To change the world all Reagan did was turn toward free market economics, a rational foreign policy, and have the courage to stick to his guns. He did it with a great ability to communicate, and a wonderful sense of humor. The beauty of his humor was that it was based on reality and not slapstick or denigrating circumstances. It's the courage part that even the most rational of politicians are having trouble with.

I was recently in Southern California and visited the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. If you are ever in the area I can't recommend it too highly. There are great exhibits about every aspect of his career, and the actual Air Force One that he and six other presidents used. I watched the videotape of his speech concerning the Iran-Contra affair. He made a straightforward admission of what had happened, took full responsibility, said he had made mistakes, pledged to take action against those responsible, and then vowed to move on. What a contrast to our current weasel in chief!
For me, perhaps the most rewarding part of the visit were the countless reminders of Reagan's irrepressible optimism. As the article notes, he took office at a time when the economy was a wreck and the nation was mired in a deep "malaise," (Jimmy Carter's term). Reagan knew that if the government got out of the way and people were allowed to pursue their ambitions and dreams, the economy would take care of itself. He did his best to get the government out of the way (he had to work around a Democratic congress) and lo and behold, the economy took care of itself!
Reagan also knew that communism was a dead end and would collapse of its own weight. He stood up to the Soviets, refused to back away from the Strategic Defense Initiative (and even offered to share it with them), challenged Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (there was a tape of that speech at the Reagan library--fabulous), and lo and behold, the Soviet Union crumbled!
Reagan made mistakes and I didn't agree with him on everything, but I think he was the 20th Century's best president. The man had not only substance but style, and the many "beautiful people" and intelligensia of the time who ridiculed him as an idiot now stand revealed, in the light of history, as the true idiots. The Reagan library is a fitting tribute to the man.

President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were an awesome team when the word allies was still in the lexicon. How I miss them! Liberty and Capitalism never had better heroes.

I had the honor in about 1964, as president of the University of Arizona Conservative Club (we’d be called Libertarians today), to sit at the head table with Ronald Reagan at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Tucson. Afterwards, six of us went with him to his hotel, and we talked until the sun came up. I disagreed regarding several issues with him then (and he did discuss them, not fight). When he was president a decade and a half later, he held to the same positions we discussed that evening --- good and bad. I think he acted upon what he believed and did not change to whatever direction the wind blew. On the bad side, I don’t think he was fully in control. His underlings attacked civilly and criminally the Libertarian faction who supported Reagan. His strong point was more free market economics, not individual liberty per se.

We need to pass on his legacy; our kids won't understand the evils he faced (like big govt here, to true communism in the rest of the world) unless we tell the story

I would highly recommend - to any here who haven't yet done so - watching the Stephen K. Bannon / Tim Watkins documentary "In The Face Of Evil."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427380/
Say what you will about Reagan's failings (and there were many of them,) that film should have been a blockbuster for the revelations of the effect he had as a catalyst in the demise of the Soviet Union alone. The account of what occurred at the 1986 Reykjavik Summit is jaw-dropping, yet never got reported in media that were orders of magnitude more fair than today's. Gorbachev and the Russians went in with a sweet PR deal they fully expected Reagan to bite at, and went away stunned at his refusal on principle. Basically they offered massive military concessions if only Reagan would abandon the "Star Wars" SDI. He could go home with a massive PR coup to trumpet, which in fact would have been disastrous from a national security perspective. Reagan instead got up and walked, on principle - and the cost of playing catch-up to American anti-ballistic-missile tech was instrumental in bankrupting the Soviet system and in its ultimate collapse.

The film is packed with similar unpublished facts, and presents a picture of a behind-the-scenes Reagan utterly different from the Left's sustained attempts to portray him as an out-to-lunch buffoon.

And StraightLineLogic, I heartily agree with your recommendation on the Reagan Library visit. It's not only difficult to walk through that place without a lump in your throat, the location itself is spectacular, as is the building.
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If a man/woman had Reagan's beliefs they could run on his platform and win assuming that they could deliver the message like he did. Reagan's ideas are not some group of ideas that are old and out of date but ideas that built America to the top of the word, that "Shining City on the Hill." Is there a candidate out there who can emulate Reagan? If there you will win in a landslide.

Thank you for remembering the 10th anniversary of Reagan’s passing. I had the honor of shaking is hand the night of his first inauguration. Last week I took my son and I made a visit to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley CA on his way to settling in on internship at the Rand Institute. We listened to some of his memorable speeches and my son was able to appreciate the eloquence and simplicity of his messages. It was exciting finding that American pride returning to my demeanor if only for a few hours. I was equally exciting to see my son get feel of what it was like when we had a strong and patriotic President who believe in leading from the front and setting an example. I also watched and listened to his famous Point du Hoc speech honoring the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. As he stood alongside the boys and men who made our freedom possible the sense of pride and emotion was overwhelming. The message stood in such sharp contrast to the one delivered last week by the current office holder for the 70th anniversary. Going to Normandy after delivering the hammer and nail speech earlier at West Point was, in my opinion, an insult to the past and current members of the armed forces. It reminded me of how I felt when our current President bowed to the Emperor of Japan and the Saudi King. Finally, at the end of our visit my son bought a replica of the famous plaque Reagan had on his desk. “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who get the credit." Question: Would the current President subscribe to this statement?

Morning in America lasted about 1.5 years then Stockman was forced out and budget exploded.

Reagan talked a great game, but did any federal agency or program actually get its budget cut on his watch? I don't remember any.

Right now, we have the movers and shakers, the hippies, and the squatters from the sixties communes running the country. Those who grew up in the shadow of Vietnam in a generation gap and fought to bring down the 'pig-establishment’ and were totally convinced they knew a better way forward are about to get a swift kick from Father Time. Ten years from now,(or even much sooner) the generation that grew up admiring the hell out of Reagan will be of the age to take the reins. Enjoy the ride.

I saw Reagan speak at the Eagles Club in Cudahy back in October 1980. I was 10 at the time and this was about 6 weeks before I was diagnosed with type-1. So, despite the fact that my brain at that time was mostly consumed with the thoughts of getting yet another drink of water then going to the bathroom again. I still managed to use my size to squeeze pretty close to the front of the room. At that time I was pretty sure that he would beat Carter in a pretty big way. Granted, at that time I was pretty sure that I was in fact not better off than I had been 4 years ago..

They don't make actors like that very much anymore... I sure miss the days when we had a President that wasn't perfect, but I could live with and didn't make me want to retch...

Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ronald...