RIP Ronald Reagan
Today, Ronald Reagan passed away. For most of the early to middle part of my childhood, he was the only president I knew, and the only president I could imagine (although I was born two years into the Carter administration, I really don't remember anything about it). One of my first political memories is of the Iran-Contra hearings, and I distinctly recall the television repeating the phrase "shredded documents" ad infinitum. He ended the Cold War by raising America's standard of living - and military spending - so high that we literally spent the Soviet Union to death. I did not care for his economic policies, but he was much more of a negotiator and realized the value of compromise than many politicians in his party do today. But he stuck to his guns when necessary, and you could just feel the likeable-ness oozing off of him. Heck, I liked him in spite of myself.
Not to mention that Alzheimers is a godawful way to go, and I certainly don't wish that kind of long, painful death on anyone.
2 comments:
I'm glad he's dead. It's because of him that AIDS is an epidemic, when he could have gotten it under control really easily.
And here I thought that the AIDS epidemic (worldwide, of course) was the result of lack of basic education in third world countries.
When Africans think you can cure AIDS by raping a virgin, I fail to see how this is Ronald Reagan's fault. There are plenty of reasons to dislike the man, and I dislike him for many of those reasons, but seriously - blame where blame is due.
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