Sympathies to you Americans

Terry St.James_2

i would like to pass along my sympathies to you Americans on the passing of one of your past Presidents...Ronald Reagan. I actually liked that one ...although I didn't agree with all he said. Hey...but isn't that a real democracy...."agreeing to disagree". He was a good man.

Mark Hunt

Thanks Terry

Mr.Reagan would have agreed with you.

Democracy is a wonderful thing.

Mark H

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DaveGateway

Reagan

When Mr. Reagan took office we were in a recession, unemployment was high,and we had some Americans being held hostage in a distant land. He addressed and solved these issues in short order. His negotiated hostage release alone deserved him reelection 4 yrs later. His "supply side" economics put us all back to work, but at a cost.

Ronald Reagan proved to us again that you don't have to be a lifelong politician to run this country. I don't think I'm ready to vote for Ah'nold though.

All in all, he did a good job, and I will mourn his passing with the millions.

Mad Dog

Thanks Pal

Mad Dog

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David_5

Hostages

While president Reagan did many great things. Release of hostages was not one of them. Carter gets crdeit for that.

David

Mad Dog

Sorry, but Carter had nothing to do with it

But as I originally said this was a non-partisan tribute. If you care to we can discuss via email. Respectfully, Mad Dog

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jackchips_2

Actually David,

the hostages were released after President Reagon was inaugurated in 1980. There were rumors that negotiations had gone on with the Iranians to withold their release until after the election so that President Carter would not be re-elected. Not sure of the validity of that.

Thanks, Terry.

Terry St.James_2

Many of those hostages were hidden at the Canadian Embassy and were given fake Canadian passports. Ronald Reagan was briefed on this during the limo ride with Carter to RR's swearing in as Pres.

Bill_14

You are correct Mad Dog!

DaveGateway

Thanks

for backing me up guys. I didn't think my memory was that far gone.

Constantin

Also my recollection, but I could be wrong...

If I remember my history correctly (that is, from the Iran-Contra affair) the release of the hostages was but the first phase in a growing relationship with the people we allegedly hated. After the release, the US sold the Iranians replacement parts for F-14's and other gear left over from the days of the Shah. I still do not understand why Mr. North and his superiors were not hanged for treason.

Anyway, the proceeds from the illegal arms sales were then used to create a giant slush fund to support "freedom fighters" in South/Central America. As one observer at the time pointed out, one man's freedom fighter is another mans terrorist. Furthermore, one may but wonder how an affair as egregious as the Iran-Contra affair would not lead to impeachment proceedings, while some DNA on a interns dress would 12 years later.

However, for all his faults, President Reagan also had a number of achievements to look back to. He reduced the nuclear arsenal a great deal and removed entire classes of missles. He set the stage for a world in which the Russians would not be afraid to give up their empire. The Russians certainly could have gone the way of China and held on to their "war prizes" instead of allowing them to become independent and (gasp!) even join NATO.

His performance during the air-controller strike is a classic and I wish it were emulated more often around the world when pampered unions go on strike simply because they want even greater benefits. When I was in France, I was amazed how people allow the air traffic controllers to go on strike all the time. Ditto on rail lines, and other critical infrastructure. Even the cops threatened to leave their posts! Reagan made a very important point: No one is irreplaceable.

One of his most important achievements though was the ability to have one point of view, yet be able to work with people who thought very differently. Unlike the two houses today, Reagan back then had to work with a Democrat-majority to get his proposals through. That is not an easy position to be in... the record deficits that followed his tax cuts were all the more amusing considering that he campaigned against Jimmy Carter in part on fiscal responsibility.

Lest we forget however, the US economy was already on the mend when Reagan took over... the belt-tightening started by Volcker had had its effect already and stagflation was coming to an end. More credit should go to Greenspan & Co at maintaining the economy despite the changing environment in the White House... and it is too ironic that a Democrat president would preside over "positive" fiscal deficits while all it takes is a recently-elected Republican to plunge us back into the red again.

I say "positive" fiscal deficits because the many years of raiding the Social Security Trust fund set up for the baby boomers under Reagans watch was never reversed. The treasury bills that replaced the tax-supplements we get to pay are nothing more than an Enron-style off-balance-sheet accounting trick to make the actual fiscal defict look smaller. Almost 25 years after its creation, the Trust fund will have nothing to support the fiscal "hump" created by the retirement of the Boomer generation. To be fair, both Democrats and Republican presidents raided the fund. However, this is going to cost us dearly, in interest and otherwise.

Anyway, a man of great achievements has passed on. Like all of us, he had his faults... yet Americans loved him. He helped rebuild national pride, modernize the armed forces, reduce taxes, and cut some federal government bloat. A man of strong opinion that was yet able to speak to people on the opposite side... a man able to joke with the surgeons in the OR after getting shot... and an eternal optimist.

David_5

They were released on inauguration day.

Ken D.

Ronald Reagan

Thanks Terry. I do believe Reagan was sincere in his love for God and country. I don't recall any perfect politicians but he did OK. The Berlin Wall came down, Germany was reunified and communism was shown the door (however, China has not changed). Reagan was largely responsible for that although John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher were instrumental. In the end a good man has gone to his reward. God Bless him.

Mark Hunt

Divine Providence?


Those three.............at that time???????????

Wasn't it great to watch the world change???

Mark H

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Mark Hunt

Hmmmmmmmmm


>Give some Democrats credit: many of the comments released by party factotums on the death of President Ronald Reagan at least attempted to be gracious. But, while some of the words may have been magnanimous, the actions of some Democrats was not.

In California, according to a Democratic House leadership staffer, Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi's office refused until late in the day West Coast time to prepare any remarks by the leader on the passing of the President.

"A call went out around mid-day on the East Coast that Reagan might be in serious condition, and that party leaders should be ready. But Pelosi's people basically said they couldn't' be bothered. [Democratic whip] Steny Hoyer had to get them in line. We got the impression they just didn't want to say anything that would be construed as supportive of a Republican."

Pelosi's office also nixed sending flowers to the funeral home where the president's body was being prepared for burial.

Back in Washington, staffers at the Democratic National Committee stopped a couple of interns who were lowering the flags to half mast outside their headquarters.

"The interns were just doing what they thought was right," says a DNC staffer, who heard about the incident. "But somebody a bit more senior told them not to lower the flags until they absolutely had to, I guess when President Bush announced that all flags should be lowered. There was only an hour's difference. It was pretty petty, but that's how bad things have gotten around here." <

Quoted from "The American Spectator".

Mark H

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Deanie

As a Canadian my deepest sympathies for all Americans, I grew up in a border town and loved it,it really kept me in touch with the world.

What sticks in my mind, is when there was an attempt on his life I remember exactly where I was.(In 8th grade).

We lost a great one.

God Bless

Duncan_2

bipartisanship

How about that, somebody looking at both sides. ;-)

Funny how if you hate someone you can only see the bad in them. And if you love them, they can do no wrong.

I disagreed with most (not all) of President Reagan's politics, especially Nicaragua and Iran Contra. But I'm sure he was personally convinced there was a danger there. The Red Menace thing. It just hacked me that so many innocent civilians were indiscriminately killed by the Contras, Somoza's so-called "freedom fighters". The Sandanistas had free elections sooner after thier revolution, than we in the US did after our revolution. They walked their talk and put it out there for popular elections after the revolution (and eventually got voted out).

In light of my personal bias, I found it hard to understand the reason for the man's popularity at the time.

But I think it's as others pointed out... We were emerging from dismal times of inflation, unemployment, hostage taking and gas shortages, and he inspired a positive outlook about America. He was a charismatic, likeable guy who looked and carried himself well in the role of a president and (I mean that in a positive way). Personally he was charming and funny. Like others said, he was a stateman who used his charm to bridge differences and start dialog. But he could get down to business too when he had to - ask Khadaffi. Politics aside, I probably would've liked the guy.

I listen to both left and right wing talk radio, and one of the shows mentioned Jesse Jackson working outside goverment channels, negotiating the return the downed American jet pilots (remember that?). According to this show, President Reagan told his staff that there would absolutely be no negative talk about that event from his staff. Pretty classy.

We could use a little more of that these days.

Sorry, saying he shoulda been hanged, and pointing out one Democrat jerk's vitriol from a conservative newsletter isn't in that spirit.

On a personal level, that picture Mark posted of Nancy Reagan kissing her husband's coffin goodbye is incredibly sad. Fifty years... Reminds me of my grandfather saying goodbye to his wife. One of the most heart-wrenching, touching moments I've ever witnessed in my life.

David_5

I stand corrected

Carter did not make the deal to return them. Reagan didn't do it either. I liked and voted for Reagan.

David
davidchsw@yahoo.com

Ken D.

World

Mark, Yes, watching the world change is definitely a spectator sport. We have seen our share of astounding changes it the past decades as well as days.

Constantin

Please note that I didn't call for Reagan to be hanged.

After all, there was no evidence showing that he knew what was going on. Nowadays, chief executive officers in most companies would step down after comparable lower-level misconduct as egregious as the Iran-Contra affair, but President Reagan was different.

He charmed Democrats and Republicans alike into not impeaching him. Evidently, those that claimed the former actor was a mental lightweight had miscalculated how astute a politician he actually was.

This congeniality is something President Clinton and VP Gore could have taken a page from. As best as I can tell, relations between the Democratic White House and the Republican-controlled house (a flip-flip of fortunes that happened 1/2 through President Clintons first term) could only be described as frosty at best.

However, the guys that set up the arms sales and then proceeded to create a slush-fund for projects outside the purview of Congress should have been jailed with no possibility of pardon or parole. They knew they were trading with the sworn enemy of the US, they knew that there were some extreme penalties for selling sensitive military technologies to countries like Iran that are on the exclusion list, and they went ahead with it anyway.

Constantin

Too Funny...

Mark, I suppose I could find similar vitriol on the other side of the aisle if I started to dig into Moveon.org or some other pro-democratic site. So unless you can find a less partial news source to confirm the above Spectator story I am going to write it off as propaganda, sorry.

Furthermore, I have a hard time believing any stories attributed to "anonymous staffers". After all, even if the attribution is true, an anonymous staffer can be anyone from the top down to the cleaning crew.

Constantin

Also note the passing of Ray Charles...

A undisputed luminary in the music business, his career spanned many more years than any president. He was an inspiration to millions and was taken much too young. It's too bad I never got around to seeing him perform live.

jackchips_2

Yes

I see that.

Washington, father of our country.
Adams, savior of the revolutionary war.
Lincoln, held the country together.
FDR, looked evil in the eye and made it blink.
Truman, made a hard decision to bring peace to the world.
JFK, sent man to the moon.
Richard Nixon, opened dialogue with China.
Ronald Reagan, ended the cold war.

Ray Charles, great singer, entertainer and sang Georgia on My Mind. But not a President. May he rest in peace with them all.

R. Kalia

very moving article about Reagan funeral

very moving article about Reagan funeral:

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-nybres113845462jun11,0,1286855,print.column?coll=ny-news-columnists

Duncan_2

Right

I know it wasn't you that called for a hangin' Constantin, sorry if the progression of threads made it seem that way.