Posted on 06/06/2004 1:23:55 AM PDT by polyiguana
There was a common thread among the many rivals who underestimated Ronald Wilson Reagan. They all figured they would ultimately prevail when the focus turned from his style and charm to the substance of the issues.
However, Reagan's ability to present his conservative principles with optimism and a common touch not only built a remarkable career; it shifted the center of politics in America.
Republicans everywhere try to duplicate the Reagan magic -- in everything from "no new taxes" pledges to bypass-the-press media strategies built on photo opportunities -- in the same way a generation of Democrats strived to evoke the John F. Kennedy charisma.
None quite succeeded. Reagan was, as Kennedy was, an original.
In the 1964 speech that began it all, Reagan wondered aloud whether our children's children would conclude that "we justified our brief moment here" by advancing the conservative causes he outlined, to preserve "the last best hope of man on earth.''
His life certainly did.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Oh yeah, FReep the poll on the home page. 64% of liberals can't think of a single great accomplishment of the Gipper. I'm sure America can, though.
bump .....
Ron Brownstein is a pretty independent-minded and fair publisher.
I'm glad they mentioned Reagan's first primary victory over the mayor of San Fran. at the time, George Christopher.
Ironically enough, the underhanded tactics employed by the 'Pat' Brown campaign actually succeeded in nominating the man who would go on to defeat their candidate in the general election that November.
I'm disappointed that The Chronicle didn't delve into greater detail with regard to the circumstances that led to Reagan's ascension to the governor's mansion in Sacramento. They really should have spent a little more time contextualizing the events that led to Reagan's rise to power.
Other than that, I didn't find much to complain of in their editorial.
"My idea of American policy toward the Soviet Union is simple, and some would say simplistic. It is this: 'We win and they lose.' What do you think of that?" -- Ronald Reagan, to future National Security Adviser Richard V. Allen, 1977.
The liberals still hate the fact he won. And they hate the fact President Bush is winning in Iraq.
Hey everybody go vote,I tried to vote more than once by deleting the cookie and then adding it again but it still recognised me. Just to make the commie libs mad,hehe.
I never meant to imply that the man was not liberal-though, to be perfectly honest, he rarely expresses his own opinion through media outlets, so I don't have a good feel for where he stands on most issues-I only wanted to point out that he's a generally honest and forthright individual-if a bit of a lummox.
As for Saunders, I don't think she was urging people to cast a pro-Davis vote, so much as an anti-recall vote in that year's elections. I don't think that someone who wrote such a scathing attack on Al Gore could be characterized as being anything other than a rightist (if not a "conservative"), columnist.
I agree with your last point.
It's refreshing to watch liberals eat humble pie for once, even if it's only for a millisecond in the grand scheme of things.
I see a lot of parallels between President Bush and President Reagan. Both men have impecable integrity, courage and a determination to put this nation and the safety of it's people above personal ambition. Their values and beliefs are based on the lessons of a history which has not been distorted and "rewritten."
Read it more carefully.
They all figured they would ultimately prevail when the focus turned from his style and charm to the substance of the issues.
This is not praise. The editors themselves just repeated their own bias because they write ...his style and charm to the substance of the issues as if that were a fact.
They did not write, "They all figured they would ultimately prevail since they believed the focus was on his style and charm instead of the substance of the issues."
bump !
I must have posted at least five or six dozen comments since I first logged on to FR after hearing about this.
Keep the tributes coming!
Okay. :^D
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