Saturday, June 05, 2004
Ronald Reagan
Today came the word that Ronald Reagan had died. He died at a busy time, when the war in Iraq was going on, the Belmont was about to be run, the 60th anniversary of D-Day was occurring, meaning Bush could not just simply drop Normandy and fly back because of Reagan, the World War II Memorial inaugural had just happened, and when a transit of Venus was to occur in a few days, an event that has not happened since 1882. Deaths of Presidents as of late have been rare. In 1974, there were no ex-Presidents until Nixon resigned. Ex-Presidents continued to live, however, until by 1993 there were five ex-Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George HW Bush. Nixon died in 1994 and did not desire a state funeral, so the first such funeral in 30 years will be held. I expect that will be a federal holiday for many of us.
And for who are we celebrating? A font of optimism, that's who. He said it was morning again in America. He kept saying that things will turn out well. He started this by instituting a tax cut. This started the optimism and turned the stagnant stock market into a rapidly increasing fount of wealth. He was able to captivate audiences with his humor. America did turn bright again during his administration, as prosperity increased. His getting government out of people's business was part of this.
However, there was a dark side. The tax cut caused huge deficits, and they have persisted ever since he cut the taxes, except for the roaring dot-com 1990s when briefly they became a surplus. He proclaimed the Soviet Union to be an "Evil Empire", and he attacked Libya for bombing a German pub with Americans in it, killing Gadhafi's adopted son. He called five countries including Iran "terrorist" harboring countries, and it became illegal to trade with them. Despite that, his government secretly violated this law by bilking the Iranians out of huge sums of money in selling weapons to them, and then using this profit to finance the anti-government guerilla movement in Nicaragua known as the contras. This came close to becoming a major scandal but it didn't; it did not topple the Lichtman key. I have heard absolutely no mention of the Iran-Contra Scandal anywhere in the media since he died.
In my classification of Presidents, Ronald Reagan was an Expansive President. He expanded the influence of America in the world and helped grind down the limiting Soviet Union to an eventual collapse. He is similar to James Knox Polk and his Manifest Destiny, and to Woodrow Wilson and his ideas of a war to end all wars. I regard this President as the characteristic President of a Third Turning. Such a President is followed by a laid-back formal President (Coolidge, George HW Bush), a Sleazy President (Harding, Clinton), and then a Nero President (Hoover, George W. Bush). A Nero President is followed by a Crisis President, one of the greatest Presidents in our history, like Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. So I predict the next President will be one of the greatest in our history. It all started off with the Expansive President, the President that made us all feel good, Ronald Reagan. So he will be remembered.
And for who are we celebrating? A font of optimism, that's who. He said it was morning again in America. He kept saying that things will turn out well. He started this by instituting a tax cut. This started the optimism and turned the stagnant stock market into a rapidly increasing fount of wealth. He was able to captivate audiences with his humor. America did turn bright again during his administration, as prosperity increased. His getting government out of people's business was part of this.
However, there was a dark side. The tax cut caused huge deficits, and they have persisted ever since he cut the taxes, except for the roaring dot-com 1990s when briefly they became a surplus. He proclaimed the Soviet Union to be an "Evil Empire", and he attacked Libya for bombing a German pub with Americans in it, killing Gadhafi's adopted son. He called five countries including Iran "terrorist" harboring countries, and it became illegal to trade with them. Despite that, his government secretly violated this law by bilking the Iranians out of huge sums of money in selling weapons to them, and then using this profit to finance the anti-government guerilla movement in Nicaragua known as the contras. This came close to becoming a major scandal but it didn't; it did not topple the Lichtman key. I have heard absolutely no mention of the Iran-Contra Scandal anywhere in the media since he died.
In my classification of Presidents, Ronald Reagan was an Expansive President. He expanded the influence of America in the world and helped grind down the limiting Soviet Union to an eventual collapse. He is similar to James Knox Polk and his Manifest Destiny, and to Woodrow Wilson and his ideas of a war to end all wars. I regard this President as the characteristic President of a Third Turning. Such a President is followed by a laid-back formal President (Coolidge, George HW Bush), a Sleazy President (Harding, Clinton), and then a Nero President (Hoover, George W. Bush). A Nero President is followed by a Crisis President, one of the greatest Presidents in our history, like Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. So I predict the next President will be one of the greatest in our history. It all started off with the Expansive President, the President that made us all feel good, Ronald Reagan. So he will be remembered.
