Remembering Pres. Reagan: by The Center for American Progress

RONALD REAGAN
A Nation Remembers

Flags are being flown at half mast today, as President Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died Saturday after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease. His death brought the expected outpouring of editorials and obituaries, running the gamut from Peggy Noonan's reverent "Thanks from a Grateful Country," to the more critical piece by Slate's Timothy Noah. The prevailing view championed the man's complicated legacy, as seen in three major pieces in the NYT, LAT and WP.

He was lauded for his role in ending the Cold War and for projecting a never-failing sense of optimism which restored faith in the American presidency in a nation still scarred by Vietnam and Watergate. The papers also noted some of the darker sides of his presidency, like record deficits and unemployment, the scandal of Iran-Contra, his poor record on civil rights and the environment and the debacle in Lebanon. Positive and negative, one overall theme to Reagan's success as a president emerges. While Ronald Reagan had deeply held commitments, he was also able to see when a policy was not working and shift course. America's current leaders would be well served to learn this valuable lesson from the Gipper.

ETERNAL OPTIMIST: Perhaps Ronald Reagan's greatest legacy may be his never-failing optimism. The LAT writes, "His sunny self-assurance, his insistence that there really were simple answers to difficult problems, his knack for actually making things happen -- all were soothing changes for a country that had endured Vietnam, Watergate, a presidential resignation, an energy crisis, double-digit inflation and the seizing of American hostages in Iran in the course of one tumultuous decade."

ADAPTING ON TAXES: President Reagan presided over a massive tax cut, on the theory that tax cuts "would unleash such a wave of economic growth" that government income would actually rise. However, when the deficit exploded and money was tight, the "1981 tax cut was followed by Reagan-blessed tax increases in almost every ensuing year of his presidency."

Contrast this with the current administration: In February, William Gale and Peter Orszag of the Brookings Institution wrote, "This year's US budget proves that George W. Bush is no Ronald Reagan." Even in light of skyrocketing deficits, "Bush has steadfastly kept to his tax-cutting agenda and resists any suggestion that the costs of defending the nation against terrorism or fighting the war in Iraq are a reason to raise taxes."

ADAPTING ON THE ENVIRONMENT: Reagan was not known as an environmental president; he disastrously appointed anti-environmentalist James Watt as Secretary of the Interior. "After Watt was purged, however," writes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Reagan signed into law bills protecting 1.9 million acres of wilderness in Washington and Oregon. He signed legislation creating the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument."

ADAPTING TO THE COLD WAR: President Reagan was known for his hard line against communism, calling the Soviet Union the Evil Empire. However, in his second term, Reagan combined diplomatic and military strength to create a relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev which ultimately led to nuclear weapon limits and the end of the Cold War. While President Bush adopted similar language by coining the phrase "Axis of Evil," he has failed to adequately address the threats posed by Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

EUROPE THEN AND NOW: The WP reports, according to commentators and historians, although his lack of foreign policy credentials made much of Europe nervous after he ascended to the presidency, President Reagan was able to win the respect of Europeans through his "commitment to winning the Cold War and his willingness to work peacefully to bring about the demise of the Soviet Union," ultimately convincing the global community the United States had their best interests at heart. The go-it-alone policy of President George W. Bush has "inspired a similar mixture of fear, concern and, at times, contempt among Europeans."

FUTURE LEGACY OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Following the Marine barracks in Lebanon and the Iran Contra scandal, President Reagan took responsibility, saying, "this happened on my watch" and "If there is to be blame...it properly rests here in this office and with this president. And I accept responsibility for the bad as well as the good."