[geeks] RIP, Ronald Reagan

[Eric Dittman]

> > I have to disagree with you.  Carter was not a good president.  A
> > perfect example was the Iranian Hostage Crisis.  Carter really
> > screwed the pooch on that one.
> >
> I still believe this was a setup pure and simple.  He did the best he
> could and nobody cooperated until he was replaced.  That's not his
> fault.  It's also SUCH A SMALL part of the four years he was in office
> as to be nearly irrelevant.  It's like judging Clinton on Monica... a
> waste of taxpayers money and pointless in the extreme.

Nobody cooperated?  Isn't that the mark of a poor leader?  He leads and
nobody follows?

I do not believe the Iranian Hostage Crisis was a setup.  No way.

Clinton on Monica?  That's just a symptom of Clinton's problems.  The
real problem was Clinton committing perjury.

> > Reagan had some great ideas and they worked very
> > well.  George Sr. didn't really have direction.  W. has direction,
> > Cheney and Ashcroft let him know exactly what to do.
> 
> Like what... name one good idea.  Certainly nothing economic.  Better
> yet name a good idea and explain exactly why it was a good idea.

Reagan definitely had some good ideas on stopping a lot of the welfare
bullshit.

> >> Reagan stood up to the Soviet Union and won the Cold War.  His
> > policies
> > are what did it.  His winning the election also got the Iranians
> > talking
> > so the hostages could be free.
> 
> Reagan nearly made the Cold War worse.  Star Wars is one example.  No
> Gorbachev ended the cold war more than anyone else.  Reagan was at the
> head of a party of itching warmongers... Reagan had temerity at
> least... not so with W.  Besides the Cold War was over during Bush
> Sr.'s years... not Reagan.  The USSR and the wall fell during Bush Sr.
> and the pieces were put in place after Brezhnev died and Gorby took
> over.  Yeltsin in the early years was responsible for keeping things
> going after the collapse before he became inept.  They ended it
> themselves.  I just wish China would do the same... but they seem to
> be in their own way.

Reagan's policies bankrupted the Soviet Union.  They believed Star Wars
and tried to keep up.  Reagan was responsible for the fall of the Soviet
Union, plain and simple.  Whether it happened on Bush Sr.'s years or not
is irrelevant.

> > > The most inept president I know was Gerald Ford.  He sure is a
> > funny
> > > guy though.
> >
> > Hey, the WIN buttons were the perfect way to end inflation!  Just
> > use
> > marketing and it will all go away.
> 
> ERM... you got me on that one.

WIN must have been before your time.  WIN stood for "Whip Inflation Now".
That was a stupid idea.  The kind of thing you might come up with after
playing football without a helmet.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net