So many here at FR act like he was a god among men or something. He sent deficit spending budgets, never used his "landslide popularity"-- you know the kind Bush didn't get en route to losing the popular vote-- to bully Congress to agree to a flat tax or to approve Bork's nomination or to pass any of the things in the Contract with America. He appointed Liddy Dole-- who many at FR despise as a RINO-- to his Cabinet. He appointed Day O'Connor to the SCOTUS rather than Bork and then Kennedy. He was only able to briefly hold the Senate (for 5 years) and didn't wage war against Congressional Democrats to sweep Republican House members in. Reagan even allowed parts of his tax plan to be reversed in subsequent years.
And that deficit thing-- that gave us Ross Perot, who gave us Bill Clintoon for eight years. Even when he left office, Reagan didn't use his senior stateman drawing power to bring GOP majorities to Congress and fill campaign coffers to overflowing.
1. Reagan won the Cold War and buried the Evil Empire.
2. Reagan's tax-cuts laid the groundwork for the greatest peace-time economic boom in global history.
I never said he was a god. He was just a president, just a politician. But I know one president who could --- and still possibly might --- learn from President Reagan.