• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Is Ronald Reagan still the best all-time President?[W:373]

What do you think?

  • Yes

    Votes: 15 14.6%
  • No

    Votes: 88 85.4%

  • Total voters
    103
His showmanship was that of legend; that's pretty much it.
 
I suggest that Ronald Reagan did more to damage this nation...than he ever did as a positive. His "government is not the solution, government is the problem" is one of the worst comments any president has ever made to the people...and, in my opinion, the most damaging.
No. It was a fabulous and correct statement. He just didn't follow through with it.

You are correct that he made many things worse, but he did so by making government bigger, as you seem to like, than by following his own rhetoric and actually making it smaller.
 
worst presidents in US history
1. George W Bush
2. James Buchanan
3. Richard Nixon.
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Herbert Hoover

Best Presidents
1. FDR
2. Lincoln
3. Kennedy
4. Clinton
5. Obama
 
Are you really going to sit there and try to hollow out what Reagan did. He showed fortitude against the USSR, and there is no denying that. Hating rightwing presidents isn't going to change it. If you wait long enough for anything socialist it'll be doomed to fail. Reagan accelerated it greatly, by forcing them to try and keep up. They couldn't, they failed. End of story.

The USSR was on an economic down-fall because of it distancing itself from the western nations - way prior to Reagan. Reagan capitalized on the inevitable. Even today Russia needs an economic relationship with western nations - despite Putin's posturing anti-pretty much everything that the western allies stand for. He knows it and so do the western allies.

But are you saying that this is what you attribute to Reagan's greatness "in your eyes"?

North Korea is the next evil empire that will go under because of the dictatorship that's existed so long, which has also distance itself from the world economies.

Before you start on the Reagan hating right wing stuff - I voted for Reagan both terms. In 80, Reagan was running against Carter. It was fairly obvious that Carter would have a difficult time mustering any political strength in Washington. In 84, Mondale was marred by simply being VP to Carter. He had no presence in Washington. He probably had less political power among the Washington Royalty than Carter did. And his Ferraro VP choice - hoping that could lift his popularity up - but no buenos. It was simply a bad choice - she too lacked a needed connection with the Washington Royalty. But as I recall she drew more crowds on the campaign trail than Mondale did. People were really curious - wanted to see a history making choice for VP.

I certainly wouldn't proclaim Reagan to be the best president. But he was one hell of an actor...during his presidency. He deserved an Oscar for that performance.
 
The USSR was on an economic down-fall because of it distancing itself from the western nations - way prior to Reagan. Reagan capitalized on the inevitable. Even today Russia needs an economic relationship with western nations - despite Putin's posturing anti-pretty much everything that the western allies stand for. He knows it and so do the western allies.

But are you saying that this is what you attribute to Reagan's greatness "in your eyes"?

North Korea is the next evil empire that will go under because of the dictatorship that's existed so long, which has also distance itself from the world economies.

Before you start on the Reagan hating right wing stuff - I voted for Reagan both terms. In 80, Reagan was running against Carter. It was fairly obvious that Carter would have a difficult time mustering any political strength in Washington. In 84, Mondale was marred by simply being VP to Carter. He had no presence in Washington. He probably had less political power among the Washington Royalty than Carter did. And his Ferraro VP choice - hoping that could lift his popularity up - but no buenos. It was simply a bad choice - she too lacked a needed connection with the Washington Royalty. But as I recall she drew more crowds on the campaign trail than Mondale did. People were really curious - wanted to see a history making choice for VP.

I certainly wouldn't proclaim Reagan to be the best president. But he was one hell of an actor...during his presidency. He deserved an Oscar for that performance.
In '84 Reagan was wildly popular so it could have been somebody better than Mondale and it wouldn't have mattered.

Some friends of mine at the time accused the Dems of picking Ferraro because they knew they were going to lose and they wanted that spot in modern history as the first major party to pick a woman, etc.

And yes, the USSR was going to fall eventually, but Reagan's policies did speed it up.
 
What do you think?

He is the best for the radical right-wing, but for the rest of the country he was one of the worst. Reagan is responsible for the economic depletion of the middle class in this country.
 
The USSR was doomed to fail once Gorbachev took over. Glasnost accelerated the fall of the USSR more than any foreign influence.

Communism was designed to fail, it just fell apart about 200 years early because they tried to compete with America financially and were not equipped to do so. Still, Reagan wasn't remotely fiscally conservative, he spent like a drunken sailor, given his totally irrational hatred of communism and that alone makes him not the best president ever.
 
Are you really going to sit there and try to hollow out what Reagan did. He showed fortitude against the USSR, and there is no denying that. Hating rightwing presidents isn't going to change it. If you wait long enough for anything socialist it'll be doomed to fail. Reagan accelerated it greatly, by forcing them to try and keep up. They couldn't, they failed. End of story.

Presidents in this country have been battling the USSR since Wilson. The soviets were effectively isolated from the west and were running a pyramid scheme, so they were doomed form the beginning, so it only took 72 years for them to rise and collapse. Reagan's timing was better than his effort, and JFK was the only president to militarily face down the USSR. Perestroika and Glasnost opened up the demanded internal dialogue for change that finished the job. Reagan just capitalized on something that he really had nothing to do with.
 
Reagan would be about 5th or 6th on my list.

1. Washington
2. Lincoln
3. FDR
4. Teddy
5. Truman

I would get rid of the last three on your list there and replace them (in order) with
3. Madison
4. Coolidge
5. Reagan
 
Okay, but he is the most popular President after World War II, that's crucial.

Winning a popularity contest is not the same thing as being the best president.
 
I suggest that Ronald Reagan did more to damage this nation...than he ever did as a positive. His "government is not the solution, government is the problem" is one of the worst comments any president has ever made to the people...and, in my opinion, the most damaging.

Not really. Poorly constructed laws and regulations cause immense damage to the populations. There can be no doubt in this. The only thing is that societies need government for public goods in the economic sense of the words and do very poorly without.

So the difference in your opinion and his is only in the fact that one needs to understand, what governments do well and where the cause destruction and should be kept clear of.
 
Where is the 'I don't give a crap' option?
 
By what metric? JFK is post-WWII and he might be the second-most popular president ever after Lincoln.

Being popular doesn't mean being a good President. The biggest reason Kennedy was popular was because he was assassinated.
 
Being popular doesn't mean being a good President. The biggest reason Kennedy was popular was because he was assassinated.

You either are very young...or very forgetful.

Either way...John and Jackie Kennedy were incredibly POPULAR while he was alive.
 
You either are very young...or very forgetful.

He was popular with the people who voted for him and I wasn't one of them (yes I was old enough to vote and did). In fact if you knew your facts Kennedy only won by a little over 100K votes...hardly popular.

Either way...John and Jackie Kennedy were incredibly POPULAR while he was alive.

More so after he was assassinated. But missing getting us into a war with the USSR, the Bay of Pigs and sending ground troop to SE Asia was not popular with the American people. Yes I remember them all and getting a military extension because of the Cuba Missile crisis.... I will not forgive him.
 
He was popular with the people who voted for him and I wasn't one of them (yes I was old enough to vote and did). In fact if you knew your facts Kennedy only won by a little over 100K votes...hardly popular.

He was, during his presidency, one of the most POPULAR individuals in the world...as was his wife.

Wake the hell up.


More so after he was assassinated. But missing getting us into a war with the USSR, the Bay of Pigs and sending ground troop to SE Asia was not popular with the American people. Yes I remember them all and getting a military extension because of the Cuba Missile crisis.... I will not forgive him.

He did become larger than life after the assassination...that I grant. But to suppose for one second that he was not ENORMOUSLY POPULAR during his presidency...is to be totally clueless.

As for your "military extension"...I am sure your unwillingness to "forgive him" will weigh heavily on everyone's mind. Apparently you suppose he should have been more worried about you getting out...than about the fate of the world.
 
Ok, I'll bite: Why Coolidge?

Coolidge was one leader reluctant to get involved, to use his power except when it was actually needed. I appreciate the way he decisively settled the Boston Police Strike as did a lot of Americans of the time. Brought him to national prominence and the VP title under Harding.

He took over after that scandal ridden Harding administration, an administration which was in the midst of trying to bring the country back to normal after the disastrous period with Woodrow Wilson as president. Wilson had gotten the US involved in a war where we should never have been. With that war came an overbearing interference and intervention by the Federal government [Wilson] into the economy as well bringing with that a horrendous assault on our first amendment, as well as other, rights. We had massive war debt with a resultant recession/depression and high unemployment.

Coolidge somehow shrank the annual federal budget by 43% in the years 1921-24. He showed that it is, indeed, possible to lower taxes and at the same time reduce our debt.

He also presided over a very peaceful nation, he did less, rather than more, to good result. He was strong in the areas of personal liberties, on race relations with he and the Republican party fighting the democrats in trying to pass anti-lynching legislation, calling for racial harmony and establishing commissions to help bridge the gaps of the times. Congress, unfortunately, did not go along with any of that. He was also against the segregation in the Federal government earlier instituted by Wilson.

He shrank the Federal budget reducing the Federal government in general along the way, oversaw a period of high wages, low unemployment [generally under 5%], low taxes, few strikes. He allowed the marketplace, and not the public sector, to manage its own ups and downs...unlike Hoover and FDR, whose policies of more and more government intervention led to a worse and worse economy which was the Great Depression.

More presidents/leaders should follow his model.
 
Coolidge was one leader reluctant to get involved, to use his power except when it was actually needed. I appreciate the way he decisively settled the Boston Police Strike as did a lot of Americans of the time. Brought him to national prominence and the VP title under Harding.

He took over after that scandal ridden Harding administration, an administration which was in the midst of trying to bring the country back to normal after the disastrous period with Woodrow Wilson as president. Wilson had gotten the US involved in a war where we should never have been. With that war came an overbearing interference and intervention by the Federal government [Wilson] into the economy as well bringing with that a horrendous assault on our first amendment, as well as other, rights. We had massive war debt with a resultant recession/depression and high unemployment.

Coolidge somehow shrank the annual federal budget by 43% in the years 1921-24. He showed that it is, indeed, possible to lower taxes and at the same time reduce our debt.

He also presided over a very peaceful nation, he did less, rather than more, to good result. He was strong in the areas of personal liberties, on race relations with he and the Republican party fighting the democrats in trying to pass anti-lynching legislation, calling for racial harmony and establishing commissions to help bridge the gaps of the times. Congress, unfortunately, did not go along with any of that. He was also against the segregation in the Federal government earlier instituted by Wilson.

He shrank the Federal budget reducing the Federal government in general along the way, oversaw a period of high wages, low unemployment [generally under 5%], low taxes, few strikes. He allowed the marketplace, and not the public sector, to manage its own ups and downs...unlike Hoover and FDR, whose policies of more and more government intervention led to a worse and worse economy which was the Great Depression.

More presidents/leaders should follow his model.

His reluctance to regulate is part of what caused the depression. FDR is the one who actually brought America out of it. Wilson put America on the world stage, he is the reason America is where it is today. Without being involved in World War I, WWII would never have gone nearly as smoothly as it did. He oversaw a period of prosperity because he was president during a booming economy, same with Clinton. His presidency contributed to the single worst economic recession the world has ever seen, also kind of like Clinton.
 
I have to say FDR he is the president that had the biggest impact on America as a country. He is the man that made America a superpower, an economic powerhouse. He is also brought America out of the largest economic depression in history.
 
Back
Top Bottom