As I'm sure most of you know by now, one of America's most beloved presidents died today. Agree with him or not, it is indisputable that he changed the world for the better. America went from malaise and the misery index to the longest peacetime economic expansion in history and to a nation proud to fly its flag.
Even political opponents like John Kerry credit him with rejuvenating America. "He was our oldest president, but he made America young again."
And statesmen like Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher credit him (or accuse him in the case of Gorbachev) with the fall of the Soviet Union, freeing over 350 million people from bondage and changing the face of Europe and Asia.
And in the western hemisphere, his policies led to democratization throughout the region despite bitter opposition by members of Congress who impeded him with laws like the Boland Amendment, leaving only a single communist nation (Cuba) in the entire hemisphere as Grenadan, Nicaraguan, and El Salvadoran dictators fell. As President Bush put it, "America is safer when freedom is on the march."
His critics ridiculed him for being an amiable dunce and claimed "Star Wars" would never work and for being a warmonger who would start World War III. As it turned out, his critics were proven wrong. SDI didn't have to work since the very fear of it drove the Soviets to utter bankruptcy, trying to compete, since the Soviets believed that America was capable of doing whatever it set out to do. And this "misunderestimated" man ran circles around his political opponents winning two consecutive landslides.
His leadership was inspiring. I can still remember the tears I had at the speech President Reagan gave following the explosion of the Challenger. "The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.'"
His personal courage is awe-inspiring as well. In his final letter in 1994 telling the world about his Alzheimer's disease, he wrote of "the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life... When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."
Economically, he showed the world how lowering tax rates and burdensome regulations could unleash the entrepreneurialism of the individual, leaving the rest of the world behind in terms of prosperity. Even today, a repetition of Reagan's tax-cutting policies now leaves America with the fastest growing economy and the lowest unemployment rate in the industrialized world, despite a stock market bubble that burst in January 2000 leading to an investment-led recession and the devastating economic impacts of 9/11.
Another of his important legacies was to bring conservatism to the forefront. America has been a conservative country for a long time, but for the most part remained in the closet since the minority (country-wise) elite in the media and universities had successfully cast conservatism as a mean and unjust philosophy. It was his moral clarity and ability to communicate his message that made so many proud to be conservative.
Now no man is perfect, of course. There were some negative legacies that came out of the Reagan presidency. The worst would be the pullout of Marines from Beirut following a bombing that left 241 Marines dead. This move emboldened the terrorists in the Middle East, helping to lay the foundation for the premise that America would not fight if it involved American casualties. This was reinforced by the actions or inactions of Presidents Carter (Iran and Afghanistan), George H.W. Bush (stopping the Gulf War), and Clinton (Somalia and useless cruise missiles fired into the desert). bin Laden, himself, was quoted as saying that watching America's cowardice in the face of casualties was what led him to attack on 9/11 thinking there would be no signficant response. He was wrong, as 2/3 of al Qaeda's known leadership is dead or captured and terrorist bases in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Iraq (Ansar al-Islam, one of five groups that make up al Qaeda, based in the north headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) are either under attack or destroyed.
Other negative legacies included a collapse in the real estate markets and Savings and Loans caused by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, leading to the recession of the early 1990's and the defeat of the elder President Bush in 1992, and more importantly, an unwillingness to challenge the Congress when it came to profligate spending, the real cause of huge deficits. That trend continues to this day, even though the artificial bubble popped by tax simplification corrected itself in the long run.
His overall legacy will be that he brought down Soviet communism, freeing Eastern Europe and the Soviet people, and for revitalizing the American spirit.
It is entirely fitting that Ronald Reagan died just four hours short of 60 years from the moment Allied soldiers came ashore on the beaches of Normandy to free a continent. As Colin Powell put it, "the world and his fellow Americans will forever be in his debt."
Perhaps President Bush put it best. "He always told us for America, the best is yet to come. We comfort ourselves in the knowledge that this is true for him, too. His work is done. And now a shining city awaits him."
Goodbye, President Reagan, and thank you. I, for one, will miss you and now have my American flag flying at half staff.
P.S. I'm aware that many on this board are non-Americans, but it's probably safe to say that the majority are. I apologize for references (e.g. Savings and Loans or the Boland Amendment) that may not be apparent to those outside the United States.
