That being said, Rudy Giuliani has an article today in the NY Daily News commenting on Reagan's role in bringing down The Evil Empire. As one should credit Reagan with his shortcomings, so should one recognize his singular role in freeing tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, from Communist suppression. He changed the course of history, and he changed it for the better. Read it here:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/11/09/2009-11-09_ronald_reagans_unyielding_style_won_the_cold_war.html
God bless Ronald Reagan.
Hags
8 comments:
I do give Reagan credit for hastening the end of the Cold War. There are many to give credit to, but none deserve more than the Gipper. And - that is HUGE.
Fortunately, Clinton came to town 4 years after Reagan left, and was able to pay down some of the debt he ran up.
One more perspective is linked below - cut & paste.
In the article they discuss the competing claims of "who won the Cold War"? Of course, there were many players that contributed. No one person, country or policy did it alone.
I think Rudy is playing to potential voters in his piece.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/world/europe/09berlin.html?_r=1&hp
Bax,
I am happy to see the credit shared, but I don't see the article as having the right answers.
I still go Reagan as number 1 because he put such a stress on the the USSR that they couldn't handle the load. Therefore, I think the second key party to the fall was the Soviets themselves. If you read Charlie Wilson's War you will see that Charlie and the author think it was the loss in Afghanistan that help accelerate the fall. The Russians were defeated and humiliated and their citizens sickened by the result. The Communist system couldn't keep up (OBTW, have I ever mentioned that Central Planning sucks... hence my abhorrence of Central Planning Medicine).
My number three award goes to the internet. I think the (relatively) free flow of information brought by the internet seeped in and made the citizens aware that they were living in a second to third world state. True, things got worse for many Russians (particularly the older ones) after the fall, but the kids knew their lives sucked.
But the Europeans????? Please.
Hags
Hags:
I agree with your second paragraph wholeheartedly. I disagree about the internet - it was yet to be a force in the west, much less the east in 1989. AOL (for DOS!) originated in 1991 - '92 for Windows.
The Europeans - through TV and cultural exchanges absolutely had an impact - the same one you had ascribed to the internet.
I think "all of the above" contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union - the number one reason being the failed communist system itself.
I also give credit to George HW Bush for his handling of the disintegration. He caught a lot of flack for his "Chicken Kiev" speech, however, things did not need to go so smoothly. Had the WH been triumphant or tried to take advantage, revanchist forces could have taken power and adopted the Chinese approach. By the time they tried, it was too late.
Reagan is the greatest President of our lives. You must also remember that he took over from the worst President, until the one we have now, the Peanut Farmer and another Nobel laureate, Jimmy Carter. Remember the Misery Index? President Reagan defeated the Misery Index as well. He also got our hostages out of Iran. He made us economically much more competitive and ushered in the boom times that Bill Clinton presided over with his introduction of supply side economics.
We should rename Washington's airport once again in honor of Reagan - it should be called "Reagan National Debt Airport".
Reagan national debt Airport caused mostly by a Democratic party which paraded grandma eating dog food, insisted on outsized COLA's, and has consistently fought any semblance of fiscal sanity.
They are going to need longer signs.
Willful ignorance, Doc. I have shown you data on federal receipts and spending in the Reagan years. As a percentage of GDP, spending was consistent while receipts tanked.
Massive deficits during and following our two supply side presidents is not a coincidence.
A belief in supply side tax cuts in any and all seasons is not intellectual. It is ignorant and religious in nature.
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