Reagan the worst?
 

http://www.examiner.com/article/8-re...f-our-lifetime

Dave

Left out one, October Surprise conspiracy theory!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October...spiracy_theory

There is talk the new bridge across the Ohio here in The Derby will be named after St.Ron!

Barney

It's a toss-up between Reagan and Dubya. As for long-term damage though, Reagan takes the cake.

I hope that McCarthy's snitch is turning on one of Old Scratch's spits in the lower depths of Hades. :p

That whole thing with the hostages miraculously being released was the most obvious PR stunt in the history of mankind. The truly amazing thing is that so many people STILL think it was because "the terrorists" were afraid of Reagan. Really? They weren't too frightened of him to blow up the Marine Barracks, now were they?:rolleyes:

Dave

If you are putting the two side by side and include their terms as Gov. I have to say that Reagan is the clear winner.


Carl

Ah, what the heck, a repost of my favorite attachment. :D


Carl

A lot of people love him, because he promised them they could have small government and low taxes. I guess I can't blame them for that. It's just that they seem to think he actually delivered those things that leaves me shaking my head. Like my old man said, ".......the worlds greatest bullshit artist.".

Dave

Not sure how the terrorists could be afraid of us in the early 80's. Let's send a bunch of Marines to Beirut and give them ROE's that say they can't shoot back unless they can identify exactly who is shooting at them. Kind of an impossible task at the time, since most of our intelligence had been wiped out. Talk about a human shooting gallery.

I do not know what the Boss meant with this line from Magic but whenever I hear it I think of George W.Bush:

I got a shiny saw blade (a shiny saw blade)
All I need's a volunteer
I'll cut you in half
While you're smilin' ear to ear


I would say George Bush beats Reagan for being the worst since Nixon. I think there is use of hucksterism among some politicians as a weapon to win office. Reagan looked like a charming cowboy bringing morning back to America. While not as good on camera as Reagan I have heard that in person Bush was a able to really connect with an audience of doners, voters, etc

Really? Gee Dubya may have been responsible for more dead Americans than St. Ronnie of RKO but there can't be any doubt that Reagan did lasting damage to the country as a whole. :confused:

Sometimes I think Reagan may have believed in that small government bullshit but sort of moderated his policies. You are right about his tax philosophy and the idiocy of supply side economics.

My impression of Bush was that he and his advisors were trying to wreak havoc on the nation by being more true to the Reagan ideal as a sort of revenge against Clinton by outdoing Reagan. Thus the huge unfunded tax cuts, the complete idiocy of invading Iraq on wrong intelligence, etc. I really think Reagan would not have invaded Iraq after 911,
The 5000 dead Americans in Iraq make Bush much worse than Reagan ever was in my mind.

What I really cannot stand is that some of the guys around Bush never served in the military...people like Rove, Rumsfield, Cheney...and basically decided to let others die for them so they could realize some neo-con fantasy about making Iraq into a democracy. I think Bush should have had someone around him that was not afraid to say hey wait a minute these guys are going to ruin your legacy not to mention get you into a quagmire. I think Reagan had wisdom whereas Bush lacked judgement.

I was born after Eisenhower but sort of look at Reagan as my Ike....not perfect but also not cavalier like Bush. Reagan made some big mistakes but the 80s were not that bad in my memory. Sometimes boring is good.

Different strokes I guess but I'm with Carl. If you were here for Reagan's and Ed Meese's antics in California, Ronnie & crew win it hands down for the worst administration in American history. Nixon was a piker in comparison.

I still can't figure out what I was thinking to have voted for him against Carter. Would say "well at least I voted" but in truth wish I'd stayed home that day rather then voted for him.


Barney

Maybe if Reagan did not hire, train, and pay money to Bin Laden to mess with the Russians, Bin Laden may not have gotten his contempt for the USA and neither WTC capers would have happened. That is my thought on the matter anyway.
The 5000 body bags, lying to the world about WMD's, Bush tax cuts for the rich with money we never had to begin with. Bush does get honorable mention.


Carl

The SE Asia body counts on both sides for nothing make LBJ and Nixon 1 or 2...I can't decide which, pick 'em.

The Iraq/Afghanistan body counts on both sides for absolutely fucking nothing makes Bush number 3.

Amnesty for 3 million illegals is one of the top ten reasons why Reagan was the worst? IDTS.


Personally, and when I get past my possibly obsessive infuriation over war for no reason, Bush was the worst chief executive in my adult lifetime. And the worst 2 term president in the history of the country. Worse than Reagan, even worse than Grant.

I think we were at fault also....no one in the general public was saying hey wait a minute do not do this too loudly as I recall....maybe it was because it was just after 911. Obama's recent reversal on bombing Syria is an example of a President sort of giving in to public opinion. However he had the war in Iraq as hindsight. And Syria is not over yet.

A good deed by Reagan. It helped a lot of disadvantaged agricultural workers and their loved ones.

Oh, I vote Nixon. By a country mile.

OK, back on topic.


Carl

The ONLY reason he gave in was the chemical weapons agreement, which he made clear.

Pete

I'm having difficulty getting past the 100,000 dead Iraqis to get to the 5000 dead Americans.

Odd how we keep forgetting that part of it.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_r...ein's_Iraq

Pete

Kinda puts us right on par with Saddam don't it.

100,000, a few million, all the same? They are masters of their own destiny now.

Pete

LOL!!!!

Until they ditch that stupid religion, they will never be "...masters of their own destiny....".:rolleyes:

Dave

I think Iran may disagree with that assessment.

They'd sure LIKE to, but I suspect Iraq will reassert themselves, if they can ever get their act together.

Pete

I disagree. Recent polls in Iraq show that the majority Shia (~70%) trust Iran far more than they trust us, and certainly far more than they trust Sunnis and Kurds.

I do not forget about it....I just did not mention it.

Remember he took it before Congress before Boris came up with the plan that sort of saved our face....

This was the latest I could find. I would point out that there is a big difference between trusting a country and desiring to be a vassal state.

http://www.realclearworld.com/articl...tes_98949.html

Pete

That article is 4 years old and was written just after the 2010 election. Things have changed a lot since then. While the Iraqis don't want to be anybody's vassal state, the level of Iran's influence with Nouri al-Maliki. Here's an article that's a bit more current/relevant:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1569204.html

Estimates I believe are more accurate approach a half-million Iraqis that would be alive today if there had be no Bush war in Iraq.

Those are the numbers I've heard.

There is still nothing past influence, and if they have to work in crisis mode they're sure not in control.

Pete

Btw I agree the Grand Ayatollah thing is troubling. The good bit is, Iran appears to be running scared.

Pete