There are going to be Reagan vs. GWB arguments for the rest of time. I can just hear them - the terrorist threat began during the Reagan admin., and he didn't see it; it took GWB to confront it. But Reagan totally defeated Communism, and GWB didn't eliminate terrorism (my prediction. I don't see how terrorism can ever be completely eliminated, but maybe GWB has a better vision than I do).
Anyway, both men faced down the biggest threat of their time, and that can make both great without us having to pick one over the other.
And as for political popularity, Reagan did bring a lot of people into the GOP, but GWB might just be presiding over the death of the Dem party. It's true that they might be committing suicide, but he's driving them to it.
Um, no, there's still plenty of communism in the world.