[kaktuskid]

Good points. Thanks for sharing.

I think Reagan would do those things, and as much as my admiration for GWB has grown, I think I'll take my wish that he was more like the Gipper to my grave.

Except that Reagan did not have such an insanely biased MSM as we do today, nor a moonbatish oppostion party as we have today.

[Kryptonite]

I disagree. Reagan was attacked perhaps more viciously by the media than any other President, including Bush (at least during GWB's first term). But Reagan had a very impressive ability to disarm the antagonistic press by going straight to the American people through press conferences and televised appearances. It was his strongest suit as President in my opinion.

Here's a study I found:

Study: Press Praised Reagan Only After Death

WASHINGTON, DC-The glowing television coverage of Ronald Reagan’s death contrasted sharply with the negative press he received during his two terms in office, according to data compiled by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA). The study also found that the Reagan White House received the harshest first-year coverage of any in the past 24 years.

MAJOR FINDINGS:

Reagan’s Rocky Road: Sources on the network evening news were heavily critical of Ronald Reagan throughout his presidency. 85% of assessments of Reagan during Campaign 1980 were negative; 64% of evaluations during his administration’s first year were negative; in Campaign 1984, 91% of his coverage was negative. Even after Election Day 1988—as a “lame duck” president—65% of all evaluations were critical of Reagan.

Worst Among Equals: No incoming administration since Reagan’s has been criticized so heavily as much on the network newscasts. 64% of the evaluations in 1981 were negative, compared to 45% for George H. W. Bush, 62% for Bill Clinton and 61% for George W. Bush.

Taking Issue: During Reagan’s first year, his policies were panned by both the network news and prestige press (New York Times, Washington Post):

ECONOMY: 65% of network news evaluations of the economy were negative, as were 66% in the Times and Post. ARMS CONTROL: Reagan’s policies were criticized 69% of the time on-air and 73% of the time in print. SOVIET RELATIONS: 67% of network news evaluations were negative, as were 89% in the two newspapers studied.

Rooting For Rivals: In 1984, 56% of evaluations of Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale were positive, while 91% of Reagan’s coverage was negative. During their summits in 1987 and 1988, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev received far more positive coverage than Reagan. (1987: Reagan 47% positive evaluations, Gorbachev 79% positive; 1988: Reagan 46% positive, Gorbachev 76% positive)