Monday, July 26, 2004
REAGAN VS. CARTER
As long as were travelling down nostalgia lane, it was twenty five years ago that Ronnie beat out Jimmy for the nation's top spot. Looking back history judges them differently. One by what he supposedly did while in office, the other by what he has done since. I hated Reagan then, and I still feel his policy (policy, what policy) on AIDS was criminal, his position on Aparthied less than commendable, and the Iran-Contra thing; well I still don't know how he (or Bush) survived that. He left us deep in debt, but everybody hails him as the man who brought down communism. Yeah, he out-spent the Russians with our money. I still believe that the demise of communism was an inevitability, nature abhorrs a vacuum, and the Soviets tried to live in one. This summer, however, everybody and their brother was slavering over him and how great he was. I remember the fear, I won't cave. Mr. Carter, however, is a horse of a different political ideology. A great humanitarian, founder of The Carter Center, a human rights organization, Jimmy has spent the past years since his Presidency tirelessly championing the underdog on an international level. This man deserves the praise wasted on Reagan. I can't wait to hear his speech at the DNC in Boston tonight. If you want drama, hire an actor. If you want compassion and intelligence, get Jimmy on the line.
As long as were travelling down nostalgia lane, it was twenty five years ago that Ronnie beat out Jimmy for the nation's top spot. Looking back history judges them differently. One by what he supposedly did while in office, the other by what he has done since. I hated Reagan then, and I still feel his policy (policy, what policy) on AIDS was criminal, his position on Aparthied less than commendable, and the Iran-Contra thing; well I still don't know how he (or Bush) survived that. He left us deep in debt, but everybody hails him as the man who brought down communism. Yeah, he out-spent the Russians with our money. I still believe that the demise of communism was an inevitability, nature abhorrs a vacuum, and the Soviets tried to live in one. This summer, however, everybody and their brother was slavering over him and how great he was. I remember the fear, I won't cave. Mr. Carter, however, is a horse of a different political ideology. A great humanitarian, founder of The Carter Center, a human rights organization, Jimmy has spent the past years since his Presidency tirelessly championing the underdog on an international level. This man deserves the praise wasted on Reagan. I can't wait to hear his speech at the DNC in Boston tonight. If you want drama, hire an actor. If you want compassion and intelligence, get Jimmy on the line.
Comments:
Can't and won't argue with you about Ronnie's AIDS policy or lack there of, but while I don't remember him diving head first into the South Africa thing, I don't remember him being counter to the changes that were happening either.
Having said all that, not giving credit to Reagan for the things that he did positively affect is wrong. I remember the fear also. I remember Cuban communism spreading to central america and other countries like cancer along WITH the doomsday clock ticking. If spending our money to excellerate the collapse of the USSR is what Ronnie truly did (I think it was more than that), it was money well spent, and a overwhelming amount of scholars, politicians, and Americans agree. People are freer and it's now and not 50 years from now. Ronnie crushed the unions which I have no love for too. He told the ATC's to go back to work or they would be fired and that's exactly what he did when they refused. I Like that. Doing what you say you will do. Reagan DID make Americans feel good about being Americans again after a long post Vietnam apology period. I wish our president could do the same for us now. Doesn't matter how he did it, call him whatever you want, he did it.
I don't disagree with you on Carter's very large heart and his contributions to humanity. The guy builds a house for the underprivilaged every week for cripes sake and he's like 90, but sadly that doesn't make him a good president. He was a horrible president overall and history is validating that. The highlight being the Egypt/Israel peace he bokered. This is where he was/is good at. Preemptive peace. He should have invaded Iran, or at least threatened to. He should have stomped Quadafi when he first started acting up, and if you want to talk about spending, he was trying to make Robinhood economics work (robbing from businesses and giving to the unemployed). It's not an economically viable solution, everybody whose ever taken and failed an economics class could tell you this, and yet he insisted on giving it a go.
History is proving that, while Reagan might have grossly over simplified trickle down economics, it is how capitalism works, how recessions recover, and how sustainable growth is fostered. It's not by handing out entitlement after entitlement dealing with the symptoms and not the issues at heart. Carter got killed by trying to prove this reality wrong.
BTW... Off the subject a little, you should read this article featured in Playboy this month about Detroit. Written by a British man married to a black women from the motor city. Some slice of life and serious analysis. Most exceptional.
Post a Comment
Having said all that, not giving credit to Reagan for the things that he did positively affect is wrong. I remember the fear also. I remember Cuban communism spreading to central america and other countries like cancer along WITH the doomsday clock ticking. If spending our money to excellerate the collapse of the USSR is what Ronnie truly did (I think it was more than that), it was money well spent, and a overwhelming amount of scholars, politicians, and Americans agree. People are freer and it's now and not 50 years from now. Ronnie crushed the unions which I have no love for too. He told the ATC's to go back to work or they would be fired and that's exactly what he did when they refused. I Like that. Doing what you say you will do. Reagan DID make Americans feel good about being Americans again after a long post Vietnam apology period. I wish our president could do the same for us now. Doesn't matter how he did it, call him whatever you want, he did it.
I don't disagree with you on Carter's very large heart and his contributions to humanity. The guy builds a house for the underprivilaged every week for cripes sake and he's like 90, but sadly that doesn't make him a good president. He was a horrible president overall and history is validating that. The highlight being the Egypt/Israel peace he bokered. This is where he was/is good at. Preemptive peace. He should have invaded Iran, or at least threatened to. He should have stomped Quadafi when he first started acting up, and if you want to talk about spending, he was trying to make Robinhood economics work (robbing from businesses and giving to the unemployed). It's not an economically viable solution, everybody whose ever taken and failed an economics class could tell you this, and yet he insisted on giving it a go.
History is proving that, while Reagan might have grossly over simplified trickle down economics, it is how capitalism works, how recessions recover, and how sustainable growth is fostered. It's not by handing out entitlement after entitlement dealing with the symptoms and not the issues at heart. Carter got killed by trying to prove this reality wrong.
BTW... Off the subject a little, you should read this article featured in Playboy this month about Detroit. Written by a British man married to a black women from the motor city. Some slice of life and serious analysis. Most exceptional.
