I'll tell you the great stuff he did and you dare try and tell me he wasn't great!
Ronald Wilson Reagan was America’s greatest president. I am sure many people will disagree with me on this. Democrats will say that Kennedy was the greatest. Historians will argue for Washington or Lincoln. But in my humble opinion no president ever accomplished as much in as many areas for America as did Ronald Reagan.
On Saturday, June 5, 2004 Ronald Reagan died of pneumonia at the age of 93. He was the fortieth President of the United States, and he lived longer than any other President. As you read on you will see why I believe he was the greatest President this nation was ever blessed with.
Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, and in doing so defeated Communism. He lowered the tax burden on the American people dramatically, and in doing so created the longest period of sustained economic growth this nation has ever experienced, before or since. Most important, Ronald Reagan’s optimism and pride in America crushed the defeatism and cynicism that had overtaken our nation before he took office, and in doing so made it possible for Americans to lift up their heads and to once again be proud of our great nation.
I watched as dozens of people, great and humble alike, spoke about Ronald Reagan on television. The words that I heard most often about this giant of a man were “decent”, “humble,” “principled” and “great.” He was all of those, and more.
Upon hearing of Reagan’s death, President Bush, who had retired for the night, got dressed and addressed the nation from France at midnight local time. He said, “Ronald Reagan won America’s respect with his greatness, and its love with his goodness.”
He went on: “He had the strength that comes with character, the confidence that comes with conviction, and the grace that comes with humility.” He concluded, “He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save.”
Does that sound a little over the top? I don’t think so. He restored to our nation pride, patriotism, and optimism about our future. He fought for what he believed, but he did so with decency and character, traits seldom found in the politics of his day.
Is it too much to say that he helped save the world? Bill Bennett said “Ronald Reagan solved the greatest problem the world has faced in the last 500 years – Communism.” There was a time when the possibility that Communism would take over the world was very real. Reagan, through force of character and conviction in his principles, defeated Communism.
When he called Communism the “Evil Empire” and said at the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” the world listened. Jimmy Carter, who had lost his office to Reagan in a landslide (Reagan won 44 states and 489 electoral votes), whined that Reagan was going to plunge us into a thermonuclear war with his words. But ending the Cold War was one of Reagan’s two major goals, and he did not back down. Eventually Gorbachev did.
Margaret Thatcher said today that, “Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot.” That was very gracious of Mrs. Thatcher, because her moral support and that of the Pope contributed greatly to ending that terrible period. But the main reason the Soviet Union backed down was that Reagan rebuilt our military might.
When Reagan took office Viet Nam, Jane Fonda and John Kerry had demoralized our military. Jimmy Carter had done great damage to our military preparedness by spending money on social programs while ignoring the needs of our personnel and failing to maintain our arms. Servicemen couldn’t feed their families on the pay they received. Half of our aircraft were not mission capable.
One of Reagan’s first acts after taking office was to raise military pay by fifty per cent! He didn’t like government waste, but he knew how to spend money where it counted. He provided money to put existing equipment into shape so that it could be used. And he modernized our military, giving the commanders the new weapons and aircraft that were needed to defend us against the threat of Communism. When the Soviets saw this kind of resolve, they realized they could never defeat us.
His other major goal was to rescue America from the slavery of big government and over-taxation. Reagan often said, “Government is not the solution; government is the problem.” During most of his years in the private sector he paid income taxes as high as 90%. He is quoted as saying, “I hate taxes,” and with good reason. He fought Congress to lower the highest tax rate to 28%, and he won because he was right.
Liberals like to ridicule Reagan by calling his economic policies “voodoo economics,” but he proved them wrong. Tip O’Neill, Democrat Speaker of the House predicted another “Great Depression” if Reagan got his tax cuts, and he proved O’Neill wrong as well. The lowered taxes gave the economy a huge boost that resulted in higher tax revenues and massive economic growth.
Ronald Reagan was a man of the people. He understood regular Americans as few politicians ever have or will. At Camp David he often invited the cooks, porters and guards in to watch old movies with him. He never talked about this, never used it as a photo opportunity as most presidents would have. But he learned a lot about what America thought by listening to these people instead of getting all his information from Washington insiders.
President Reagan honored the Office of the Presidency. He was always attired in a suit and tie when he was in the Oval Office. Once when an aide suggested he remove his jacket during a meeting, he answered in his soft voice, “Oh, I could never take off my coat in the Oval Office.” Old fashioned? Perhaps. But I would much rather see that kind of respect for the Office (and the nation it represents) than the disgraces that took place in the Oval Office a few years ago.
Much has been said about Reagan’s gentle sense of humor. He took great delight in playing practical jokes on his staff, and he was always joking. When he was shot after only sixty-nine days in office, he told the surgeons who were about to operate on him, “I hope you are all Republicans.”
He accomplished so much more that there is no time to tell it all. He made the word “Conservative” something to be admired, and helped America realize that “Liberal” meant politicians liberally spending their tax dollars on wasteful projects. Critics ridiculed his “Star Wars” missile defense shield, saying it was technically impossible, but we know today that he was right. When he took office only wealthy people invested in the stock market. He democratized investing, and now over 52% of Americans own stocks and share in the wealth created by the market.
Reagan changed the way people looked at their government. When he took office many people felt that there was no difference between the two main political parties. He showed them the difference. He fought for smaller government, and in doing so changed the political landscape. Today every politician, Democrats included, tries to ride on Reagan’s coattails.
He was so successful in this that the only way Clinton was able to get elected was by lying to America that he was a “New kind of Democrat.” He said over and over in his speeches that “The era of big government is over.” Of course he immediately proceeded to increase the size of government for the next eight years. The point is that Reagan’s success and the impression he made on American political thought forced Clinton to speak words that he did not believe in order to win the election.
Ronald Reagan may have died, but his dream and his legacy are not dead. As I reflect on Ronald Reagan’s life, I see many parallels between him and our current President. Both have been called “cowboys” and “dunces” by the liberals and our European “friends.” Both have been underestimated repeatedly by their enemies. Both have exhibited great courage and stood on their principles in the face of extreme pressure. Both have given strong leadership to our nation at critical junctures.
The Democrats tried to dismiss Reagan by saying he only won the White House because of his popularity as an actor. They ignored the fact that he had degrees in economics and sociology, had served his country as an officer in the Army, and was a gifted communicator and an extremely intelligent man.
Today Democrats say that Bush only won the White House because of his father’s connections. They ignore the fact that he earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, and that he served our nation as an officer and jet pilot. He is also very intelligent, but is not the communicator Reagan was. But what Bush lacks in oratory, he makes up in other areas where Reagan was strong: decency, honor, patriotism, strong principles, and leadership.
When Ronald Reagan took office our nation was in great peril. Shortly after Bush took office, our nation experienced the greatest threat it has ever faced. The mantle of Ronald W. Reagan has fallen upon the shoulders of George W. Bush, and with God’s help he has shown himself equal to the challenge.
The best way that America could honor President Reagan this year would be to re-elect the man who exemplifies the best of Reagan’s strengths, values and convictions. CMON IZLOVER NOW WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?
