# When do we put Reagan on Rushmore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 11, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865 "2004-06-11T20:18:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/21 "2004-06-11T22:46:16Z")
What about Reaganton DC. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/22 "2004-06-12T03:09:07Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > I will warn you one time, and one time only. Don’t f\* with Hamilton. Not even[for Ray Charles](http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/6/11/10511/0162/8#8)? He looks pretty classy with that bowtie and sunglasses. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/23 "2004-06-12T03:14:11Z")
So why not create the Ronald Reagan Memorial Stem Cell Research Center, and do some lasting good against the disease that robs million of Americans of their sunset years? Who could oppose that? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/24 "2004-06-12T03:19:25Z")
Why not do something new and creative to honor Reagan? It’s not like Rushmore is the only place in the country you could build a monument to someone, or money is the only place you can put a face. Personally, I’m not all that comfortable with anyone younger than Lincoln on our money, and even that is a little silly. Presidents are our servants, not our gods. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/25 "2004-06-12T03:25:28Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Why not do something new and creative to honor Reagan? Sorry, creativity was cut from the budget. I somehow doubt the NEA is going to focus its creative energies memorializing Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/26 "2004-06-12T03:25:40Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > Very punny. > Maybe when the army switches to energy weapons, they can call it the “Rea-gun.” In his teenage years, in the 1920s, I believe he had a style that was deadly… ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/27 "2004-06-12T03:30:12Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Presidents are our servants, not our gods. Well, yeah, which is _why_ we put them on money, not in our homes. “Render unto Caesar…” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/28 "2004-06-12T03:45:29Z")
This was brought up on the tube and I forget who responded to the question but I agree with the position that President Reagan would probably not want to be added to Mt. Rushmore. Not his style. I’m still wondering how Teddy got included on Mt Rushmore. 3 founding fathers and who? They could put Reagan on a stamp at any time. Not too keen on messing with the lower denomination monies ($1 through $20). No reason but I just don’t want to change those bills. Coins would be the best bet. They’re like little medals. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/29 "2004-06-12T03:52:50Z")
I thought Nancy already built him a memorial…where he’s being buried. Looks pretty classy to me. I don’t see why we would even consider putting him on Rushmore personally. I think people who deny that Reagan was popular are pretty much out of touch…he was and is very popular, and with a diverse group of folks too. I’ve seen dyed in the wool Democrats that were fond of the man, even if they didn’t always agree with what he did. Did anyone see the people stopping their cars to watch his motorcade go by on the way to the funeral? Unreal for anyone familiar with California traffic on a friday. It would normally be worth your life to stop your car and get out during rush hour…and not for fear of being hit by another car, but for fear that someone would shoot you like a dog because they were in a hurry to get home for supper. I see Reagan as the Bill Clinton of the Republican party…he was and is pretty damn popular with people on both sides of the fence, and its really a small group of people at the extreme ends of politics that want to really cut the guy up. As to the OP, I have always said its impossible to judge the events you are living through from a historical perspective. We are simply too close to them, and too emotional about them. Its hard to say how ‘history’ will judge Reagan or any of the other presidents during my lifetime…or the events that transpired during my lifetime. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/30 "2004-06-12T03:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > People’s view of former Presidents also change over time. According to Gallup, Reagan’s average job approval rating, as measured during his term, was lower than those of Clinton, Bush I, Johnson, Kennedy, and Eisenhower. (Truman, Nixon, Ford, and Carter rank lower than Reagan.) Why should average poll numbers be a guide? Why don’t we consider his popularity when he left office, which I believe was higher than any other president. Or the fact that he ran for office exactly four times in his life, and he won all four elections by landslides. Or the fact that today, 17 years after leaving office, his popularity is higher than it’s ever been, and even at a time when the U.S. isn’t that popular in other areas of the world, Reagan is. Of course, if you want to use average popularity as the measure of a president, you’ll have to face the fact that George W. Bush has the highest average popularity of any president in history. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/31 "2004-06-12T05:59:21Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > Why should average poll numbers be a guide? Why don’t we consider his popularity when he left office, which I believe was higher than any other president. Well, you might believe it, but it [isn’t true](http://baltimorechronicle.com/061004ReaganMyth.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/32 "2004-06-12T06:20:08Z")
That’s what I get for trusting CNN then. They mentioned that today during the funeral coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/33 "2004-06-12T06:39:46Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > Of course, if you want to use average popularity as the measure of a president, you’ll have to face the fact that George W. Bush has the highest average popularity of any president in history. I’m not sure about that Sam. Polling is a uniquely 20th Century aberration. And it’s quite reasonable to note that in the first 100 years of the United States, a huge number of people would probably have gone through their lives without ever considering too much about the President of “their” era because there was an abscence of media saturation and 24 x 7 TV coverage of the Whitehouse. Indeed, in Lincoln’s era, it was quite common for news in one part of the country to take up to 14 days to filter through to the other side of the country. Hence, given that popularity is by definition such an intangible, fickle material to quantify, I rather think it’s somewhat unwise to talk about “popularity” in terms of absolutes. It’s a bit like trying to draw a smell, if you know what I mean. Personally, for mine? I would have thought the most popular President ever was Teddy Roosevelt. I was given to understanding that his bravura ways were quite highly regarded. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/34 "2004-06-12T06:48:23Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > So why not create the Ronald Reagan Memorial Stem Cell Research Center, and do some lasting good against the disease that robs million of Americans of their sunset years? Who could oppose that? George W. Bush and his Christian fundamentalist base? ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/35 "2004-06-12T06:53:59Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > It would/should take at least 25 or 30 years to consider carving Reagan into Mount Rushmore. > > And it couldn’t happen until after I was dead because I would personally do everything I could to make sure it never happened. I agree - it’s a fucking stupid idea. That friggin’ mountain side will end up looking like the cover of Sgt Peppers eventually. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/36 "2004-06-12T07:05:59Z")
> [@furt](#): > > FDR was barely cold before they were sticking him on the dime, Ditto JFK on the half-dollar coin; so maybe we don’t need to wait so long. OTOH, looking in hindsight, maybe JFK was a mistake, and people were overemotional. The justification for putting FDR on the dime was the [March of DImes](http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/fdr/bdtext.html) which was originated when comedian Eddie Cantor, on his radio show, asked people to send in their loose change to help fund the attempt to help people recover from the effects of poliomyelitis. The dimes drive became the symbol of the effort to combat polio and FDR figured in because he was a victim of the disease. To most people that is a theoretical disease, but in the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s it was real. As to the Kennedy half-dallar I think that was a kind of hasty and emotional thing IMHO. I was never too impressed with JFK as president. Other than the Cuban Missile affair which was well done although scary, I don’t see that he accomplished a whole lot. Peace Corps maybe and a couple other things. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/37 "2004-06-12T07:07:03Z")
PS. I think if Reagan’s image is put on currency it should be on a three dollar bill. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/38 "2004-06-12T07:07:03Z")
[Reagan should be on a $3 bill](http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/columnists/ny-nybres113845462jun11,0,3863330.column?coll=ny-opinion-columnists) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/39 "2004-06-12T07:11:55Z")
The thing that is most wrong about this move to build state monuments to Reagan is that it is most definitely not what Reagan would have wanted. I heard on TV today (so it’s probably wrong…) that the building that has the second largest number of civil servants in the government is named after Ronald Reagan, who championed smaller government. I’m sure he would have been happy with the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, but federal buildings? Nah. It would be more fitting if a private organization built a huge monument to Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865/40 "2004-06-12T07:14:10Z")
Actually, I know the best way to Honor Reagan - name the stock market after him. Instead of the Dow Jones average, you could have the Reagan average… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-we-put-reagan-on-rushmore/249865.md?page=3)