Posted on 06/12/2004 3:52:42 PM PDT by fight_truth_decay
A prediction or a threat? As the plane carrying the late President Reagan arrived back at Point Mugu Naval Air Station on Friday afternoon, Ted Koppel made it clear he was appalled at the suggestion that Reagan was the "greatest President of the 20th century," complaining that would mean "hopscotching him past Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt." Koppel predicted, or threatened, that if Reagan's "supporters try to raise to him to the very heights there, and perhaps find a place for him on Mount Rushmore," that the "controversial President" who had "fairly contentious issues" in his presidency which "we've more or less overlooked" this week, "will come back."
A bit past 4:30pm PDT (7:30pm EDT) on Friday night, as ABC (the only one of the broadcast networks to go live from 7:30 to 8pm EDT) showed the plane taxiing in at Point Mugu after its flight from Maryland, Ed Meese told anchor Peter Jennings that he thought the week's events were "a fitting tribute, I think, to probably the greatest President of the 20th century."
A few minutes later, at about 4:44pm PDT, Jennings turned to Ted Koppel, who had attended the service at the Washington National Cathedral, and Koppel complained that while he could hear what was being said at the service, he couldn't see anything from his vantage point.
But then, as ABC showed him in an inset from the DC bureau over a full screen look at the plane, Koppel got to what really bothered him: "The thought that is really upper-most in my mind is when I hear Ed Meese talking about Ronald Reagan as the greatest President of the 20th century, hopscotching him past Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I think, as was the case when Ronald Reagan was President, when there was some fairly contentious issues and he was a fairly controversial President, we've more or less overlooked much of that over the past week. But I suspect as his friends and supporters try to raise to him to the very heights there, and perhaps find a place for him on Mount Rushmore, that some of that controversy and some of the debate will come back." Jennings agreed: "No doubt about it."
"In my opinion, Reagan is the second most significant president of the Twentieth Century behind FDR."
I disagree. Reagan was the most significant president of the 20th Century for the simple reason that a lot of what he saved America from was the overtly socialist hell FDR's policies had set in motion.
FDR was a socialist. Reagan worked his pompadour off to kill FDR's "Raw Deal."
--I think, as was the case when Ronald Reagan was President, when there was some fairly contentious issues and he was a fairly controversial President, we've more or less overlooked much of that over the past week. --
Controversial? To who? He won 49 states in his RE-election bid in 1984, IMO that is the definition of non-controversial. And that was BEFORE he ultimately won the Cold War......wait a second.......maybe Reagan could have been seen as controversial to a communist......did Koppel just out himself as a communist? Nah...he couldn't be...could he?
By the time Reagan is eligible to be put on Mount Rushmore, Koppel will be an old has been if he's even still alive. He'll be 89 years old.
And we should shudder why??? (wiggling fingers in koppel's face, "ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh". Go ahead, attack. Who's going to be turning in to realize they've been attacked?? empty threats from empty souls.
That's a portrait of Hillary!
I just realized I may be wrong. Is Mount Rushmore a national monument?
I always wonder why Franklin Roosevelt gets a free ride about not entering WWII until we were attacked by Japan. I realize we had just emerged from a depression and the isolationists in the Congress etc but it is indeed strange that we sat here while Hitler began his march across Europe and did nothing.
Koppel is an a-- gnome.
I personally would not protest if they put Hillary's image on every can of tuna and sardines in the country.
Oh, gag.Ya know, I'll bet Jennings knew Clinton was asleep. His remarks were just to cover that up, LOL. Jennings is so transparent.
I say put Reagan on his own mountain and carve out a place in toxic New Jersey dump for ol sweet Willie. You know, one of those grotesque welded things.
You could also save a place for the H woman.
To you and me and most of the people here, Reagan's ideology is more to our liking than Roosevelt's. I was merely trying to compare the impact the different presidents had on life in the America and in the world.
I think FDR beats Reagan on both counts but Reagan beats everyone else.
Would Wendell Wilke or Alf Landon been able to rally the country to beat Germany and Japan in WWII? We will never know. But we know that FDR did it and he has to be given credit for it.
Reagan beat the Soviets in the Cold War and he WILL get credit for it. The truth of that cannot be suppressed forever.
Yes, but don't tell liberals. They think it's a natural stone formation. It's the Grand Canyon they are convinced was the result of Haliburton drilling.
OK. I'll play. Put BOTH FDR and RWR on "the rock!!" - take away the libs ammo, wouldn't it?
I thought I read on FR that kerry was gonna have carter rubbed out so that the dems could get equal time?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/288213.stm Americas
Reagan for Rushmore March 1, 1999
What, exactly did Theodore Roosevelt do? I know about the slogan "Talk softly and carry a big stick," but what did he do? I thought the reason he was on Mt Rushmore was that he had something to do with the inception of the project. Is this wrong?
BTW, I'd chisel Lincoln out of there and replace him with Reagan.
ML/NJ
Man, these ABC people (except Stossel) are real scumbags.
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