Posted on 06/04/2006 2:24:14 PM PDT by nuconvert
Bush is the Next Reagan
Jun 4, 2006
Slater Bakhtavar - Persian Journal
The same people who heavily criticized former President Reagan for his tough stance against Communism and for his aggressive push for democracy in Eastern Europe are now attacking President Bush for his tough stance against fundamentalism and his aggressive push for democracy in the Middle East.
-They argued then that Communism would never fall - it did They argue now that Islamic Fundamentalism will never fall - it will
-They argued then that the Soviet Union is too strong - it wasn't
They argue now that the insurgency is too strong - it isn't
-They argued that Reagans vision of democracy in East Europe would never work - it did
They argue now that Bushs vision of democracy for the mid-east would never work - it will
They argued then that Reagans evil empire speech was a failure - it wasn't
They argue now that Bushs axis of evil speech is a failure - it won't be
-They argued then that former soviet bloc countries wouldn't embrace democracy - they did
They argue now that middle east countries would never embrace democracy - they will
-They argued then that Eastern Europeans nations would never be our allies - they are
They argue now that middle eastern countries will never be our allies - they will be
-They argued then that people without God could never embrace democracy - they did
They argue now that Muslims will never embrace democracy - they will
-They argued then that President Reagan was unrealistic - he wasn't
They argue now that President Bush is unrealistic - he'll prove he isn't
-They argued then democracy isn't universal to former Communists - it was
They argue now democracy isn't universal to Middle Easterners - it will be
-They argued then that funding of pro-democracy groups in Eastern European countries won't work - it did
They argue now that funding of pro-democracy groups won't work in the Middle East - it will
The same exact critcism was directed at Reagan. The future will be the judge of President Bush and my guess is that he will be judged as the Great Liberator of the Middle East.
Coolidge did NOTHING AT ALL!
You're projecting. Care to show how I've ever been anything but realistic about the Reagan presidency? Good luck...
I was in college. And yes the Iran -Contra hurt his numbers. BUT THEY NEVER GOT IN THE HIGH 20's or Low 30's.
Check out RealClearPolitics average at 36.6%. Guess you're just chosing the lowest and submitting it's steadily low.
"I all ready think that President Bush has a great vision and is one of the top 3 Presidents this country has ever or will ever have!!!"
Like most politicians, GWB's vision is confined to what Big Government can provide.
This would be the most fundamental difference between Reagan and Bush, and the reason why GWB will never rank anywhere near the top 3 presidents. I think it's Likely he will not even be in the top 30.
It is only the non-historical deification of Reagan that has caused this conflict.
Both GREAT men......neither perfect.
Most of us see that clearly.
That is true, no doubt about it, but the partisan and ideological bias tends to wane for presidents long gone, and it becomes more of an activist bias. But activism qua activism these days, in the Ivory Tower, has less of a cachet than it used to. Beyond that, some activism is now viewed as toxic, as what Jackson did to the Indians aka Native Americans. So the Jackson stock has gone down.
Let's not inflate Reagan beyond reality, as some on this thread are doing.
A slight correction.......
Reagan was great, he is done, the jury is out. W is not finished, yet already already he has been good, I think maybe headed towards greatness. He has a couple of more years and a decade thereeafter for us to see if he was great.
The jury will be deliberating for a while on that, but I won't be surprised if it is shown he was like Reagan in that regard.
I totally doubt it. Recognizing and countering the threat of militant Islam put him in at least the top 10 IMHO.
AMEN!
Clinton talked a great games also...
But, the wrong kind of games were played.
And while we're at it maybe we can avoid claiming Reagan and Clinton were of a similar bent with regard to foreign policy.
There are far more similarities than differences between the two men.
Reagan blew a number of things.......including amnesty. That's why it's almost amusing that those of you who are hostile and angry at Bush about immigration still deify Reagan.
Rose colored glasses, EV. And foggy.
And what wrong kinda game is Dubya playing?
You want want to talk about speeches?
Go read Reagans "Point Du hocke" speech if you want to read real speechwriting and words from a great leader>
There are times I wish we had an ignore button,
I really don't like sifting through all of his posts..
Reagan governed with big ideas. GWB chooses to define his presidency with new government programs and how much of our money he's spending. I doubt if any president whose most memorable phrase is "doing the jobs Americans won't do" will be remembered as a great president.
Most of us who criticize GWB do so because he's the current president, and we'd like to see him change his policies. I've been doing it since 2001. It worked with the Harriet Miers fiasco. Tearing down Reagan to make GWB look better is petty. Reagan is not in office and sadly he's left us.
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