The best “Uh, I’m not sure you’re familiar with the story of that song” moment involving an 80s Republican president was during the '92 Republican convention when after days of gaybashing by Pat Buchanan (Dick Cavett: “His speeches sounded so much better in German”) and “Family Values” this that and the other from everybody the incumbent George H.W. Bush walked out- unexpectedly (he wasn’t expected until the next day) and the band broke out with “The Best of Times (is Now)”.
For those not familiar, it’s the second act showstopper from the Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical La Cage Aux Folles (aka “The Birdcage” in its non-musical U.S. movie incarnation), the story of two gay men and their son who’s engaged to the daughter of a buffoonish conservative politician.
I remember that during his presidency, I used to wonder who his puppetmasters were.
It was obvious to most abroad that he wasn’t really in charge.
Now, of course we know it was Rumsfeld and Bush sr. Bush jnr being their last puppet king.
Their legacy I see mainly as that they made it acceptable again, to the American public at least, that the US had the right to bring destruction around the globe in it’s self interest.
Before them, humbled by the Vietnam experience, America was much more pleasant.
You could even say they had friends.
And, with apologies for the double post, let’s not forget the *tripling *of the national debt - yes, twice as much as the entire previous history of the nation combined - turning the US from the world’s largest creditor to the world’s largest debtor. All while proposing budgets that were deeper into deficit every year, while pleading for a balanced budget amendment. Yet he’s still adored by the faction that likes to tell itself they stand for financial responsibility.
2 Leak information … something about a “star wars” weapon that will make the world helpless to a rapidly expanding military force in the US.
Watch the Soviets panic as they watch this incredible build up of weapons in the US. So much buildup that it looks as though Reagan is willing to spend the country into enourmous debt to become the super power of superpowers.
Call the Soviet some more nasty names. Make sure they don’t know that star wars is a dream not a reallity. (But they can see what IS a reality and it doesn’t look good.)
Create commercials. Lots of commercials: Join the Marines. Join the Navy.
Reykjavik. No compromise. Star Wars stays
Watch the Soviet Union collapse. No money. Capitalism wins. Communism loses.
Reagan outspent them because he could. Monopoly. Cold war is over. Money saved over the long haul.
On the home front:
Clinton closes military bases.
Jerry Falwell’s moral majority disappears. It was all lip service.
James Watt, Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior, makes overtures to rape the land but the environmentalist hoof it and create a huge marine sancturary off the coast of California.
Leon Panetta. A democrat that pushed through new laws to protect the ecology… is made CIA Director by Obama.
I never much cared for Reagan. Too savvy for my taste. I voted against him. I still would. Just never liked the guy. Too savvy.
I mean it was RR that paid only lip service to the moral majority. Falwell was serious. JF didn’t know how shrewd a politition RR was. Sneeky President. Fooled the US and the Soviets at the same time.
Love him. Hate him. Good? Evil? Yes.
Carter could hardly be the one to build the US up as a crazy superpower and talk peace to Egypt and Israel. So he’s remembered for Fifty-two US citizens held hostage for 444 days.
Gee. Who had the savvy to make THAT the biggest news every day?! Sometimes the newspapers are liberal to the conservative’s advantage. It was the “bleeding heart liberals” that may very well have put the guy where he wanted to be.
We have also found out that Reagan’s people had secret talks with the Iranis who were holding the hostages and they agreed not to let them go until the election was over.
I thought this might be true at the time, I’ve heard this story and I really, really want it to be true but never seen any actual evidence. Can you point me to something tangible?
The people of Iran are Iranians, not “Iranis”, and despite decades of allegations about the “October Surpise” conspiracy, not a single credible piece of evidence or witness has come to light, which seems highly improbable give both the zealous hatred for America by Iranians during Reagan’s tenure and the extensive investigation of the dealings of the neo-con “private CIA” during the Iran-Contra scandal. A disclosure of some conspiracy like this would have brought the Reagan Administration to its knees, and just evidence that Reagan’s people/backers were discussing it would have done far more damage than it might benefit. And while the embassy hostages and the failure of Operation Eagle Claw was a black eye for Carter, the state of the economy, ineffectual dealings with the Soviets, and of course the infamous Swamp Rabbit gave Reagan a large advantage without having to resort to extremes of dirty tricksterism that were likely to backfire catastrophically.
I always have a good laugh about Reagan’s alleged huge contribution to the national debt. The present bozo in the Oval Office has added more , and in less time, than Reagan ever did.
This chart shows that the national debt increased every single year under Reagan by a greater percentage than it has in the one fiscal year under Obama.
This one (on the same page) shows decreases and increases in the debt by term.
It’s apparent even to the untrained eye that after a long period of the debt being reduced (mostly due to paying off WWII), it exploded under Reagan.