Much has been written and said about the centenary of President Reagan on Sunday. Even liberals who once denounced him now seek to be illuminated in the glow of his memory. So what was it about Reagan, exactly?
It boils down to a single word: belief. Reagan believed in the American people – you and me. Elite coastal liberals condescend to everyday Americans. They cannot imagine how ordinary people, unpedigreed, and lacking the sophistication of the Upper West Side or the glamour of Hollywood, could possibly construct a just, generous and prosperous society.
Reagan, on the other hand, distrusted government but trusted Americans. Reagan believed that when left unmolested by an overweening, over-reaching federal government, the American people can be counted on to unleash their talents, their energies, their passions, their dreams and their generosity toward boundless enterprise and towering achievement. He believed that personal freedom constitutes the most powerful force for good in the world.
President Obama, one imagines, would love to look in a mirror and see a latter-day Ronald Reagan. If that is true, he might ask himself this. Why are we marking Reagan’s 100th birthday when Lyndon Johnson’s 100th came and went in 2008 with scarcely a mention?
Mr. Gleiser, I believe you are right on with this view of President Reagan. I watched the O’Reilly interview with our current president. Just like you stated, he would love to see a modern day Reagan in the mirror, but that is just fantasy. President Reagan will go down in history being looked up to by the left and right and center. Lesser presidents will spend a lifetime building up their own reputations and history. President Reagan just spent a lifetime ‘SERVING’ his country. I have emailed your links to several friends in Kansas, Arizona, and Florida. ‘You Tell Me’ is gaining strength. Thank you!! I enjoy your views on the radio and online.
The thing about President Reagan was the fact that what you saw, is what you got. There was nothing phony about President Reagan. He was as genuine as they come and that is just one of the endearing qualities he had. You can not fake being genuine.
No matter how well you read from a teleprompter, you can not fake a quality you do not have! You can not be like a President Reagan because there was only ONE Ronald Reagan. I feel privileged to have experienced a Ronald Reagan Presidency, for he was truly ONE OF A KIND!
Paul, you as well as DB and Linda Montrose are absolutely on target. So sad that we will never live to see Ronald Reagan’s like again. Our recent presidents, like LBJ, will in time be mostly forgotten, but never President Reagan. And as long as I draw breath, he will be MY president, and I know I far from alone in that sentiment.