A principled pragmatist (June 9)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
At the unveiling of his statue in the Rotunda of the nation’s Capitol last, Ronald Reagan was hailed as a “principled pragmatist” who would take a position he believed was right, push hard for it, compromise if needed, “declare victory” and move on.
That is how he is viewed in retrospect, and it is probably how any successful president is viewed, but it was not how Reagan was regarded by many Democrats and even by many independents when he was first elected president. First impressions aren’t always accurate.
On the contrary, he was regarded as a right-wing war-monger, portrayed in cartoons and by television comedians as “Ronald Raygun” and an irresponsible saber-rattler.
He was regarded by his critics as an economic imbecile. His administration began by presiding over a recession that in many ways was worse than the present one, and from which many didn’t recover until after his presidency.
Yet, his critics generally wound up eating their words.
The “war-monger” brought peace by forcing an end to the Cold War from a position of strength the communists couldn’t match.
The “Reagan Recession” was hard on a lot of people, but he also oversaw a period of economic expansion that for many was unprecedented.
Elected as a person who would reduce government, he made it grow, paying for that growth through borrowing instead of through taxes.
Under his administration, Social Security and Medicare funding was improved, primarily through the imposition of higher taxes.
When he was elected, many thought he would be like Coolidge or Hoover, but he turned out to be a populist, more in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt. He believed in America and the American people, and they wound up believing in him.
