Reagan was not "Bush League"

[ArtieBoy]

I'm putting this post about Reagan in my blog. Bear in mind this is based on the memory of someone who was 12 when he was president, and the warm n' fuzzy images CBS presented in it's special Saturday evening. I know some of my facts may be dead wrong and a LOT of people here will take issue with the positivity of this post. However, I think my overarching point regarding the difference in Bush and Reagan is dead on.

Also sorry I didn't have a more artful ending.

*Edit for correct `80's Russian leader with prominent birthmark on forehead.

Reagan Was Not "Bush League"

Ronald Reagan died yesterday. CBS had a good special about his life and times. As the images went by of Reagan on his horse at the ranch in California, or describing the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union with the narration, "...he was tough on foreign policy...," the Right's angle on Reagan's death was predicatable. "Hey, mush heads, does this remind you of anyone? Cowboy hat? Ranch? Tough on foreign policy? Hmm? Hmm?"

Does it remind me of anyone? Like, say, George Bush, Junior? No, not at all. Why do you ask?

There are large differences between the two, such as the fact that Ronald Reagan's ideas actually worked. Reagan toppled another superpower nation without firing a single shot, whereas Bush has gotten us licked by a Third World country despite a firestorm of "shock & awe." Other world leaders, even the leader of that "evil empire," Gorbachev, loved Reagan; there were several shots of them sincerely laughing together. George Bush, Jr., on the other hand, couldn't take 10 steps in our allied nation England without being in a bulletproof limousine, he's so internationally loathed. And the economy thrived under Reagan, whereas it's died on the vine under Bush.

Maybe one similarity between the two: the national debt soared under both. But hey, that's always true of those credit card Republicans.

Those are the larger differences, but the smaller ones are what's important. The fact is, seeing those old Reagan clips, it reminded you that when Ronald Reagan was at the podium, whether you agreed with his ideas or not, you just felt confident because this guy was in charge. If he ever did make a misstep he surely was quick enough to fix it before it got out of hand. Anyone so smooth and assured in his speeches, who could deflate an opponent's point with a quick one-liner, or could make jokes even with a would-be assassin's bullet an inch from his heart, could surely handle an international crisis with equal aplomb. And look at that famous clip of the `84 debates where Reagan says of the Democrat, Walter Mondale, "I refuse to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Even Mondale broke up! What clip will we see after Bush 43 is gone? "Gee, I wish you had written these questions down for me in advance..."

And possibly the greatest difference of all is that even though there was a Bush involved in his administration, when Reagan went to war with a tiny country there were never any no-bid contracts issued, no questionable profiteering from a high-ranking official. Ronald Reagan indisputably went to war because it was the right thing to do, not because there was gold in them thar hills.

Then there was the clip of Ronald Reagan addressing the country after the space shuttle went down with the teacher onboard. You felt his earnestness when he read the line, "They have slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." Then we cut to a clip of Bush eulogizing Reagan, and it's like watching the slow kid in class give a book report. Leaden, awkward, and seemingly endless despite its actual brevity.

So, no, don't try that "Bush is a lot like Reagan" crap on me.

[Goldmund]

1. "even the leader of that "evil empire," Boris Yeltsin, loved Reagan"

He/she has Gorbachev and Yeltsin mixed up.

[ArtieBoy]

2. I KNEW IT !!!

I just knew I had something wrong. Dammit! A quick Google search could have been SO helpful. Thanks!

[Art_from_Ark]

3. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991

two years after St. Ronald left office.

[rwenos]

4. "Bush Like Reagan" Crap; Dinner at the White House

Ronald Reagan, a man who governed my state like a pragmatist, but governed the U.S. like an idealogue, was one one sense completely different from The Chimp.

Ronald Reagan was a self-made man, born into the middle class, successful in Hollywood, an artist (however mediocre), a union president, an admirer of Franklin Roosevelt. He married the modern Marie Antoinette, who pushed him far Right. But Reagan was never mean-spirited. I never voted for him, but could sit at a dinner table and listen to his stories for hours.

But could you imagine dining with Chimp and Wife? You'd end up talking about Jane Austen novels with Laura. George would sit and smirk and make snide jokes with his pet monkey.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. I'm sorry, but although Reagan came across quite well in public...

...his rightwing policies resulted in the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of people around the world.

His economic programs left the country with a major amount of debt and high unemployment.

<http://www.americanpolitics.com/20020319Hersh.html>

[rwenos]

6. Not Defending Reagan

I'm not defending Reagan. He governed with ice water in his veins. He once said, when governor of California, "taxes should hurt," after signing a bill raising the gasoline tax.

He also once said "If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all."

My point was that he made his own life. He didn't have it handed to him by faceless grey-suited Dementors.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Right. Reagan "made his own life" with the help from...

*J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy during the Un-American Activities hearings. Reagan was secretly given names by Hoover that he would repeat publicly during McCarthy's hearings. That ruined quite a few people in Hollywood and got Reagan a fine start among the rabid rightwingers;

*Major rightwing corporations that funded his campaigns;

*Major rightwing figures that convinced him that the "communist" natives in Central America had to be eradicated, that the Iran-Contra plan was a good thing for America, and that the natives of East Timor were "communist" inspired;


That's just a small tip of the iceberg in regards to help Reagan got from the "faceless grey-suited Dementors".

This information is all over the Internet and other sources as well. Have you done ANY research to substantiate your position on Reagan, or are you just relying on those "warm, fuzzy feelings" you had as a kid?

[pollock]

10. Yes, Reagan was a rat early on.

Ratting out "fellow" actors who he claimed were communists. You could see his rotten character early on.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Read "Lost History" by Robert Parry, and THEN tell me what you think....

...and here's several more articles that you need to read before posting any more comments like your original post:

Lost History: Reagan-Bush Crime Syndicate
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/lost7.html>

Reagan-Bush Security Breaches
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/022301a.html>

Ronald Reagan’s Last Secret
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/1999/112599a.html>

Reagan & Guatemala’s Death Files
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/1999/052699a1.html>


....and here's still more information that you need to read so that you will indeed understand that "Bush is a lot like Reagan":

<http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/lost.html>

[donhakman]

8. they are

[greenbriar]

11. I like this very much

Thank you

[Radical Activist]

12. Who caused half our problems today?

It was the Reagan administration who helped supply Iraq with chemical weapons agents and sent its envoy, Don Rumsfeld, to meet with Saddam. It was Reagan that aided terrorists in Iran, Nicaragua and supported cruel dictatorships in the name of fighting communism. We are reaping today what Reagan sowed in the 80's.

And the simple truth is that Gorbechev had far more to do with the fall of Communism than anything Reagan did. It probably would have happened no matter who had been in the White House during the 80's.

Reagan was evil, and the main difference is that Reagan was good at acting like a President while Bush is not.

[pollock]

13. Agree.

Reagan was a violently malevolent man. Remember his "mulitcultural" statement that he "doesn't see color."? Because he was a racist and wouldn't anyone not white in his neighborhood.