Talk Elections

AP ANNONCES THE DEATH OF THE GIPPER

Just saw it...a sad day for America...

very sad. The best Pres. EVER to live.

Today is definately one of the most mournful day since 9/11. He was undoubtedly one of few greatest presidents in American history. He was an excellent leader. I pray that he will be remembered as what he was, one of the greatest presidents in United States history.

May god show his eternal light upon him and may he forever be at rest... :(

Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest Presidents America has ever had.

He is in a better place now may he rest in peace

why has only rep. posted?

A great loss for this country, he will be missed.

Rest his soul. Good Guy, I didn't always agree with him, but he was a good guy, and a good President.

I agree. It doesn't matter what you think about Reagan's policies, he had a good heart. I grew up in the 80s and will always remember him as that friendly old man on the telly. Sad news.

R.I.P.

Awful news. Absolutely ruined my day.

Ronald Reagan, to me, to someone born the year of his re-election, to me as a Brit, alive and well in the era of Thatcherism and Reaganomics, to me Reagan is a cross partisan hero plain and simple. He was upbeat and determined, but humble and not an opportunist. Himself and Thatcher re-introduced the free and open market economic policies that allows us to this very day, to choose who will provide our internet connection or where we buy our groceries. They kept prices down and put the consumer back in charge. We owe everything to those two giants, one of whom has now passed on. To Reagan and to America I say your city is still shining on the hill, but for today at least, it is that little bit dimmer. Rest in Peace.

When I was a wee one, I would get Reagan and Transformers superhero Optimus Prime confused.

Sure, I was a moron, but at least I could see in a childish way that Reagan a good guy and a great president.

A worthy opponent, the man who ushered in an era of conservatism unmatched since the 1920's, an era which we will end this November.  But a remarkable man nonetheless.  Mr. President, may you rest in peace.

He's gone, the Gipper is now gone.

I am upset. He came so far from Tampico to Washington. His life is the Great American story.

Bush will win one for the Gipper this Nov!

Keep Bush and Kerry off this thread, if you will.


"The Great Communicator" was one that inspired awe in me with a lot of his speeches, even though I disagree with what he did on a lot of stuff. I feel that God will welcome him with open arms. Nancy must be relieved, at the very least.

A sad day, I just got home and saw it on the internet. Ronald Reagan was a great president, though who did his share of mistakes and I did not agree with him on everything. But he and Margaret Thatcher did a lot to restore confidence in the West and this is a day of mourning.

I agree, this is not the time for modern day politics, but to honor a great man who has now passed.

This was indeed momentous news. The most influential president since Franklin Roosevelt has passed away, and an era in of our times is over. He now belongs to history. My condolences are of course with his family.

Ronald Reagan was said to have rejuvenated America with a promise of a better nation at home and a renewed respect abroad. But to me, his presidency was one of dreams deferred and promises unfulfilled. For those in America who were well off, those years were indeed wonderful ones. But for those who were weak, who were vulnerable, they were painful ones that simply had to be endured, as their already tenuous existence became an even more precarious balancing act during the second coming of laissez-faire.

Ronald Reagan's foreign policy alienated the outside world. He supported the Nicaraguan Contras, even at the expense of opposing the popularly supported government. He intervened in Libya and Grenada, which merely caused civilian deaths and perpetuated a cycle of violence. He backed the Strategic Defense Initiative, which broughts us one step closer to the nightmare of nuclear holocaust. And that is to say nothing of Iran-Contra.

The tumultuous present now becomes the august past, and time at last has come for the muse of history to sound her judgment. We begin the process of remembering what has happened, but our perspective is still alive with the distinctly palpable memories of Ronald Reagan.

Here are some of my thoughts about what Ronald Reagan meant to my generation of Americans:

When Ronald Reagan was running for re-election in 1984, political commentators wondered about the reasons for the strong popularity among young people of this man old enough to be their grandfather. Having lived through that time as a young adult, I think I know why.

My generation grew up under the negativism of urban riots, the Vietnam War, Watergate, economic stagflation and the threatening spectre of Soviet aggression. My high school years were spent under President Jimmy Carter, and consisted of increasingly threatening developments at home and overseas. A very bleak picture of the future was painted for us at this time, with skyrocketing inflation, declining US power and economic downturn. Our whole lives were spent in a period of decline, so much so that we thought that was the only way conditions could go. It was only a question of how fast. The icing on the cake was the seizure of the American hostages by radical Islamic fanatics and Iran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, within weeks of each other. The talk at the time was of economic collapse and world war.

Against the backdrop of these developments, Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. I cast my first vote ever for him that year, mainly because I thought anybody would be better than Carter. But Reagan did so much more than I expected. Almost as if by magic, the gloomy atmosphere that pervaded over a decade starting to lift once Ronald Reagan took office. For those of my generation, we learned for the first time that things can get better, and that we could have a bright future. By 1984, Reagan was talking about "Morning in America" and that really was how we felt, for the first time in our lives.

Many in my generation have prospered in the ensuing years beyond what we could have ever expected back in the dark days that preceded Ronald Reagan, as we were entering adulthood. I have always appreciated, and will always appreciate, the positive effect that Ronald Reagan has had upon the lives of my generation.

Rest in peace, Ronald Reagan.  You're in God's care now.

Reagan is the reason I am a Republican. My condolences to his family. :(

In my life, I have never known double digit inflation.  I have never known double digit unemployment.  I do not remeber the Soviet Union.  I have never had to fear nuclear holocaust.  All of these things are true because of Ronald Reagan.  I believe that my life is better specifically because of this one man, and I am not alone.  The nation he left us with was totally unrecognizable from that which he inherited in 1980, and it was for the better.

Thank you, Mr. President.  For everything.

Regan was a good President soley because he was an optimist, and he brought peopl out of the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate funk. I wasn't alive for most of his Presidency, but as far as I know he was a good guy personally, his worldview and beliefs made him do less than nice things -- ie Grenada, Iran-Contra, etc. He was a habitual liar, but I think only because he didn't realize how serious it was for the POTUS to lie -- even if it was just telling a story to entertain. However, I would STRONGLY disagree with his being prclaimed the best President ever. The best President ever was FDR, and George Washington is only close because the sheer force of who he was puts him there. I'm glad he's no longer President, but I'm sorry he died -- and sorry that it took a presonal affliction for Nancy Regan to realize how important stemcell research is. As long as w're talking about his accomplishments, I'd like to say that his making th USSR collapse most certainly is not one. He didn't. Think of it in metaphor; the Titanic didn't sink in minutes --and the USSR couldn't sink specifically because of one President's policies. Communism was defunct by 1980, it was really just a matter of time at that point --excluding a 180 turn by the US.

One of the icons of American history has passed from this earth.
I find it hard to go on without getting political, which is obviously innapropriate at this time.

I bow my head in respect and rememberance.  May he rest in peace.

Dazzleman,

I've been trying my best to avoid posting on this forum, or any of the forums that I used to frequent because my blood pressure and overall mental health can longer tolerate the "foam at the mouth" Democrats I encounter these days, but I had to come out of my self-imposed exile to read what people were saying about Ronald Reagan's death. And then when I read this, I had to comment...

Thank you for writing what you did in this thread. I could not have summarized Reagan and what he meant to people in our generation any better than you did here.

I truly hope some of the pathetic teenage and college age left wingers on this forum actually take the time to read what you have posted. Some of these people complaining about the current economy should have actually lived through the mid to late 1970's the way we did and seen first hand what this country had become before Reagan. Double Digit Inflation....nearly double digit unemployment....20% PRIME Interest rates....gas prices when adjusted for inflation that were 2.5 times what they are now....etc, etc, etc....

MarkDel -

Thanks for your feedback.  You really shouldn't let the "foam at the mouth" Democrats get to you so much.  Positive examples of love always win out in the end against mindless hate, as we often see expressed by ignorant liberals today.  Ronald Reagan was also the object of that type of hate for taking positions that ended up benefiting the US and the world.  His liberal enemies called him an idiot, among other things, but today, he looks brilliant, and they look like the idiots they were and are.  I suspect history will repeat itself with their treatment of the current president.

Here are some more thoughts I had on the effect of Ronald Reagan in general (as opposed just to his effect on our generation):

When Ronald Reagan came into office, the country was deep in the malaise of the 1970s, whose symptoms included high inflation, military weakness and economic stagnation. Iran was holding American hostages and the Soviet Union was occupying Afghanistan. The top federal marginal tax rate was 70% of income.

The country enjoyed a great resurgence during his time in office. Inflation fell away and never returned as a real economic issue. Reagan's slashing of taxes led to an economic boom that continues, with some peaks and valleys, to this day. Reagan strenghtened the military and defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

He was not perfect, but I think the country was in better shape as a result of his presidency than it would have been if those who opposed him had held power.

Reagan was the defining president of my young adulthood, and I cast my first vote for him. I was always a supporter of his, and I think the world owes him a debt of gratitude for his accomplishments.

Many ridiculed his stance against the Soviet Union, claiming that we had to live with them as they were. Many even in his own party opposed his initiatives to use our greater economic power against the Achilles heel of their dysfunctional economy. But it turned out that he was right.

Rest in peace, Ronald Reagan. We will miss you and will always be grateful for your leadership during a challenging time.

Migrendel, that was utterly insulting and a very inappropriate post to make here.

I disagree with Migrendel's points... but I don't see how it is insulting.

"foam at the mouth Democrats". "pathetic...left-wingers". "ignorant liberals". "[liberals] look like the idiots they are". yeah, lots of love here.

I give up. I just give up. I like politics, and I thought this forum looked interesting. but it's just the same here as it is everywhere else. it's impossible to have a discussion without people (on both sides, mind you) resorting to the same tired partisan sniping. have a nice life, guys. sorry to veer off-topic.

This is a thread memorating his death, and he's making a speech on how much he sucked. That's pretty insulting.

I agree, it was inappropriate. This is neither the time nor the place for partisan rants. Democrats wouldn't like it if Republicans did the same over one of their political idols.

This really tore me up. Even though I know he's in a better place now, and he had been suffering terribly the last few years, this hurt very badly.

Ronald Reagan is second only to Winston Churchill in the 20th Century. After the awful division and national doubt of the Vietnam and Carter eras, Ronald Reagan restored our country's hope and belief in the democratic process. Most importantly, at a time when most people though the USSR was eternal and detente was the best we could possibly hope for, he stood resolute and opposed the expansion of communism and began to push it back, until at last the evil empire crumbled and 500 million people were set free.

G-d bless you, Ronald Reagan. Because of you, Morning has dawned in Eastern Europe and Latin America, and we can all pray it will soon sweep the rest of the world. Ronald Reagan will live forever.

(On a much less serious side note, I figured out how to deal with Migrendel. I just read every one of his posts in my head with the voice of HAL 9000. You would be shocked how effective this is, I nearly laughed out loud several times reading his posts on this thread.

Also, I agree, politics off this thread. If you really want to win one more for the Gipper, than just go out into the world and do what he always did- stay true to your beliefs, and fight resolutely for what you believe in, but always with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.)

A sad time indeed. :( While I can't hope to match what Dazzleman or others have expressed, I'll just make a few comments.

Thank you, Ronald Reagan, for bringing back the light to the world. Thank you for not giving up in the face of idiot antinuclear protesters who thought you were more of a danger than the Soviets. Thank you for breaking the enervating mold of 60's radical liberalism. Thank you for at least presenting the viewpoint that endless government growth is neither inevitable nor necessary. Thank you for holding fast to your morals and beliefs, and for acting with warmth and grace, even toward your opponents. And thank you for being right about things, and for seeing that the insidious evil of Communism could be beaten, not 'accomodated'. The world has changed for the better because of you, even if I didn't agree with every one of your policies (many of them, yes, but not all ;) ). And anyone who can make the hard left go into conniptions by the mere speaking of their name is fine by me. :)

Take this tribute from one who was raised liberal, and raised to hate you, and who has cast off most of those shackles. Godspeed Mr. President.

Very well said.

Thanks. :) Good to see you back and posting!

A truly saddening moment for all

Wow, I know the posts are 16 years old but this thread is civility politics at its worst

BREAKING--RONALD REAGAN IS STILL DEAD

the people who didn’t have anything nice to say didn’t say anything, it seems

 I thought his son died.

 I thought his son died for a second, hell of a zombie bump.

Which is a good thing. If this event had happened today, half the comments posted on this thread would be negative. I remember many of the responses that were posted in the threads about both Bushes and Charles Krauthammer.

It would be nice to compile a list of threads like this that took place during historic events, so we could peruse them in the future.

Lol imagine if this event took place today and how different the thread might read.

For a Republican messiah, he sure sucks at the rising from the dead part.

He'd be crazy old, even if it's only a year older than Roberta McCain.

He'd be crazy old, even if it's only a year older than Roberta McCain. Just think, if she lived in Arizona, she might be the only person living there who was born before it was a state.

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I mean, he was a driving force behind many of the policies that ushered in the massive wealth inequalities we experience today, so it's hard to see why he should get a totally free pass...

This is why the internet is actually bad: makes it harder to hide from the shameful things you believed and said when you were younger

Reagan was the best president we had in the past 70 years and I truly wish he not Trump were our president today as he would be so much better for our nation and I would also not only get to vote for the republican candidate but proudly do so

BREAKING: Bill Walker has dropped out.

I obviously disagree. Reagan made the rich the richer and the poor poorer and blew the federal deficit despite claiming to be a fiscal conservative. The balanced budget happened under Clinton after Poppy Bush laid a good foundation through the compromise he stroke with Democrats in congress and helped defeating him in 1992. Reagan's foreign policy was mixed; but you need to give equal credit for the archivements in disarments to Michail Gorbachev. Other decisions like arming Islamic fundamanalists and Iran Contra turned out to be disaster. The best president since 1969 is definitely Barack Obama.

That being said, Reagan would be huge improvement over today's Republican Party. At least he was a pragmatist and had rational stances in gun policy. I didn't like the growing influence of the Christian Right that happened under his watch though.

The media went overboard and the Dukes of Hazzard was established during this era. REAGAN along with Nixon were the founder of the Southern strategy and many statues and confederate flags were put up during their administration.  Not only that, along with the Bin Laden tape it helped, unfortunately,  Bush W get reelected

This thread was cool, I never thought to look it up. I remember this day. My brothers and I went to spend the night at my grandma's apartment that day, and when we came in, my grandma was sitting on the couch crying. It was the only time I ever saw her cry period, at least until her sister died like fourteen years later.

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Ugh. "Thanks" for reminder. My mood was unironically ruined.

Actually, if we look at the whole picture, Nixon was not a "bad" President, at least not entirely. While there was the Watergate (though, to be fair, it's not like JFK and especially LBJ didn't do similar impeachable things, but were never brought into account. It doesn't justify Nixon, but kind of shows us it was easier for a Democrat to get away with certain political shenanigans) and some other stuff (bombing Cambodia, coup in Chile), but things like Detente or opening on China were monumental foreign policy achievements. Being from a formerly Soviet-dominated country I'm feeling especially grateful for the Detente, because such easing of tensions in the 70s contributed to relaxing the internal grip inside satelite states, eventually leading to the birth of the Solidarity Movement (and KOR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Defence_Committee) before that). Nixon belongs to the same category as LBJ and Wilson: a President with great achievements, but also great failures, thus escaping an easy categorization.

Obama was definitively an "above average" President, but his achievements weren't too exceptional, though it can be argued that, at least in the domestic arena, he got the best deal there was out there, particularly in regard to health care (the Obamacare might've been watered-down, but that's because of the GOP's obstructionism and some Democrats not willing to go as far as it should go). Other person in his place might've failed (Hillary screwed up health care once before).

As far as his foreign policy is concerned, I see his first term as largely unsuccessful (the infamous "reset", mess in Libya), while his second term saw such achievements as Cuban thaw and Iran nuclear deal. Unfortunately these two were dismantled once his successor took office, but that's more of a fundamental problem with the post-1989 U.S. foreign policy: lack of consistency and dependability, with every new administration being able to make a complete u-turn.

I see Obama's biggest flaw in him being a poor political operator (as opposed to being great in running for office himself). He never really build a political machine on his own and, after initially trying with Kaine (a "nice guy", but not fit for the task), he essentially ceded the control of DNC to Clinton loyalists, who only saw his Presidency as Hillary's springboard for 2016. We've even came to the point when a DNC chair opposed her President's key foreign policy goals (Iran deal). I also really don't like the fact Obama was quick to discard the people who stuck out their necks for him during the primaries (passing Kerry over for SoS or being quick to cut Bill Richardson loose).

In the end, Obama's greatest achievement may not lay in policies implemented, but in helping to usher a new era in the American politics, if Biden and the Democratic establishment are actually serious about the need of embracing a fundamental change.

You are correct, but there's a certain time and place for such criticisms, and when someone has died, I don't think its right to rain down brimstone and fire upon their reputation. As was said by MB, those who had nothing nice to say didn't say anything at all.

You didn’t remember that Ronald Reagan has been dead for 16 years

I remembered this. Just that it was on backstage.

Now I did read this, compared Reagan to Trump, and how low Republican  party had fallen, and my mood worsened

Should have waited till tonight to post that live this Saturday.

He and Nixon are looking up at all of us :')

YAY! bumping 16 year old threads!

You seem way too emotionally attached to Reagan for being a non-American.

yes, I can agree to somewhat extent. In my eyes, Reagan directly contributed to the fall of Evil Empire™, which gave my country independence. Also I am a Reaganite politically, so no surprise either.

Well Reagan in many ways helped contribute to the fall of the USSR which liberated Eastern Europe and given he is from Eastern Europe I am not at all surprised by that

As I've said in my previous post, the 70s Detente played a great role in loosening of the Soviet grip over Central and Eastern Europe, and I think it was actually a bigger factor than Reagan. And we also forget it was Carter that initiated the hard line on the USSR following Afghanistan.

But in the end, we should realize that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc wasn't in any way "decided" by actions of some individuals, like "if Reagan [or insert any other name here] weren't President, the Soviets would still be around". The Soviet system was doomed to collapse under its' own weight and due to being simply dysfunctional. Actions of certain individuals might've contributed, but not in a decisive way. And if we're looking for somebody who came closest to managing that, it would be Gorbachev. With the hardliners in charge, the process could've been much more messy, and much more dangerous to the world at large.

No one denies that Reagan was good for white people.

You guys summed up my feelings perfectly about Reagan. He was a terrible president.

Anyways, why is a 16 year old thread being bumped?

The thing is, if you skim through the thread, someone made a very respectful post which had criticism of Reagan's policy, which is very fair. But he was flamed for being "very disrepectful". I was never a fan of dancing on graves, but the other side of the coin is smothering any debate, no matter how respectful and considerate.

An example of how much worse our politics have gotten now

I’m sure there must have been an individual politics thread back in the day of an Opinion of Ronald Reagan thread in which that commentary would have been more appropriate.

If that was the only thread you have shared your opinion about his policies that would be one thing but there are multiple boards and threads  for a reason and turning this type of a thread into a debate thread is not something that would be good .

Incidentally, the reason for the gag was that for months before he actually died, John Chancellor, the then anchor of NBC's Nightly News, had been including bulletins on Franco still being alive.

That's why it's good: a great tool for introspection.