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As the nation prepares to pay tribute to former President Ronald Reagan on the 100th anniversary of his birth, it is amazing to consider that his success at turning the U.S. away from 1960s-style liberalism was accomplished in the face of a daily wave of news media hostility. The media’s first draft of history was more myth than reality: that Reagan only brought the nation poverty, ignorance, bankruptcy, and a dangerously imbalanced foreign and defense policy.
Think of everything Reagan did, and then add: He did it all before Fox News. He did it all before the Rush Limbaugh phenomenon. He did it all before the instant battle cry of his defenders could hit the Internet. He did it all before C-SPAN caught on and people could enjoy the game of watching entire speeches and debates and then observing how the network tricksters discombobulated them into liberal hatchet jobs. He did it all when the only conservative regular on the big networks was ABC’s George Will, who appeared once weekly as a panelist on This Week with David Brinkley.
■ “Pretty simplistic. Pretty old-fashioned. And I don’t think they have much application to what’s currently wrong or troubling a lot of people....Nor do I think he really understands the enormous difficulty a lot of people have in just getting through life, because he’s lived in this fantasy land for so long.”
— NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw speculating on Reagan’s values in Mother Jones, April 1983.
■ “So I think [Ronald Reagan] is going to have to pass two or three tests. The first is, will he get there, stand in front of the podium, and not drool?”
— ABC White House reporter Sam Donaldson on a planned Reagan press conference, NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, March 18, 1987.
Few now remember that 1979 and 1980 were the nation’s worst economic years since the Great Depression. Reagan saved America from Jimmy Carter economics: he brought inflation down from 13.5 to 4.1 percent; unemployment, from 9.5 to 5.2 percent; the federal discount rate, from 14 to 6.5 percent. Under Reagan, the number of jobs increased by almost 20 million; median family income rose every year from 1982 to 1989. It was the greatest peacetime expansion in American history. Charitable giving more than doubled, to more than $100 billion in 1988.
Originally posted by saltheart foamfollower
reply to post by Misoir
Yeah, I think what I watched tonight is going to piss off both the progressives and the neo cons.
Someone that will remain nameless, was stating that the US should not be dealing with any of the countries where tyrants are in control. I thought he did a good show tonight. I think if some on the left would actually watch the show, they might find themselves agreeing with major parts. They would probably disagree with about 40% though on his conclusions regarding the religious components.
As for the trade agreements, I will have to do some research into that. That kind of stuff was not covered much at all back then and I am mainly going on memory.
One thing I have always wondered about, Reagan did not really stop the expansion of government, he seemed to do his best to attempt to reign it back the best he could. Then of course we had the Bush and Clinton dynasty that accelerated the expansion of government exponentially and expanded trade with tyrannical regimes.
Always comes back to the ol Ron Paul theory of non intervention doesn't it? Later Misoir.
Originally posted by saltheart foamfollower
reply to post by Throwback
Just a question, if he was SUCH a bad president, why did the propagandist stations compare Obama to Reagan after the SOTU?
Also, one magazine presented a cover that had Reagan with his arm around Obama. By the way, I loved this pic-
bigjournalism.com...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d6f17b2f61df.jpg[/atsimg]
Originally posted by saltheart foamfollower
reply to post by Janky Red
Hey, I linked this story because I like it.
I have not read it all, plus I have already stated one thing I disliked about his presidency.
SEE, this is what I dislike about partisans. They CANNOT look above or beyond their ideology.
Yes Reagan had faults. I admit that. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
SEE THAT, I admit he had faults. When the hell was the last time ANYONE admitted that the Democrats or Obama had faults?
HMMMMMMMM?
You and many other Tea Partiers now us this political idiocy to pose as if you are against the system, which is only true if you tack on President Numb Nut's contribution