It is with deep sadness and regret that I report the passing of a legend both on AND off screen. On the big screen AND the small screen. In Hollywood AND in Washington D.C.
MANY actors in Hollywood have played the role of the President, but only ONE actor can lay claim to BEING the President.
That actor is NONE OTHER than Ronald Reagan
Photo Courtesy of The White House
Reagan came in at a time when America was struggling to make ends meet. In MANY parts, lines of cars (some MILES long) were forming - JUST TO GET A GALLON OF GAS. Gas prices were soaring out of control, the economy had a bleak future, the Space Shuttle program was just getting started, and over 400 people were being held hostage in a country hardly ANYONE knew existed.
I vividly recall the plane that carried the hostages touching down on American soil the day after he was initially sworn into office. I was only a budding teenager then, but it was a piece of history I'll NEVER forget. He didn't even say a word (much less make an agreement), but the Arabs saw something in him that we Americans (both Democrats and Republicans alike) was just discovering.
He was a man of peace.
Not only was he a man of peace, he was also a man of his word. When he said he would get something done, by golly HE MEANT IT. Not only did he mean it, he also DID IT.
In this respect, he was also a DOer.
Come Election time in 1984, we Liberals were hard pressed to find ANY weaknesses in ANYTHING he did. Try as we did, we just couldn't do it. Even *I* voted for him (and I was a registered Democrat), even though I knew almost NOTHING about the political arena as a whole (I was only 18 at the time and was voting in my first election).
Some would say that it's because of him that the "trickle down economics" policy became a Republican standard. To that I say it was the shot in the arm this country needed back in 1980. He almost single-handedly (and quite LITERALLY) turned the economy of this country around. It was, in part, because of HIS work that made the '80s as memorable as they were.
He also introduced the political concept of NOT using mudslinging or name-calling during his campaigns. This, I believe, is what made him identifiable with the average Joe (or in our case, the average Pat :)).
He even got the attention of (then-communist) Russia and Germany. He was the driving force in their capitulation to diplomacy and democracy. This especially rang true in his famous "Tear Down These Walls" speech in 1987 which could only be compared to JFK's "I Am A Berliner" speech back in the 1960s.
In popularity, he was equal to JFK. Some hardcore conservatives would say he was BETTER, but in terms of overall popularity, both among americans AND foreigners alike, he was equal.
If I had describe Ronald Reagan in only a single sentence, it would be this....
He was A PRESIDENT FOR THE PEOPLE.
Not just Democrats or Republicans (or even Americans for that matter!). He was a President who represented ALL people. You could say he was a "People's Choice".
Unfortunately, this is something which has sadly become lost in today's political world. Now, it's about who has the most $$$. And it's NOT just Republicans. It's Democrats too.
And if EITHER party expects to have a chance of SHUTTING OUT people like Ralph Nader, we need to CLEAN OUT THE RUBBISH.
If that means GETTING RID OF BUSH, then SO BE IT.
It is MY hope that the death of this legend will serve as a WAKE UP CALL to those in Washington (and those running for office in the upcoming Election).
If the politicians don't listen TODAY, people aren't gonna care WHO is running for office TOMORROW because WE ALL will be FED UP with all the BULLSHIT that's called "politics".
R.I.P Ronald Reagan. You will be SORELY missed. :(
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is today's Real Deal.
Cheers for now :)
Pat
