It makes planning and execution so much easier when there is a plan to be executed. If you see any signs of a plan to decrease spending and restrain the expansion of governmnet rivalled only by LBJ's Great Society and FDR's New Deal, by all means feel free to let us know...
Reagan did not have to contend to the sort of stark reality of what our world has become in the aftermath of 9/11.
Reagan lived in a much cleare world, with a clearly defined enemy.
That was then, this is now.