Ronald Reagan -- America's Greatest President?

Great Debates
1

Yes, that’s the consensus of American opinion according to a recent survey: that Ronald Wilson Reagan is this nation’s greatest president. Ever. Move over, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Washington, the Gipper is a comin’ to Rushmore!

Inasmuch as I am rather ignorant of RR’s major achievements, please provide a compelling argument as to why he is our greatest president. Feel free to cite whatever factors you deem relevant: foreign or domestic accomplishments, fiscal responsibility, personal character and tone of administration, altruism, intellect, personal military/academic record, humanitarianism, environmental achievements, family values, legacy to future generations, etc. etc. etc. Whatever floats your yacht.

2

He wasn’t as corrupt as Nixon and delivered his lines better than George Bush Sr.?

I’d like to know who conducted this “national survey,” since I know lots of people who’d disagree with the conclusion.

3

Don’t worry, rjung. Even though Reagan came in first place, he still had only 17% or so of the vote. JFK came in just slightly behind. Combined, that’s roughly 30% of the American public who are total freakin’ morons.

4

Didn’t we just go through a lot of this on the recent Ronald Reagan is GOD thread? Not that I want to discourage any of the diehard Reaganwranglers who always show up for such disputes, but I think it’s kinda been done.

5

So all those people (roughly a third of the respondents) were either ignorant of or completely ignored George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and FDR.
Yeesh.

6

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Oh man! Ronald REAGAN is our greatest president? Jesus wept!

I didn’t know it was great to defy the law of our country…

7

You mean by lying under oath?

Marc

8

Ronald Reagan’s greatest accomplishment is that he was president during the lifetime of those polled. Lest anyone think I’m being partisan, I’ll point out that Jimmy Carter, a president whom nobody thinks was great, also ranked within the top 10.

Time and history will tell where Reagan ends up in the shuffle of our greatest presidents. But regardless of where historians end up placing him, I’ll wager that fifty years from now he will be nowhere near the top ten in public opinion polls, nor will Kennedy. This has nothing to do with their abilities as presidents, but with the general public’s short memory and ignorance of history.

P.S. I think a large number of people would truly struggle to even name ten presidents, much less the ten they think best.

9

No, by funneling funds to right wing fascist revolutionaries after Congress voted against it. And by the illegal selling of arms to an enemy.

10

Maybe he meant by the Iran-Contra scam and the appointment of dozens of corrupt officials.

Seriously, though, the reason that many view Reagan as great is that he was able to fool people with his big smile and his amazing ability to lie convincingly.

11

ITR-yes, that was what SHE meant.

:wink:

12

With results like this, I’m kind of glad that our voter participation rate is so low…:smiley:

13

I’ll join with Kimstu in pointing to the Ronald Reagan is GOD thread. It was pretty recent, and I don’t feel like saying all the same stuff over again so soon.

14

Let’s see:

Slept during important cabinet meetings?

Check!

Relied upon an astrologer for crucial scheduling?

Check!

Crippled OSHA and EPA?

Check!

Sold American industry down the river to Japan?

Check!

Sent the Challenger crew to their deaths?

Check!*

Accepted 4 (14?, 40?) million for a 45 minute speech in Japan after leaving office?

Check!
However much he had the vision to realize the the Soviets had to be faced down with military might, he fell so stunningly short in all other catagories that I am obliged to detest him.

[sup]* PEOPLE CONTINUE TO QUESTION ME ON THIS ONE. ASK YOURSELF, WHY THE SHUTTLE WAS LAUNCHED ON THAT DAY? ALL OF THE FLIGHT ENGINEERS DECLINED TO SIGN OFF ON THE FLIGHT. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND CAPE CANAVERAL THAT DAY. THE SHUTTLE WAS LAUNCHED ONLY AFTER MANAGEMENT GREEN LIGHTED THE LIFT OFF.

REAGAN WANTED A WOMAN CIVILIAN IN SPACE TO TALK TO DURING HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS. THAT’S IT, PURE AND SIMPLE. THERE WAS NO OTHER REASON TO LAUNCH THE SHUTTLE THAT DAY. REAGAN’S CURRENT CONDITION IS PERFECT KHARMA FOR HIS EARLIER ACTS. I HAVE NO PITY FOR THIS HOLLYWOOD ACTOR OF A POLITICIAN. [/SUP]

15

Actually, it is easy to understand why people think Ronald Reagan, JFK, Jimmy Carter, et alia, are great presidents. The people surveyed know what those presidents have done; most of them have no idea what presidents from before they were alive have actually done.

Lest you think this is a silly thought, I challenge you to think of five things George Washington did as president. Now, imagine the generally uneducated masses trying the same thing.

On the other hand, recent presidents are, for the most part, either loved by those from the party for whom they toiled, or reviled by those from the opposite side. Thus, RR, who was highly successful as President, makes Republicans all fuzzy and warm, while making most Democrats groan and sigh. JFK the same, with roles reversed, etc.

No one can judge the value of Ronald Reagan’s presidency at present, because some of what he did is still developing results. It takes the distance of impersonal observation with historical perspective to truly understand such things. Did the USSR implode because of Reagan’s attempt to create an economic zugzwang, or did it collapse because the momentum of the communist movement finally ended? And has it really imploded? Or will it return in some fashion in the future? Did Reagan’s economic policies help or hurt our economy? What other foreign policy endeavors did he engage in that will bear fruit in the future? Answering these questions at present is impossible, objectively.

However, when asked “Who is the greatest president the country has had?” few people stop to think of the issue objectively. A recent president will have a core of strong support; a distant president has to live on by reputation alone. I’d be willing to bet that at least 80% of the country can’t name Jefferson as a president unprompted.

16

Most of the people doing the current Reagan-worshipping tend to regard FDR as Satan Incarnate, responsible for Everything Wrong With Today’s Society*™*.

Certainly an interesting view of history. Hell, you’d be amazed how many people these days think Nixon was “pretty good”. I wonder if US Grant had his own revisionist fanatics back in the day…

17

In the hopes of perhaps dispelling some ignorance, a few things the aforementioned Presidents (hereinafter called the Fantastic Four: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, and FDR) did while President:

1 - George Washington: established all kinds of precedents for how a President should conduct the office, including, most importantly, leaving after two terms. Also, had the good taste to appoint Alexander Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury, thereby establishing the U.S. as a good credit.

2 - Thomas Jefferson: the Louisiana Purchase, doubling (or more?) the size of the country at that time, after which he sent Lewis & Clark out to explore it and record everything they saw. Not so good for the Native Americans, I guess, but we never held that against Christopher Columbus either.

3 - Abraham Lincoln: won the Civil War, against very steep odds. And then said we should conduct ourselves “with malice towards none, and charity towards all.” A true leader. 'Nuff said.

4 - FDR: besides leading us successfully through WWII, also established, in the course of attempting to get us out of the Depression, Social Security and a host of programs designed to alleviate the poverty of his time. Basically, for better or worse (depending on which side of the political line you’re on (Satan indeed!) ) he established government as we know it today.

At this point, I’d be willing to put Reagan in a second tier, along with guys like Teddy Roosevelt or Andrew Jackson. (This is despite the fact I hate everything about the guy. Still, he had a large effect on his times, which, IMO, is all you need to qualify.)

18

Zenster, while I loathe Reagan and believe, as you do, that the White House pressured the launch, I have never seen evidence that Ronnie, himself, participated in the decision. Certainly, he is unlikely to have been apprised of the engineers’ arguments against the launch in cold weather.

In fact, I would be surprised to discover that the decision even got as high as Regan, much less Reagan.

I would hold him responsible for creating the atmosphere that encouraged that sort of blithe ignoring of facts, but I have a hard time holding him personally responsible for that specific decision on that day.

19

Reagan was an empty-headed and senile old puppet. His puppetmasters screwed the USA royal. The “reverence” for Reagan from right wing zealots is no different from the nostalgia one might have for a lap dog who always did what you wanted with a doggy-brained smile.

I agree completely with Zenster that his current condition is the result of karma. I can only hope that on more than one occasion he’s sprayed Nancy’s face with poo while she tried to change his diaper.

20

It’s worth noting that at this time Ronald reagan is a kindly old man slowly wasting away from Alzheimer’s disease. It’s difficult to be very critical of him now and the polls may be slightly skewed for the next few years.