Before you get all misty-eyed about “father Reagan,” let us not forget some of his most poignant contributions to society such as:
– Mandatory minimum drug sentencing
– The entireIran-Contra affair, for which we still pay in American lives today
– His abominable and callus public record on AIDS
– His racist and ill-conceived economic delirium that was pervasive throughout his entire administration.
He may have been a decent person determined to advance conservative thinking and practice (Democrats could use a lesson here) but, he was a worse case scenario for a long time. Or, so we thought until W. came along. Let’s see how W. hitches his electoral hopes on the passing of a flawed yet, decent conservative.
That said, he was a throw-back dinosaur of politics that sent the country backward 20 years in humanitarian and progressive political thought. If Clinton had been half as dilligent as Reagan in advancing liberal ideals the world would have been a far more tolerant, peaceful and progressive place.
(by the way, I’m back…)