re: Questions about Reagan

people see what they want to see ... the folks bitching about spending don't want to acknowledge the massive debts (% wise) reagan ran up while president, or worse, the increased reliance on deficit spending ... same folks who deify him want to thump their chests over the invasion of granada ... his economic policy was, to a degree, favored by their hated liberal, jfk, and disavowed by many republicans before his election ... still hear republicans today claiming iran freed the hostages because they were afraid of reagan (the hostage crisis was direct retaliation for carter giving the shah a home in the US - it was about carter, not reagan) ...

he was a good man in a terribly difficult job and deserves credit for accelerating the downfall of the ussr and restoring the public's confidence ... he lied about stuff, same as every other president ... the iran contra thing wasn't a big deal, though it flew in the face of his pronouncement that the US doesn't negotiate for hostages ... he doesn't belong on rushmore, but he's one of the better ones, if such a thing matters ...