Reagan funeral today. Many see him through a soft focus lens. Others regard him more harshly.
I see both sides. Like many great men in history, they accomplish both good and bad. Reagan was a prime example of this.
He refused to acknowledge the AIDS epidemic ’til well into his 2nd term, HOWEVER, he had the balls to stand up to the Soviet Union, and the forethought to believe that our system was superior to theirs and, with the right tactics, that they would crumble.
He almost single handedly doubled the homeless population (with his disregard for the mentally ill) but with many many americans he brought a sense of hope and optimism that had pretty much been dead since Kennedy.
He was a conservative but he only disagreed on points, never disallowed your right to not agree with him. None of this “either you’re with us or you’re against us” bullshit. In that sense, he was extremely principled and recognized that we were all Americans (a notion sometimes lost on the current administration). Most of his critics allowed for this and made debate spirited but not ugly. It’s sort of like respecting the rules of the game.
An aside: It’s like when Gus and I play basketball. We’re both extremely competitive. We also acknowledge that this “need to succeed” could get us both brutally beat up at the hands of the other. Therefore, we always are gentlemanly in our approach to the game. That allows us to enjoy and play our game with out resorting to below the belt tactics. You should have seen us when we were playing Around the World circa 2002 (OIYLU). Respect baby, respect.
Reagan was not a micro manager and sometimes allowed details to confuse him (his own adviser’s opinions not mine) but I read an article that he was brutal with Gorbachev in their debates; unflinching and straight to the point. In other words, he never blinked.
He rarely gave two whits about the environment (James Watt anyone?) but always seemed to reflect a sincerity in how he cared for Americans in general.
Most people say that it takes 20 years to properly review a president. I think that I must paraphrase the same question that President Reagan asked in 1980: Are you better off now than you were before he was President.
Having lived through the tail end of the cold war and that sunshiney concept of M.A.D. (mutual assured destruction), I have to say…yes.
