Stevens was gauche enough to mention the dogpile that Carter left behind for Reagan to clean up:
WHEN RONALD REAGAN WAS SWORN IN AS OUR 40TH PRESIDENT, THIS NATION WAS GRIPPED BY A POWERFUL MALAISE, INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT WERE SOARING, AND THE SOVIET UNION WAS WINNING THE COLD WAR.
Sometimes, the truth hurts.
Truth does hurt. I can see it now, 30 or 40 years from now at GWB's funeral some poor soul will be riduculed and dissed for saying that Bush was President on 9-11 and then went after and killed all the terrorists. The opposition doesn't like it when a conservative does well.
And then he went on to say that President Reagan "GUIDED US THROUGH THE WORST ECONOMIC DOWNTURN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION," which I loved because Kerry's been saying that Bush has created the worst economic downturn since the great depression. Time to hear a bit of truth about exactly which president did that, and it wasn't GWB.