#7: Ronald Reagan: the worst president we've ever loved.

Here's what the October 4, 1999 addition of Newsweek had to say about Mr. Reagan:

As president, he [Reagan] restored national confidence, launched an economic boom, and, with Mikhail Gorbachev, ended the cold war.

[*whistle blows*] Offside. Bullshit flag on the play, Newsweek. 15 yards, repeated 1^st down.

I assume that anyone who lived through that tragic time called the 1980s is saying something similar. Dear God, how can anyone still believe in Rush Limbaugh’s paranoia. There is no "liberal media" anymore, if there ever was. No liberal would dare write something like this unless s/he got liberal with hish stash of smack. That’s a conservative bullshit flag on that play, Mister.

And it is bullshit. Anyone who says different is either (a) a dittohead (Rush "Eric Cartman" Limbaugh's crew of clapping seals--er, fans) or (b) to dumb to learn about late 20^th Century history.

You're damn right, I'm angry. The Doctor is an angry scientist, by God, and he's a liberal one too. And, unlike those who consider that a bad word, is damn proud of it. As a liberal (and a critic) I can not stand by and let this gross re-writing of history go unchallenged (nor can I turn down a chance to bitch my head off).

So, let's examine the above statement, shall we?

As president, he [Reagan] restored national confidence

To tell the bible truth, I have no idea if this is true or not. There was nothing wrong with my confidence in the nation before Mr. Reagan. All I know is, there was a lot of doubt when he left. Though, I was mostly amazed that American could elect such an inept president. No use picking over this topic. Next!

"launched an economic boom"

BUZZZZZZ!!!! This is the largest pile o’ crap I’ve ever come across. "Economic boom"? Reagan dug us further into debt then any president before or since. And for what? Some arms race with the USSR? So he could give money to terrorists? Chocolate pudding in the sky? So he could prove that trees polluted less the cars?

In the 80s the economy's average growth squeezed in at 2.5%. Oh yeah, that's what I'd call a boom. Compare that to the 50s, where the average growth comes down to a robust and health 4%. What happened? Ronald Reagan happened. He cut the marginal tax rate, patting the backs of all the rich bastards who helped him win. This action made him very popular with his friends in high places, while slowing the economy down, down, down.

"But wait!" I hear the conservatives scream. "Our lord and master, Rush Limbaugh, says that the rich got the least amount of tax relief. Those money sucking poor people who got the most. They're the one's weighting this country down!"

And just what do you think made them poor? It's called a Recession: a time when the economy isn't depressed yet, it's just feeling really bad about itself. During the Reagan years, the Gipper's inept handling of national money cause the economy to stop growing. When an economy stops growing, jobs start disappearing, when jobs go, money goes, and what do we have class?

"POOR PEOPLE!"

Right. I see you're learning.

And the rich sure as hell did NOT get the smallest tax relief. Mater of fact, from 1980 to 89, rich people got a 15% tax-cut, whilst poor people got a 15% tax-hike. Man, those rich people had it so rough in the 80s.

Economic boom? Sure . . . if you make 570,000 a year. Everybody else got the shaft. It's always been dangerous to be poor in the country, but in the 1980s, it got even worse. The fact is, Reagan spent us further into debt the any president in history. All for some redundant arms race. Which brings us too . . .

and, with Mikhail Gorbachev, ended the cold war.

Again, this may or may not be true. Nobody knows. Not even the Freedom of Information Act has been able to completely pierce the Iron Curtain. The popular idea is that the USSR spent itself out of existence while trying to keep up with our spending. This is the attitude most Republicans seam to latch on to; it means that their hero Reagan effectively destroyed the Soviet Union Monster.

Of course, when you wave the national debt Reagan cause in their face, these same Republicans will turn around and say, "That's not his fault. Blame the Democratic Congress and their bloated Liberal programs! They're evil, EVIL WE SAY!"

"Bloated liberal programs"? Like what? The most bloated program of Reaganomics was the military, to which the Gipper hooked an IV dripper of money. Heck, during his years, he asked Congress from $16 billion more then the "liberals" were willing to spend.

It can certainly be argued that this money leaching caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, by the 1980s, the USSR was running on fumes anyway. All its great leaders had met the Grim Reaper and discovered that he wasn't to keen on Communism. Its trade was nonexistent, its boarders closed, and its people starving. It had no money, and minimal trade partners. The USSR turned itself into an economic fossil, unable to change in this ever-changing world. Russia, for all its preaching about the greatness of Communism, couldn't adapt to the changing world. 1917 was long dead, and Russian just couldn't stand it.

It can certainly be argued that the Soviet Union's collapse was the natural death of an ultra conservative system, which tried to lock itself off from the world, and failed.

This past year, we've had to suffer through Monicagate: the never-ending story. $4 billion down the tubes, just to find out that Slick Wily shagged his intern. Reagan stole money from the government and created an anti-left wing uprising in another country. Selling guns to a gang of thugs .  . . now, there's something illegal. Punks do it out of the trunks of their cars every day, and police bag their asses for it. Reagan did it and what happens? People write books and articles about him, that's what.

In conclusion, Ronald Reagan was (and is) the worst president American has ever loved. American wanted someone who could be honest and likeable, so the elected and actor.

Come to think of it, that's exactly what Reagan did in office: he acted. He played the part of the president, while manipulative friends and advisers led him around like a lobotomized dog. Maybe Reagan was simply a mindless pawn in the game of politics.

Maybe he really was the Forest Gump of Presidents.