?
Quick quiz. He was re-elected as president of the United States despite being largely disliked in the world -- particularly in Europe. The Europeans considered him to be a war-mongerer and liked to accuse him of allowing his deep religious beliefs to become the motor behind his foreign policy. Easy right?

Actually, the answer isn't as obvious as it might seem. President Ronald Reagan's visit to Berlin in 1987 was, in many respects, very similar to President George W. Bush's visit to Mainz on Wednesday. Like Bush's visit, Reagan's trip was likewise accompanied by unprecedented security precautions. A handpicked crowd cheered Reagan in front of the Brandenburg Gate while large parts of the Berlin subway system were shut down. And the Germany Reagan was traveling in, much like today's Germany, was very skeptical of the American president and his foreign policy. When Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate -- and the Berlin Wall -- and demanded that Gorbachev "tear down this Wall," he was lampooned the next day on the editorial pages. He is a dreamer, wrote commentators. Realpolitik looks different.

But history has shown that it wasn't Reagan who was the dreamer as he voiced his demand. Rather, it was German politicians who were lacking in imagination ..."

In a few years, Iraq will be peaceful, and Bush will be vindicated, just as Reagan was. Maybe they should begin plans for a new Mount Rushmore.......

Answer 8

Ronald Reagan was one of the best Presidents that this country has ever had. It would be tough if not impossible for others to be regarded as highly as Reagan was and still is.

Answer 9

He was a mixed bag in my opinion. I was really disappointed with the Iran-Contra thing and with his throwing private fundraisers at his ranch in California to fund the contras. I thought that was totally obscene for a President to do.

Answer 10

I don't know about Bush, but Ronald Reagan was the best president ever.