FEASTING ON REAGAN

[bigiron]

after reading a story on foxnews.com about Ronald Reagan and a recording of his views on "socialized medicine" i began to feast on some of his clips on youtube. i wasn't really old enough to understand the greatness of this man and have never taken the time to listen to his words although this afternoon i started reading and listening to some of his interviews and addresses on youtube and other media. i cannot believe the u-turn this country has taken since his departure in the 90's. take some time tonight and just listen to some of the speeches and addresses he had given even before his presidency. to say the least i am moved and inspired and i hope soon we see a leader emurge with such enthusiasm and wit as he had. i can't wait to dig deeper!

 

[ATF Consumer]

Yep...he was great for our country...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dd9C38E4QY"]YouTube - Reagan Mythology Rewritten[/ame]

 

[irishfan]

Ronald Reagan drove the national deficit up and had unemployment hit 10% while he was in office. Most people on this board want to throw Obama to the wolves for doing the same thing. Also, firing the air traffic controllers was overstepping his power by the constitution as much as almost any other president has done. Also, nobody knew that Reagan would be mildly successful when he was spending wildly just as nobody knows for sure if Obama's plans will work. At that time in his administration it was just speculation and hype as it is in our current administration. Finally, I will give Reagan credit for some good when dealing with Libya but for the most part he was a spending machine just like the people in office today.

 

[tenring]

Yup, old Ronnie spent a ton of money, that he did. A whole lot of it went to the Defense Department, outspending Russia [former Soviet Union], and that kind of ended the Cold War keeping us out of a world wide war. Oh, and all spending bills originate in the House of Representatives.

 

[woodsie57]

I miss him. Lots. Watch him, see what the term statesman means.

 

[littletommy]

Ronald Reagan didn't go around the world bowing to foreign leaders, and apologizing for the actions of Americans. Was he perfect? No. Was he a great American president? Yes. When Reagan spoke, people listened. I also wonder how we strayed so far from those days.

 

[T-rav]

He spend money where needed not just pissing it away. Collapsed the Soviet Union by having a strong defense the Soviets could keep up with the Jones so to say. Congress and Obama now have no clue, or plan how to repay anything they just crank up the printing press. The Nixon era should of never took us off the goald standard. Ronald wasnt perfect and Im not claiming he was but he is the best I have seen in my short lived life. He at least made Patriotism mainstream.

 

[HICKMAN]

Happy to say I was one of the guys working for Reagan, guarding the Fulda Gap

Having followed Carter, Reagan had his work cut out for him.

 

[bigiron]

Ronald Reagan drove the national deficit up and had unemployment hit 10% while he was in office. Most people on this board want to throw Obama to the wolves for doing the same thing. Also, firing the air traffic controllers was overstepping his power by the constitution as much as almost any other president has done. Also, nobody knew that Reagan would be mildly successful when he was spending wildly just as nobody knows for sure if Obama's plans will work. At that time in his administration it was just speculation and hype as it is in our current administration. Finally, I will give Reagan credit for some good when dealing with Libya but for the most part he was a spending machine just like the people in office today.

don't be so hasty to judge my friend. as stated in other posts, reagan did drive the deficit up with defense spending and although unemployment was high, it wasn't his doing so much. he did follow carter and had to deal with alot of the crap he left behind. although he probably wasn't perfect, at least he was a patriot which has been lost in american politics. as for comparing him to the current di__-beater we have, there is not comparing and i would surely go toe to toe with that one. obama has no concept of american patriotism. reagan had nerve and a backbone to stand up for a strong america and fight the evil that exist head on. when was the last time you heard hussein obama addressing the taliban and telling them were gonna take them out like reagan did with lybia and russia. my point is this, since reagans presidency, we have not had any notable politician step to the stage and address the lack of patriotism and moral decline like he did and we have been on a slippery slope since.

 

[DustinG]

The Nixon era should of never took us off the goald standard.

Nixon did not have a choice; he inherited Johnson's Great Society and the Vietnam War spending. In order to pay for it, more money had to be printed. The big problem was also the Democrats controlled Congress during this time, so reversing the programs could not happen.

 

[irishfan]

don't be so hasty to judge my friend. as stated in other posts, reagan did drive the deficit up with defense spending and although unemployment was high, it wasn't his doing so much. he did follow carter and had to deal with alot of the crap he left behind. although he probably wasn't perfect, at least he was a patriot which has been lost in american politics. as for comparing him to the current di__-beater we have, there is not comparing and i would surely go toe to toe with that one.

So basically Obama is dealing with the same mess that Reagan did? Obama was left with huge unemployment, two wars, over spending, and the economy tanked while Reagan was left a bad economy but no wars to fight. If you go by what you are saying and also by what others are saying then Obama was left in a much worse situation that Ronald Reagan. Also, the Soviet Union did not collapse only because of the spending of the United States which we are still paying on by the way. I do agree that Reagan did some good things as President but he was against second ammendment rights and also abused his office and the constitution. Unfortunately, most here won't look at him with open eyes as he is used by to many conservatives as their poster boy but in reality he is far from a good model of what conservatives should follow.

 

[T-rav]

he was against second ammendment rights and also abused his office and the constitution. Unfortunately, most here won't look at him with open eyes as he is used by to many conservatives as their poster boy but in reality he is far from a good model of what conservatives should follow.

Im pretty sure he used to talk about the people being armed to protect themselves as stated when he was Governor in California "Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection."

 

[SirRealism]

I wish I had been more politically aware back when Reagan was in office.

I had a client who once told me that Ronald Reagan was the anti-Christ. I'm glad to say that guy is no longer a client, and he moved back to Kalifornia. Ironically, he recently posted to his twitter account, asking people for suggestions as to how to "help California" out of its current mess. I kept my comment to myself... it wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[Bill of Rights]

Reagan? Against 2A rights? Hardly. There are reports that he (and almost assuredly Nancy) carried throughout his Presidency.. Yes, he did sign the law that banned imports after '86, which I think partly was snuck by him, but I don't know that he would not have signed it anyway... he WAS from California, and their attitudes were anti-gun even then.. but he was not afraid of guns and indeed, there's a story about him saving a woman's life (or at least her dignity) with his pistol, from an apartment he was renting, in his early days as a radio broadcaster... It was only years later that the woman met him and found out he had no ammo at the time... he couldn't afford it.
No, Reagan wasn't perfect, not by a long shot... but as has been said, he had a spine and he had the cojones to stand up for this country, of which he was very proud. Can anyone imagine Obama giving his speech at the Brandenburg Gate, much less backing it up?

I think NOT!

Blessings,
Bill

 

[mrjarrell]

Im pretty sure he used to talk about the people being armed to protect themselves as stated when he was Governor in California "Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection."

ASk yourself why the average Californian is disarmed. Better yet, do the research. You'll find that the reason is that Ronald Reagan disarmed them, because he was afraid of the Black Panthers. His answer was to disarm ALL the people in California when he signed the Mulford act. Yep. That's sure a pro-2nd Amendment stance. Oh, did I forget to mention that he was a major reason the Brady bill got passed? Yeah, he was a supporter. Not a friend to the 2nd by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[dross]

Happy to say I was one of the guys working for Reagan, guarding the Fulda Gap

Having followed Carter, Reagan had his work cut out for him.

I spent many nights freezing and every night for two years on call, guarding the air space over the Fulda Gap. Anyone who thinks the Cold War wasn't a war should have been with us in West Germany, and witnessed our level of readiness.

 

[dross]

Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, and Jefferson was a nasty political infighter. Adams disregarded the Constitution because it was inconvenient to his purposes. The campaigns of the 19th century were nastier and more negative than ANY of today. Lincoln was a severe racist and much farther to the Christian right than anyone today, and suspended our most basic legal right, that of habeus corpus. Teddy Roosevelt was our first socialist president. His cousin had communists working for the Soviet Union high in his administration.

Yet all of these are judged to be our greatest presidents.

We must look at what was accomplished, within our flawed system that while flawed and rotten has only the distinction of being the best system ever devised.

Yes, we can all come up with these great systems that have never worked in the real world. Maybe they will some day.

In this context, Reagan was a great man.

In the context of the freshman dorm over beers and pizza, all are found wanting.

 

[Panama]

Reading through history is educational, but living through history gives you a perspective you do not get from a book.

I financially "survived" Jimmy Carter, barely!
Many businesses and people did not.

I miss Ronald Reagan, and sadly, I do not see anyone on the horizon like him, and we are gonna need that kind of experience and wisdom to clean up what is left after Obama!

If there is anything left to clean up?

 

[bigiron]

So basically Obama is dealing with the same mess that Reagan did? Obama was left with huge unemployment, two wars, over spending, and the economy tanked while Reagan was left a bad economy but no wars to fight. If you go by what you are saying and also by what others are saying then Obama was left in a much worse situation that Ronald Reagan. Also, the Soviet Union did not collapse only because of the spending of the United States which we are still paying on by the way. I do agree that Reagan did some good things as President but he was against second ammendment rights and also abused his office and the constitution. Unfortunately, most here won't look at him with open eyes as he is used by to many conservatives as their poster boy but in reality he is far from a good model of what conservatives should follow.

i should have noted that i didn't want this to turn into a political comparison although i turn it that way. you're right, hussein took the office at a really bad time and had the deck stacked against him. although i'm no supporter of obama i have no problems saying he got a big mess. i really wanted to point out the prowess of reagan and his integrity as an american. he was willing to stand up for america and protect our ideals. since he has been in office we have not seen that kind of demeanor in the oval office and frankly we have regressed tremendously in the political arena. maybe he didn't make all the right moves as president but he sure was an AMERICAN!!!!!!!

 

[irishfan]

Im pretty sure he used to talk about the people being armed to protect themselves as stated when he was Governor in California "Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection."

That would be why Ronald Reagan while GOVERNOR of California signed and supported the bill to take away the right for everyone to carry a firearm. He may have talked about people protecting themselves but he had no problem taking away your right to do it if you were governed by him. Another point made about how much of a stand up guy he was. Another stand up thing he did was take a strong stance against labor unions in this country while at one time in his life he was the President of the Screen Actors Guild. How can a man be a leader of a union at one point and then go all out against them later? Sounds like hypocricy to me but I am sure its ok since he was a model President