why was Ronald Regan a good president?

Question

i have to deffend it for government class so why was he a good president??

thanks.

just so you guys do know, i couldent choose, if i could i would never choose a conservative let alone Regan. i know he started the deficit, and i know all the **** he did to the country, but what i dont know is what good he did. i mean he had to have done some good... what is it!

Answer 1

He wasn't, good luck.
He declared ketchup a vegetable for the school lunch program.
He robbed the Social Security fund and fired the air traffic controllers.
He armed Osama Bin Laden
Iran Contra

Don't worry, one of the cons will come along in a few minutes and tell you how wonderful he was.

Answer 2

He was an okay president. He ran up the national debt to highest levels in history to the time. He did act as a cheer leader for the nation. As a people we were a bit down after Nixon and Watergate, and after the ho hum Presidency of Jimmy Carter so Reagan was just what we needed. He told us what we wanted to hear and made us all feel good. Meanwhile his trickle down economics was stabbing us in the back. Even his Vice President and successor even called the Reagan economic policy voodoo economics. He out spent the Soviet Union on military spending. His "star wars" initiative was goofy but it had the support of a few people. He was involved in the trade of arms for hostages but seemed to wear a teflon suit because any attempts to call him on it fell right off. Reagan was an opportunist. He got word through our intellegence people that the Soviet block was crumbling from within, his goal in outspending them, and made a television photo op to Berlin where he ordered Michael Gorbechev to take down the wall. I wonder what he would have done if Gorby told him to stick it in his ear the wall is stying up. Of course Gorby said nothing because he knew his empire was doomed. There was Greneda and Libya where just enough military was sent to solve the problem. He had a nice smile, could tell really good jokes and had a anerexic wife that ran Ronnie's schedule based on an astrologer. He was shot and nearly killed. His Alzheimer's was starting to show as he neared the end of his second term. Often he would fall asleep in meetings and was very hands off in management style. He supported efforts by Iran and Afghanistan (including the Taliban) to go up against the Soviet Union. He also supported Saddam Hussein in his battles against Iran. While he wasn't a great President Ronald Reagan wasn't a terribly bad one either He was near the top of the middle third of the Presidents when ranked by greatest to worst.

Answer 3

He took over a country that was in a shambles. Jimmy Carter left us with a terrible economy. Unemployment was high, the interest rate was in the double digits, and inflation was at new highs. Reagan improved the economy with a series of tax cuts and other job creating ideas to alleviate the problem.

Also, while Carter was in office, the country of Iran took some US citizens hostages at the US embassy in Tehran. The leadership in Iran at the time knew that democrats are traditionally passive and unwilling to take forceful action against other countries. Shortly after Reagan took office the hostages were released after being held for 444 days. Iran was afraid of what he might do. Reagan also single handedly ended the cold war with the Soviet Union. Communism fell in many countries in western Europe along with the USSR. The Berlin Wall was torn down and Germany was once again unified.

Ronald Reagan was a good president. Sometimes I think he may have been over rated. The only reason I feel that way is because he replaced probably the worst president this country has ever seen. Thus he looked so good.

Answer 4

Johnny Conservative & Bob hit the truth right on the head.

Reagan was the best President in my 50 years and is why I wised up & became a Republican.

Answer 5

1. He was a man that believed in a higher power and that his life would be judged some day by that higher power.
2. He focused on only three main priorities for his Presidency. a) Fix the economy b) Modernize the military c) Defeat communism. He accomplished all three.
3. He is responsible for winning the cold war.
4. He was probably the most gifted speaker ever to occupy the White House.
5. He fixed the economy which was wrecked by Jimmy Carter.
6. He expanded and modernized the military which was a significant contributing factor to the cold war victory over the Soviet Union. They just couldn't keep up.
7. He is responsible for the destruction of the Berlin wall.

He was perhaps the most loved President of our generation. Don't let those who speak negatively on this site persuade you otherwise. He was a great man.

Answer 6

Wow that is a tough assignment.

Try approaching it from his Alzheimer's disease angle.

Reagan was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's before he was elected. As the illness progressed he relied on GHW Bush and his Sorceress Joan Quigley to make all the decisions.

Answer 7

I'd say he wasn't.
Iran Contra
He trained and armed Bin Laden
Armed Iraq
Preached small government but created a large federal government
High unemployment, high inflation
Record government spending and deficits
Failed trickle down economics

Answer 8

He was able to get Nuclear arms reduction, got Russian President Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall, stimulated the economy with tax investment credit and accelerated depreciation, and a lot of jobs were created. He was Great.

Answer 9

He was very confident, reassuring, and optimistic. When he gave a speech he seemed like a combination of your favorite grandpa and John Wayne. He made you feel like everything was going to be all right. That was his power. I'd start there.

Looks like you are not getting much help from most here!

Answer 10

My nickname for him: The Scourge of America.

He was no better than McCarthy in his early years, and as president he rolled back years of New Deal progress (you know, that new deal that led to the 50's, the age of the middle class?). Even though the 60s and 70s were turbulent times socially, economically the US was the best off it had ever been. Until the 80s, when poverty rates soared and the middle class grew smaller and smaller. And when was Reagan president? 1980-1988.

Answer 11

Beats me, in the working middle class, and he sucked for me.
What he had was a deceptively easy manner and he knew enough to keep the press on his side, not hard when their bosses were happy to keep even more of their money.
But as a president?
The problem with, it seems any Republican is that their scandals revolve around power and its uses and limitations.
They don't want any on their guys and yet they skinned Clinton for a private scandal.
About the only thing I can think of to help you is that he was so likeable appearing that few looked into what he was doing.