A statue of Reagan was recently unveiled here in London in Grosvenor square right adjacent to the American embassy. He now shares the company of FDR, Ike and the American heroes of the eagle squadron who volunteered to serve in the RAF before America became involved in WWII--no isolationists in their ranks!
Reagan was simply the ONLY successful US President of the last 50 years. I would define a minimum criteria for Presidential success as follows...
1) Must be re-elected and serve two terms (no resignations).
2) Must not be impeached (sorry slick Willy!)
3) Must not leave office under an economic cloud (sorry W!)
Reagan did that and much more besides. He inherited an economic mess from his predecessor (sound familiar) which included rising unemployment, high inflation and high interest rates. Recognizing the reality of the Laffer curve he cut taxes, stimulating the economy. US GDP grew from 1980 to the end of Reagan's term in 1988 by the size of West Germany. Jobs were created. Regulations were slashed stimulating business activity. The US economy boomed.
Reagan's swift and decisive firing of the striking air traffic controllers in 1981 sent a clear message that America was open for business and would not be intimidated by government employee unions--a lesson that Prime minister David Cameron could have taken to heart recently when Immigration workers in the UK held a one day strike very nearly crippling tourism.
Liberals loved to portray him as a mindless actor regurgitating spoon fed lines. The reality was quite different. Reagan demonstrated enormous personal courage and great wit. After he was shot by Hinckley he joked with his surgical team, "Please tell me you're Republicans." (Lou Cannon)--hardly a line fed to him by a scriptwriter.
Reagan helped restore America's self-confidence after the shocks of Vietnam and Watergate.
God Bless Ronald Reagan!
Reagan was simply the ONLY successful US President of the last 50 years. I would define a minimum criteria for Presidential success as follows...
1) Must be re-elected and serve two terms (no resignations).
2) Must not be impeached (sorry slick Willy!)
3) Must not leave office under an economic cloud (sorry W!)
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| Reagan in London (Photo James Hooper) |
Reagan's swift and decisive firing of the striking air traffic controllers in 1981 sent a clear message that America was open for business and would not be intimidated by government employee unions--a lesson that Prime minister David Cameron could have taken to heart recently when Immigration workers in the UK held a one day strike very nearly crippling tourism.
Liberals loved to portray him as a mindless actor regurgitating spoon fed lines. The reality was quite different. Reagan demonstrated enormous personal courage and great wit. After he was shot by Hinckley he joked with his surgical team, "Please tell me you're Republicans." (Lou Cannon)--hardly a line fed to him by a scriptwriter.
Reagan helped restore America's self-confidence after the shocks of Vietnam and Watergate.
God Bless Ronald Reagan!
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