Reagan's Legacy - How will he be remembered?

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Sava
do you watch American TV? it makes me wanna puke the way the press is canonizing reagan. If anything, Reagans death will give Bush's numbers a boost. I want to believe that things are sliding for Bush... but looking back to '84... reagan won 49 states. Things are looking good for Dubya considering an alzheimer's patient carried 49 states.

Reagan was popular, regardless of his doings (or lack of). Mr GW Bush appears to be quite unpopular, even inside United States proper.

[DanS]

1984 was an awesome year. The US economy grew at a real 7.2%, the best since 1951. Stagflation died. Enthusiasm returned.

And Reagan won by a landslide.

[johncmcleod]

The Reagan supporters have done a good job of refuting attacks on Reagan's domestic policy.

However, they have not refuted our arguments on his foreign policy, that a) he didn't win the cold war, and b) he is at least partly responsible for the death of millions.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Reagan was popular, regardless of his doings (or lack of). Mr GW Bush appears to be quite unpopular, even inside United States proper.

I think some of that popularity can be traced to the assassination attempt in '81... only 69 days into office and some asswipe tries to take him out. I wonder if that just gave reagan too much sympathy. I wasn't even a year old at the time, so I don't know.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by DanS
1984 was an awesome year. The US economy grew at a real 7.2%, the best since 1951. Stagflation died. Enthusiasm returned.

And Reagan won by a landslide.

Oh well if it was a good year in the USA, it must have been a good year then

[Verto]

Originally posted by johncmcleod
The Reagan supporters have done a good job of refuting attacks on Reagan's domestic policy.

However, they have not refuted our arguments on his foreign policy, that a) he didn't win the cold war, and b) he is at least partly responsible for the death of millions.

There is no way to argue with someone who believes Reagan had nothing to do with bringing down the Soviet Union, unless one is willing to also let go of their grip on reality.

[DanS]

AH: Well, in a thread about Reagan, what do you expect?

[Sava]

Originally posted by Verto


There is no way to argue with someone who believes Reagan had nothing to do with bringing down the Soviet Union, unless one is willing to also let go of their grip on reality.

Actually, reagan's contribution to the fall of the soviet union was probably due to the fact that the soviets were so scared he'd start a war, they wasted their entire economy on the military, which was unsustainable. But I think the SU would have collapsed on its own eventually. It simply was a failed system with too much corruption.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Sava
Actually, reagan's contribution to the fall of the soviet union was probably due to the fact that the soviets were so scared he'd start a war, they wasted their entire economy on the military, which was unsustainable. But I think the SU would have collapsed on its own eventually. It simply was a failed system with too much corruption.

Yes, Reagan realized all of this.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Actually Reagan and the CIA Director realized it and created the SDI plan for that express purpose. For all intents and purposes, SDI was overstated to cause fear.

[Alexander's Horse]

what warning?

[johncmcleod]

GePap has already written enough about the subject. The SU was falling apart from the inside. Maybe Reagan quickened the process just a little. But he is given way too much credit.

And still no refutations on arguments dealing with the people Reagan helped murder.

[Verto]

FDR supported Stalin, who murdered millions.

Roosevelt = Reagan = teh evil

[Alexander's Horse]

Roosevelt was far greater.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Actually Reagan and the CIA Director realized it and created the SDI plan for that express purpose. For all intents and purposes, SDI was overstated to cause fear.

I don't think reagan was cerebral enough to "know your enemy" as the Art of War teaches. If anything, it's probably dumb luck that there wasn't a nuclear war. I think the Soviets (after Cuba) were the cooler of the two heads.