Opinion of Ronald Reagan

[Lincoln Republican]

Anyone who wins 49 out of 50 states in a Presidential election, obviously a massive Freedom Fighter.

[Lincoln Republican]

Anyone who wins 49 out of 50 states in a Presidential election, and 59% of the popular vote, obviously a massive Freedom Fighter.

putin won every province of russia and 64% of the popular vote in 2012, so by your logic he's an even bigger freedom fighter.

Only a completely uninformed individual would compare a Russian election with a U.S. election.

[Lincoln Republican]

The only thing this poll and commentary show is the extreme leftist bias on this forum.

[Lincoln Republican]

Now, Reagan was not the greatest President, by any means, however, he did have many notable and historic achievements.

Reagan ended the Cold War, making the world a safer place.
  
Reagan fueled an economic boom that lasted two decades.

Reagan rebuilt America's armed forces whereby the U.S. was able to pursue a policy of peace through strength, reversing the weakening of the military during the Carter administration.

Following the anguish of Vietnam and Watergate, and the malaise and negativism of the Carter years, Reagan gave the nation a new reason for optimism instead of pessimism for the future.

Reagan laid the framework with Gorbachev for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which reduced both countries’ arsenals of nuclear weapons.

Now, I realize some of you despise Reagan with a passion, and would not admit that Reagan actually had some remarkable achievements and successes as President, but you are free to hold your very narrow view of the world if you wish.  

Anyway, these are some of Reagan's achievements, and are historical facts, and if ya wanna deny history, go ahead, and if ya don't like em, lump em.  I could care less.

[Lincoln Republican]

Reagan rebuilt America's armed forces whereby the U.S. was able to pursue a policy of peace through strength, reversing the weakening of the military during the Carter administration.

You are aware that the military build up was started by Jimmy Carter, right?

Carter was weak and vacillating in defense matters

E.g., he cut back on the navy's shipbuilding program, while the Soviets had strengthened their forces.

Even Democratic Senator Henry Jackson found Carter to be weak, ineffective, and confused in defense matters. 

[Lincoln Republican]

Reagan rebuilt America's armed forces whereby the U.S. was able to pursue a policy of peace through strength, reversing the weakening of the military during the Carter administration.

You are aware that the military build up was started by Jimmy Carter, right?

Carter was weak and vacillating in defense matters

E.g., he cut back on the navy's shipbuilding program, while the Soviets had strengthened their forces.

Even Democratic Senator Henry Jackson found Carter to be weak, ineffective, and confused in defense matters. 

Scoop Jackson found everyone short of Jack D. Ripper to be weak, ineffective, and confused in defense matters.

Henry Kissinger, one of the foremost authorities on defense and foreign policy matters in history, held the same view on Carter's defense policies as did Scoop Jackson, in other words, Kissinger found Carter's defense policies to be weak, ineffective, and confused.

[Lincoln Republican]

Ah, but Henry Kissinger was indeed one of the foremost authorities in the field of diplomacy and international relations.

From Wiki a summary of his public service and academic credentials

A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. After his term, his opinion was still sought by some subsequent U.S. presidents and other world leaders.

Henry Kissinger received his AB degree summa cum laude in political science at Harvard College in 1950, where he lived in Adams House and studied under William Yandell Elliott. He received his MA and PhD degrees at Harvard University in 1952 and 1954, respectively. In 1952, while still at Harvard, he served as a consultant to the director of the Psychological Strategy Board. His doctoral dissertation was titled "Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium (A Study of the Statesmanship of Castlereagh and Metternich)".

Kissinger remained at Harvard as a member of the faculty in the Department of Government and, with Robert R. Bowie, co-founded the Center for International Affairs in 1958. In 1955, he was a consultant to the National Security Council's Operations Coordinating Board. During 1955 and 1956, he was also study director in nuclear weapons and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He released his book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy the following year. From 1956 to 1958 he worked for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as director of its Special Studies Project. He was director of the Harvard Defense Studies Program between 1958 and 1971. He was also director of the Harvard International Seminar between 1951 and 1971. Outside of academia, he served as a consultant to several government agencies, including the Operations Research Office, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the Department of State, and the Rand Corporation, a think-tank.

[Lincoln Republican]

I guess Clark Clifford summed Reagan best: "an amiable dunce".

Well, this "amiable dunce" became an extremely popular two term President of the United States, while Clifford is most remembered as a key figure in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal, which led to a grand jury indictment.

[Lincoln Republican]

I guess Clark Clifford summed Reagan best: "an amiable dunce".

Well, this "amiable dunce" became an extremely popular two term President of the United States, while Clifford is most remembered as a key figure in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal, which led to a grand jury indictment.

Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge were both extremely popular presidents when they were in office too.

As were FDR and Eisenhower, so I fail to see your point in relation to Reagan and Clifford.

[Lincoln Republican]

I guess Clark Clifford summed Reagan best: "an amiable dunce".

Well, this "amiable dunce" became an extremely popular two term President of the United States, while Clifford is most remembered as a key figure in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal, which led to a grand jury indictment.

Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge were both extremely popular presidents when they were in office too.

As were FDR and Eisenhower, so I fail to see your point in relation to Reagan and Clifford.

My point being is that popularity in office =/= being a good president

I agree with your statement about popularity and being a good President, however, I was responding to a statement that supposedly Clifford made about Reagan, and my reply was that Reagan went much further in public life than Clifford ever did, comparing Reagan to Clifford, not to other Presidents.

[Lincoln Republican]

Reagan's detractors will to go to any length to deny his accomplishments, as proven above.

They simply refuse to accept the fact that he had considerable positive accomplishments during his Presidency.

[Lincoln Republican]

I agree that Nixon, Ford and Bush had positive accomplishments as well, even George W Bush had positive accomplishments.

I am also more than willing to credit Carter, Clinton, and Obama for their positive accomplishments as well.