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When we talk about favorite presidents we have to take into account the time they lived in - how they handled the problems of their day and advanced the nation's interests. Often the advisers and cabinet that surround a president are quite responsible themselves for the tenor of thought and turns of events during a presidency.
Unless we mean favorite like "cutest," in which case I have to go with Chester A. Arthur.
Even then we have to wait to see how a president effected the country from a time after he was president. Truman was a very unpopular president but with time he has been judged one of the best by historians.An example is that if the middle east explodes after we leave then Bush will come out pretty good by historians and the one that pulled out will suffer.We tend to only go by what is populkar now. I do think Reagan on the record of his effect on world history will come out as one of the greats.
Even then we have to wait to see how a president effected the country from a time after he was president. Truman was a very unpopular president but with time he has been judged one of the best by historians.An example is that if the middle east explodes after we leave then Bush will come out pretty good by historians and the one that pulled out will suffer. We tend to only go by what is populkar now.
Nixon is forever tainted by Watergate and Hoover by the Depression. W will always be seen through the lens of the disaster of Iraq, even if a successor should somehow manage to minimize further damage.
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Originally Posted by texdav
I do think Reagan on the record of his effect on world history will come out as one of the greats.
Fortunately, Reagan had very little effect on world history. Europe never did see him as much more than an overblown cowboy, and Latin America did manage to survive his brutal adventurism there. The symbolism of the Beirut withdrawal has had an impact on some, but even that is overrated. And there are also the downers of his silence on AIDS and his chumminess with Saddam and the Mujahadeen to consider. In essence, there was nothing on the foreign policy side that would tend to offset his various failures on the domestic front. He'll be lucky to run in the C/C+ range in history, and that primarily on the basis of his acting skills.
If he cured cancer I would praise him as a doctor but as a dictator I still condem him to the same rope as Saddam Hussien for war crimes against humanity.
Was our last President (sending U.S. troops to foreign countries w/out Congressional approval and wiretapping phone calls) a "dictator," too?
Fortunately, Reagan had very little effect on world history. Europe never did see him as much more than an overblown cowboy,
He is well-liked by many Europeans. Those in Poland certainly like him (wonder why?).
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And there are also the downers of his silence on AIDS
According to the Congressional Research Service, federal spending on HIV/AIDS began at $8 million in fiscal year 1982. By the time Reagan left office, the fiscal 1989 budget contained $2.322 billion for HIV/AIDS. Overall, between fiscal years 1982 and 1989, the Reagan Administration spent $5.727 billion on HIV/AIDS. The average annual increase in HIV/AIDS funding over this period was 128.92%.
That doesn't sound like much of a "silence" to me!
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and his chumminess with Saddam and the Mujahadeen to consider.
Saddam came into power in 1979. It was Democrat President Jimmy Carter who normalized relations with Saddam. One of the reasons why Saddam was tolerated was because the entire Middle East region would have been destabilized by the power vacuum that would have been created by Saddam's removal.
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In essence, there was nothing on the foreign policy side that would tend to offset his various failures on the domestic front. He'll be lucky to run in the C/C+ range in history, and that primarily on the basis of his acting skills.
i like geore bush u guys might bash him but he has the old school way of thinking we need. what would al gore do thats more better than bush?i think the porblme is that bush has the way of thinking and idea that may be apreciated in 10-15 yers but right now its not acepted because of radical liberal thought movement.
I'd bet Gore would make spell check mandatory before posting on the internets.....but I'm just guessing.
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