Ronald Reagan, one of our greatest presidents
February is a cold month, at least for most of the country, but it has a warm place in many Americans’ hearts, for it is the month in which our greatest presidents were born. Saturday is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who saved the Union, and the 22nd is the birthday of George Washington, who commenced the Union. Last Sunday was the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan, who defeated an evil empire without firing a shot.
More than 20 years have passed since Reagan’s controversial presidency, and the passions are beginning to cool enough for many to appreciate his great achievements. Even those who once roundly condemned his politics are attempting to co-opt him, as his been done with other larger-than-life persons.
And that’s fine, for it is better to reflect on history with appreciation than with regret. I remember the two decades preceding Reagan’s election in 1980 when turmoil over the Vietnam War and a passion for social engineering got the better of the most pampered generation in our history. A lack of forthright opposition and far too much temporizing emboldened the hate-America crowd to acts of real, not imagined, violence that came close to tearing the country apart.
In 1964, a week before Sen. Barry Goldwater was buried in a landslide by President Johnson, Reagan gave a speech ( “A Time for Choosing”) that spelled out the differences between Republicans and Democrats, and the stark choices facing the country, better than the Republican nominee did, and thereby interested many in Reagan’s future prospects.
A year later, as a reporter for a small northern California newspaper, I was assigned to cover a speech by this remarkably compelling and upbeat man at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Reagan had consistently warned against the drift in America toward big government or socialism, and the danger to our security from the Soviet Union. His genuine convictions were unmistakable.
He went on to win election in 1966 as governor of California against two-term incumbent Edmund G. (Pat) Brown and was reelected in 1970 over Assembly Speaker Jess Unruh, both by landslides. In the meantime, he made a belated bid for president in 1968. But we would have been spared Richard Nixon’s misguided detente policies and his Watergate-inspired political collapse.
When Reagan ran again in 1976, I took responsibility for precinct work in the June primary election in Barstow and surrounding areas. I could not afford then to contribute much money, but I was invited because of my hard work to meet Reagan at a rally in Riverside’s Mission Inn. In a short conversation, we discussed the various primary elections as if we had been friends for years. His ability to connect with people enabled him to overcome media caricatures of his solid constitutionalism.
Reagan came close that year to unseating President Gerald Ford, who succeeded Nixon, and gained enough credit with all factions in the Republican party to win the nomination in 1980, going on to a surprise landslide win that year and a 49-state sweep in 1984.
Reagan’s Administration was remarkable for demonstrating that America’s greatness was not a thing of the past, as many so-called intellectuals, media commentators and various other Cassandras were solemnly intoning. We were in the midst of what was called “stagflation,” meaning an unprecedented combination of high unemployment and worrisome inflation of the money supply. We were also being aggressively threatened by a Soviet Union intent on gaining a first-strike capability on our nuclear arsenal.
It was nothing short of amazing that Reagan convinced his fellow citizens, to whom he never condescended but spoke to as an equal, that commerce could be restored by cutting income tax rates and slowing the growth of government; and that the Soviet Union could be countered, and ultimately defeated, by a proactive policy of liberation rather than mere containment. In the process, he demonstrated that the Presidential office was not in decline, but as one of my political science professors taught, was as big and as bold as the man who holds it.
Our country revitalized its commerce, continually growing for a quarter century, and it no longer had to worry about being annihilated in a nuclear war. Economic growth and military strength were still in our national DNA.
The Reagan Library in Simi Valley has been busy with commemorative activities this month. Every American (and not only Americans) should take advantage of this opportunity for appreciating human greatness.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Richard Reeb taught political science, philosophy and journalism at Barstow College from 1970 to 2003. He is the author of “ Taking Journalism Seriously: ‘Objectivity’ as a Partisan Cause” (University Press of America, 1999). He can be contacted at rhreeb@verizon.net.
