Former President Reagan dies at 93

[Moogie]

"My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers," Nancy Reagan said in a statement.

The former President Regan died of pneumonia complicated by Alzheimers Disease with his famly by his side.

For more on the story, read HERE (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/obituaries/2001948536_webobitreagan05.html)

[Dyyryath]

My favorite president. :(

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

yup i grew up with this dude and The Iron Lady - Lady Thatcher as my Prime Minister - people may say she was a pain but heck that's what being a Prime Minister is all about.. getting sh*t done... even if you end up looking stupid :)

*Lone Bugle Call*

[Chinasaur]

Keep his 8 years in perspective -

He gave Weapons of Mass Destruction to Iraq via Donald Rumsfeld.

He presided over the largest budget deficit in history prior to the current Bush.

Iran-Contra - which he never took responsiblity for.

While I was on active duty - even though he got large press for funding a buildup in the military... My 4.2" heavy mortar platoon shot LESS rounds per month than our Guard brothers because we couldn't get budget for ammo.

He was responsible for "Voodoo economics of the 80's.." who remembers that one? And the subsequent economic turmoil THAT created?

Remember Star Wars? And the crazy BILLIONS of dollars poured down THAT rat hole?

Remember this quote? -

"My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes."
-- Ronald Reagan, said during a radio microphone test, 1984

What a responsible thing for the leader of the US to say during extremely tense moments of the mid-80's. NOT.

During his tenure, his Sec of Defense (Caspar Weinberger) was telling Capital Hill that the USSR presented the greatest threat (sound familiar?) to the US that had ever been seen... Meanwhile, back at the Post... We were receiving intelligence briefings about how 70% of the Soviet Military were alcoholics, were melting shoe polish to get alcohol, and were painting grass green prior to inspections... Anyone see a contradiction here?

He wasn't God. He wasn't King. He benefited from special interest campaign donations like everyone else (the Moral Majority..LOL).

I guess the best thing to be said about his Presidency was that WWIII didn't occur on his watch.

[Anteraan]

Good post, Chinasaur. While I (my opinion only here) feel that he did well on the foreign front, his ability as an economic godsend is completely overstated. He reminds me of a guy at the club where I work, who has a solid income but nothing extravagant, has borrowed enough money to procure a house 2 bedrooms larger than he can afford, a Ferrari, a lawn service, a nanny, a maid, some incredibly fine stereo and home theatre equipment, and a dozen maxxed out credit cards.

He then stands in his well-groomed yard, with his nanny, points to his Ferrari in the driveway of his huge home and proclaims:

"I'M RICH!!!"

[Moogie]

Reagan inherited from Carter:

An economy in an absolute shambles: 18% interest for housing loans, 8.x% unemployment.

A military that couldn't figure out which way was up, AND, couldn't even mount a rescue operation against Iran, which, at the time, didn't even have a functioning military.

A Soviet Union that had expanded into Central America (Nicaragua) and had a victorious client state (Viet Nam).

A Soviet Union that was busy expanding it's military presence, especially it's Naval presence.

Overall, I'd say Reagan did good.

IMO

[Chinasaur]

Moogie,

Carter took over in 1976. The Vietnam war ended in 1975. Yes the US military was a bit "shell shocked" after that.

Carter inherited the economy left over from the Oil Embargo of '73/'74.

The state of the Military was enhanced by Carter during his tenure...not screwed over. It was going UP in readiness the entire time. Not stagnating or going backward when Bonzo took over.

Also, let me remind you..Delta Force was founded in 1979 under the Carter Administration. I think you either didn't know that or forgot it.

As for the Soviet Navy :) If their Navy was in any condition similar to their Army :)

Also, let me remind you that Reagan's "boys" were in secret negotiations with the Iranians NOT to release the hostages until Bonzo was sworn in so it would make him look good.

And let's lastly look at what Clinton inherited from Bonzo/Bush Sr....a MASSIVE defecit that was on the way to being paid off before Shrub screwed things up.


Anything else?


*A weird thing. When I talk to veteran friends, we talk about the state of the country, economy, civil rights, protecting the Bill of Rights, jobs, the poor.

When I talk to those who never served, they always discuss the state of the Military.

Now that's scary :scared:


Carter was a submarine officer (a nuke if I remember correctly) who served with distinction. Reagan avoided combat duty in WWII by making movies. Even Jimmy Stewart (Colonel Army Air Corps) flew missions over Germany.

I will ALWAYS take the Commander in Chief who is hesitant to shed blood/start a war because he knows what kind of hell will be unleashed.

[Dyyryath]

LOL :D

I love ya, Chinasaur, but we're definately on opposite ends of the political spectrum! :)

Of course, I don't take politics as seriously as some, so that doesn't bother me in the slightest. :thumbs:

I tend to base my opinions of Presidents as much on how I perceive them personally as I do on their political record...

Carter seemed like a good, decent guy, but without the strength to be a real leader.

While I didn't agree with everything that Reagan did during his time as President, I always felt like he followed his convictions. People who disliked him will always believe he lied about the Iran-Contra thing, but I'm not buying it (though I suspect his love of delegating authority to underlings probably bit him in the ass on that one). I felt like I could trust him, whether he was doing something I liked or not. I never doubted his patriotism or love of our nation for a second. I honestly believe those were the first things in his mind and that alone is probably enough to make him my favorite president.

Clinton, on the other hand, I wouldn't trust any further than I could see him. I honestly don't think he did a bad job. He didn't do too much that I was violently opposed to and he seemed likable enough, but I have a hard time with a President that I'd be afraid to leave alone with my sister. He just never inspired me and he certainly never made me feel proud of the presidency. He always seemed a little shady to me. :)

Bush? I think he's a little too pro-business. I think he's a little too lax with environmental laws and the Patriot act seems a little heavy handed to me. However, I feel like he's going to speak his mind, so whether I agree with him or not, I don't have to wonder what he's really up to. I'm still up in the air over his economic policies, but things are getting better, so I'm reserving judgement on that. Finally, he strikes me as someone who's willing to follow his convictions and I can appreciate that. I'm not as overtly religious as he is, so that is occasionally worrisome to me, but it's also one of the things that I think makes him so steadfast in his beliefs. I learned in the military to fear leaders who were afraid to act or relied too much on 'committees' and outside influences. Finally, he makes the journalists in our newsroom so mad that they can only sputter and I find that kind of amusing. :)

Now, some people will say that basing your opinion of a President as much on their personality as their agenda is foolish. I'm of the opinion, however, that I'm rarely in possesion of all the facts in any given situation and that really doesn't put me in much of a position to judge a President's decisions until some time after the fact. That doesn't leave me with much other than my 'feeling' about whether or not the President is an honorable man who will try to do what is right.

I'm also of the opinion that Presidents get far too much credit for the ups and downs of the economy. For instance, I don't believe for a second that the economy would have been any better off if Clinton had stayed in office another 4 years. Too many other variables come into play. Additionally, I think the economy would have begun its recent upward swing no matter who was in office. It was just time. In my opinion, Presidents only wield the vaguest of influences over the economy in a 4 year term.

Finally...


I will ALWAYS take the Commander in Chief who is hesitant to shed blood/start a war because he knows what kind of hell will be unleashed.

I knew a bunch of bozos when I was in the military who 'served with distinction' that I wouldn't trust to lead my dog to the park. I've also known some civilians who were natural leaders. While I generally look favorably on a candidate's military experiences, my own experiences in the military have left me realistic enough that I couldn't make a distinction as cut and dried as yours. ;)

[Richard Clyne]

Chinasaur, have to agree with you on this one. Reagan has been made to sound like the best thing since sliced bread, but I just don't remember it being that way. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me :scratch: :dunno:

Thatcher :sniper:

[Moogie]

I wasn't necessarily in favor of the man, but I do think there were some things he did that were good for the country.

Reagan took the "national malaise" and "the era of limits on the expectations of Americans" and tossed them on to the ash-heap of history.

He reminded us all the USSR was the "evil empire", which it was. The USSR's record of annihilation of people in it's conquered territory (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslavakia, the Baltic States) was enormous, not to mention what happened in the Ukraine during the '30's under Stalin (famine caused by NKVD troops burning the crops and killing the peasant farmers who didn't want to be "collectivised").

I guess I should have had enoug of him after he was governor of California, eh? :)

All in all, I consider his passing a sad thing.