LucyDuke
staring at the clock
What's the deal with all the Reagan-worship? Why is he such an idol? I seriously don't get it.
Ronald Reagan
- Thread starter LucyDuke
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What's the deal with all the Reagan-worship? Why is he such an idol? I seriously don't get it.
Murky
Deity
ParadigmShifter
Random Nonsense Generator
He defeated Communism single-handedly, thanks to Nancy's (devil worshipping) astrology.
Quackers
The Frog
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
kramerfan86
Deity
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I dont think he was a bad president, but conservatives grossly overrate him and give him too much credit for toppling the USSR IMO. he was a solid middle ground president, did some solid work, made some horrible moves too. I think conservatives hero worship him heavily simply because he was the last solid republican president to point to for a legacy.
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
I ask the same thing about any president, save for a few. FDR was one of the worst.
What's special about Reagan? Well, he had a lot of people charmed, he used a lot of libertarian rhetoric, and I think the country was looking for someone to rally around after the dismal 1970s. I wonder how things would have played out of George H.W. Bush had been the GOP nominee in 1980.
What's special about Reagan? Well, he had a lot of people charmed, he used a lot of libertarian rhetoric, and I think the country was looking for someone to rally around after the dismal 1970s. I wonder how things would have played out of George H.W. Bush had been the GOP nominee in 1980.
BasketCase
Username sez it all
Take a look at his approval ratings. He's an idol because huge numbers of Americans (from both parties) approved of the way he did his job.
kramerfan86
Deity
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According to wikipedia (and if you have a more "accurate" source feel free to share) his career approval average was 57, didnt realize that constituted "huge". Plus since when does popularity dictate quality?
Kennigit
proud 2 boxer
'Cuz when an assassin shot at him, he caught the bullet in between his fingers, carried it as he swam across the ocean, threw it into the Berlin Wall, causing a fracture that not only tore down the wall but sent a rippled through to russia that scared the commies so much they had to end the USSR?
duh.
duh.
I don't understand it either. He thought nothing of joking about nuking the Russians and fighting a "limited nuclear war" over Europe (evidently not understanding that the Europeans might have been just a wee bit pissed off about that). I was in high school during part of the time he was president, and my social studies teacher referred to him as "Ronnie Ray-Gun." When he survived his assassination attempt, so help me, I was disappointed - because he was such a WARMONGER.
Sure, we've got a bunch of warmongers now, Canada's Prime Minister among them. But there's a difference between the kind of war that's been going on for the past 10 years and a nuclear war.
Sure, we've got a bunch of warmongers now, Canada's Prime Minister among them. But there's a difference between the kind of war that's been going on for the past 10 years and a nuclear war.
You stole my post, kramerfan!
But yeah, his approval ratings aren't that spectacular. They are fairly average. Not the highest, not the lowest, average in the middle of the pack.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
Ironically the threat of war was what stopped war, especially the Cold war.
amadeus
Bishop of Bio-Dome
Real good unbiased government
BasketCase
Username sez it all
It does. Reagan's average ratings are well above average. His best-ever approval rating? Not so hot. George Dubya's got him beat by a country mile.
Dude?? This is the United States we're talking about here. Around here, the voter is the final arbiter of a president's quality. And, here's another point where Reagan kicks butt: the ratings of his Presidency continued to improve after he left office. As time passes, the voters have been looking more favorably upon Him.
IdiotsOpposite
Boom, headshot.
I'm not sure what you mean here. Do you mean that FDR is one of the most idealized presidents, or that FDR is one of the worst presidents? Cause in the latter case, I've got a nice list that I'd consider worse than the man so popular he scored four terms.
A warmonger is not just somebody who actively wages war. It's somebody who wants to wage war.
Please do some basic research before you accuse the government of having indoctrinated me. I was born, raised, and still live in a Conservative bible-belt area of Canada. Central Alberta is the kind of place that would love Reagan. However, my teacher did not. And we were absolutely free to disagree with him if we wished, as long as we could reasonably explain why.
Considering that he was utterly sincere in referring to the Soviet Union as "The Evil Empire," his "joke" was not a joke - no matter how he tried to spin it.
Please do some basic research before you accuse the government of having indoctrinated me. I was born, raised, and still live in a Conservative bible-belt area of Canada. Central Alberta is the kind of place that would love Reagan. However, my teacher did not. And we were absolutely free to disagree with him if we wished, as long as we could reasonably explain why.
Considering that he was utterly sincere in referring to the Soviet Union as "The Evil Empire," his "joke" was not a joke - no matter how he tried to spin it.
Uh... barely?
Here's the list, sorted by averages:
- Kennedy - 70.1
- Eisenhower - 65.0
- Bush, G.H.W. - 60.9
- Clinton - 55.1
- Johnson - 55.1
- Reagan - 52.8
- Obama - 49*
- Bush, G.W. - 49.4
- Nixon - 49.1
- Ford - 47.2
- Carter - 45.5
- Truman - 45.4
He's literally 6 out of 12. That's pretty average on the averages.
I won't comment on the nostalgia argument.
EDIT: Looking back, I just noticed the sorting mechanism puts Obama's 49 above GW Bush and Nixon for some reason. Maybe because of how the column sort function works, or the uncertainty in measuring the number since his presidency hasn't ended yet. Doesn't change the main conclusion, though.
Disgustipated
Deity
The 70's were pretty dismal. It was a decade ruined by crooked republicans and weak democrats all started by misguided democrats in the 60's (Vietnam War anyone?).
The 80's were a return to prosperity. Although Regan gets too much credit. The technology boom was the reason the economy recovered in the 80's, not Reagan. Just like I don't give Clinton credit for the technology boom (WWW) in the 90's that energized our economy. Presidents don't have as much influence over the economy as most people think in my opinion.
The 80's were a return to prosperity. Although Regan gets too much credit. The technology boom was the reason the economy recovered in the 80's, not Reagan. Just like I don't give Clinton credit for the technology boom (WWW) in the 90's that energized our economy. Presidents don't have as much influence over the economy as most people think in my opinion.
