Note: When this was originally published I got much praise. I also recieved many heckleing letters from other Democrats, but I also recieved a nice note from Nancy Reagan. Enjoy.
As someone who has devoted his life to defeating radical conservatism it may come as a surprise that I admired the most ideologically right wing President this nation has ever known.
President Ronald Reagan was the first President I had ever seen. At the age of 6 I saw him get onto the Marine-One helicopter on the South lawn of the White House. I had formed no political ideas by this time, but I knew I liked the man with the whiskey-rasp voice and the slick bulletproof hair.
Reagan carried an ebullient essence about him that was apolitical. This inspired many to admire him; even those like myself who disagree strongly with his ideas, and believe that most of them were wrong for this country.
Another reason I admire Reagan is that he was a president who adhered vehemently to his convictions. He did not have sit-on-the-fence “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy” as President Clinton did. Nor did he have the politically calculated approach to stem-cell research George W. Bush has. Ronald Reagan showed us that you don’t have to go to center to be successful in politics.
President Reagan demonstrated that if you present wild new approaches and you challenge the long and widely held conceptions of the status quo, that you can be a transformative figure American politics, and Reagan truly was.
Ronald Reagan made a malaise marred nation proud of its past, despite its warts and he made it hopeful about it’s future despite clearly mounting challenges. He brought humor, optimism, and a unique band of wisdom to the office of the Presidency. My only regret about President Reagan is that he was a conservative. Perhaps in my lifetime we will have a great President who also has the right ideas.
Until then I will remain imbibed by the narcotic nostalgia inspired by the life and death of the 40th President, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Posts
