The Age of Reagan - SPTO's Blog

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The Age of Reagan

Posted on November 10, 2008 at 10:54 PM.

(5)

Well time to plunge into my favourite topics

The other day I watched a fairly interesting Q&A with historian Sean Wilentz about his book titled The Age of Reagan: 1974-2008. It's interesting to see that Wilentz is the first historian to look at Reagan through the eyes of history rather then the patchwork we've seen. We've seen books that verge on hagiography and also works that portray Reagan as a bumbling old man who ascended to the presidency almost by accident. Wilentz opts out of that trap and actually writes something that is serious and well balanced.

Wilentz was asked why it has taken so long for historians to take a deep look at Reagan and he was quite blunt by saying that most historians are to the Liberal Left and therefore held/hold a lot of disdain for Reagan and what he stood for. I found that to be very honest and forthright as you don't see someone saying such a thing about other members of said community.

So what is it that makes Reagan a transformative president and worthy of an Age? Basically Reagan changed the structure of government by the trickle down economics and surprisingly being pragmatic in regards to the Cold War. The subject of the Cold war and Reagan was a big chunk of the Q&A. This is where Reagan gets very complicated. Reagan was interesting in that he may have been a Republican but his rhetoric and speeches harkened back to FDR and JFK. Reagan married the self assurance and measured words of FDR and his fireside chats which is why when most people think of Reagan they think of the kindly grandfatherly president yet Reagan also tried to embody the hope and new frontier "sunny side of life" outlook of JFK.

Reagan, for all his talk of the "Evil Empire" and the arms build up was secretly looking for ways to bring about a peaceful end to the Cold War long before Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR. The one event of the Cold War that shaped Reagan's outlook of the situation was the infamous Able Archer military exercise in 1983. This was a NATO/US military exercise that went overboard and the world was even closer to nuclear confrontation then the Cuban Missile Crisis. You can read more about the Able Archer incident here.

From that point forward Reagan worked hard on ending the Cold War. In fact, Reagan was actually quite frightful of the whole situation that went down with Able Archer and it led to the whole idea and creation of the SDI "Star Wars" program. Wilentz was asked if this was the militarization of space or did Reagan really think it'd work. Wilentz said that as crazy as it may seem Reagan truly believed that SDI would shield the US from any incoming nuclear attack.

One hallmark of Reagan that was discussed was his idealism and not so realistic thinking when it came to issues regarding foreign affairs. It was said that Reagan and Gorbachev laid the groundwork for the end of Communism but the transition from Reagan to Bush the Eler was rocky. The "Realpolitik" of the Northeastern Republican establishment didn't trust Gorbachev at all and it took a while for Bush Sr. to finish what Reagan started.

Reagan carved out an "Age" by the people that came after him. His policies and ways of dealing with government took the Goldwater Conservatism and transformed it into another animal altogether. If you look at the Primary season you'd have seen that all the GOP candidates embodied one aspect or another of Reagan. That being said, the "Age" has run out of steam as the changing of demographics and the new problems of the 21st century has made the Reagan style conservatism moot. Just look at GWB as he came into office espousing many of the ideas and characteristics of Reagan but he took an extreme turn to the right and went far beyond what Reagan would've done. Bush in essence created a hollowed out governmental structure and placed all power to the Executive Office which is something that Reagan would not have done. Reagan was more Co-operative and moderate in his thinking.

All in all it was a fascinating session and i'm glad I watched it as it truly shined a new light on Reagan.

Comments

# 1 Marino @ Nov 10

I think the thing that made Reagen so popular was that not only did he appeal to the conservative bunch like my family but his ideas also sparked the interest of the radicals as well. During those tough times of the cold war, and after some shady president's, America needed a strong figure to get behind and I believe that the man was Reagen. Now I know not everyone liked him but still he just did so much for this country like JFK and FDR, that his legacy will live on forever, I hope.

# 2 superjames1992 @ Nov 10

I'd like Reagan back. It was amazing what he was able to do with a liberal congress most of his presidency. It just goes to show how much can get done when you have a truly great president. He was able to ascend party lines and get things done and we haven't had someone like him since.

Reagan was a great communicator. I don't think Bush is half as bad as he is perceived, but he does a horrible job at communicating to the people his plans. Reagan was a great speaker and he held speeches to speak directly to the American people, so his message couldn't be distorted by reporters (like FDR did with his Fireside Chats). I think the Republican Party is suffering because there really hasn't been a candidate since Reagan that has embodied Reagan's values. There's been an identity crisis, and the party needs to get back to Reagan's values IMO.

Reagan was essentially responsible for ending the Cold War as well. He really is one of our greatest presidents IMO and one of the most effective. Over the last 100 years, I'd say he and and FDR (I'm a big fan of him, but you can't argue that he got a lot accomplished) are the two greatest presidents this country has had.

# 3 Hooe @ Nov 10

Though I don't necessarily agree with his economic policies (I'd argue that the economy didn't begin to recover during his time in office until he signed into law a tax increase, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which goes completely against conservative values of lowering taxes), Reagan certainly has to be admired for what he was able to accomplish from a foreign policy perspective. He probably has to be considered one of the better presidents, given his responsibility in ending the Cold War; however, in my choice for the greatest president, I'd have to go with either Roosevelt or Lincoln.