I come to read this new biography of Reagan to understand the man, not because I like Ronald Reagan for I despise the man. No politician in my lifetime do I loathe more than Ronald Wilson Reagan. Yet we should try and understand this consequential President.
From the back of the book:
"Ronald Reagan was a transformational president. He left behind a different country after his eight years in office---wealthier but less equal, more hostile to government, and facing a peaceful conclusion to more than forty years of Cold War. These changes grew out of ideas he developed as a Hollywood actor, as a spokesman for General Electric in the 1950's, and as a voice of the emerging conservative movement in the 1960's and 70's. Yet today Reagan remains profoundly misunderstood, personally and politically, thanks to conservatives who adjust his beliefs to fit their ideology and to liberals who fail to appreciate his pragmatic and peacemaking instincts."
Reagan did have a bond with some of the American people, but not me. I never understood his appeal. P. 2
Reagan started as an English major at Eureka college, but dropped the subject rather than having to read Chaucer. P. 14
"He had an inability to distinguish between fact and fancy." So said the lady to whom he was engaged in college. P. 16
As a radio announcer in Iowa, Reagan had to recreate Cub baseball games from telegraph reports. This is amazing stuff how he could do this. P. 18
His break came from a trip to LA to cover the Cubs and a screen test. P. 20
Reagan's stump speech on the perils of "socialism" was a long time coming throughout the 50's and early 60's. P. 39
Reagan was blind to seeing government as a force for good. P. 40
Why Reagan was fired by GE: pure sleaze. P. 41
Reagan did not recognize his adopted son Michael at this boarding school graduation in Arizona. Shameful. P. 43
Reagan built a moderate record as Governor of California. P. 49
In his time as California Governor Reagan raised taxes and increased the size of state government. P. 50
Reagan gets credit for increasing distrust of government. P. 51
According to Gerald Ford, Reagan's public speeches revealed more than his private conversations. P. 62
His gift for oversimplification was remarkable. P. 66
Who's Jack Warner (Jimmy Carter wanted to know). P. 67
It was obvious from the beginning of his administration that his numbers and goals didn't add up. P. 69
Contrary to Republican mythology, Reagan raised taxes many times during administrations. P. 76
He made a default choice of budget deficits over reducing the defense budget and tax increases. P. 77
His approval rating fell to 35% in January of 1983 as unemployment rose to 10.8% P. 77
Reagan did not reduce government. The federal government grew during his terms. He did not eliminate a single major program. What he did was to change people's attitude toward government, a negative change that we live with today. P. 79
His detached management style is appalling. P. 82
A style of personal stories and anecdotes whether true or not. P. 84
The massive number of indictments during his administrations, literally too many to count, are truly astounding. P. 88
He thought JFK had been wrong to abandon the Cuba invaders in 1961. P. 95
He had a dovish side beneath the militaristic exterior. P. 97
Reagan's militaristic foreign policy adventures show a shall thinking and great communicator of false facts. P. 107
At least as early as 1984 people close to RR thought he was losing it. P. 111
Did the Great Society sustain a culture of poverty? P. 113
The Teflon president---the thing that most drives me crazy about the man. P. 115
By the end of his presidency, his challenge to the welfare state had played itself out. P. 116
Reagan supported amnesty for illegal aliens! P. 117
Reagan turned from a War Hawk to a nuclear peacemaker. We can give him credit for that. P. 119
Reagan's world collided with that of Mikhail Gorbachev. P. 122
RR inculcated the view in the body politic that we could have it all: tradeoffs were not necessary. P. 152
Reagan had two enormous blind spots. One was in thinking that governmental action in people's lives was never good. The other was that private enterprise was always better. His faith in the so-called free market went too far. Religious voluntarism and personal generosity are not substitutes for appropriate governmental action. Reaganism led to unprecedented corruption and indictments. P. 153
Reagan left the country a different place that when he started. The country was more confident, but more selfish. Wealth accumulated at the top. It was easier to become rich under this president. The country moved away from the kind small towns where RR grew up. P. 154
Reagan believed that the US was always a force for good in the world. He was naive. P. 154
I am willing to give RR whatever credit he deserves for fostering better relations with the USSR and for trying to reduce nuclear weapons. I am willing to give him whatever credit he deserves, if any, in bringing down the USSR. I am willing to give credit to his pragmatic side as, for example, he raised taxes several times despite what conservative apologists might claim. Fine. But his domestic record deserves nothing but calumny. Overall, much of our current political distress started with Ronald Wilson Reagan.
1 comment:
It must take much guts to read about Reagan.
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