I don't often wade in these waters, but ironically the night before Reagan
passed, my girlfriend, a hardcore conservative, and I were sitting on a
barstool at our favorite bar on our favorite island, arguing politics.
Even my diehard republican girlfriend, had to concede that the present
couse this country has embarked upon is a disgrace, with good and noble
people paying a dear price for the ignorance and mis-deeds of this
administration.

Unfortunately, neither of us are sure that Kerry has a chance of winning.
Beside not seeming to have a plan (much like the current adminstration),
the American people (and probably democracies/republics in general) are a
fickle lot, and Kerry doen't exactly stand out as being "Presidential". I
thought it was mainly the hair. It makes him look too much like "Shaggy"
on "Scooby Doo". "Zoinks, like how can the guy get elected Scoob?" My
solution:

www.kerryhaircut.com

Where a full ten percent of all funds will go to getting the anti-bush
candidate a better haircut sort of "grooming him for the presidency", with
the standard ninety percent going to administrative and staffing costs.

In addition to this great idea, we had a few other opinions brought forth
by the fishbowl sized gin and tonics.

The Kennedy aristrocracy was not as altruistic and noble as they are
generally perceived. They were a family of career politicians groomed
specifically for political service because of the vanity of a power hungry
father. Had John not been assinated, and able to complete his terms, I
think americans opinion of him may have weighed in less favorably.

The Bush's are similar to the Kennedy's (without the class) but instead of
the being motivated to obtain power to appease their father, they seem to
have obtained power for the purpose of serving the interest of big
business, and their own egos, instead of the public at large.

We came to a consensus that the three "best" presidents in our recent
memory were Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Regan. Jimmy Carter,
while a lousy politician, is a great human being, wanting nothing other
than to serve god and country. Clinton, while having all the discretion
of a nautilus submarine crewman on shore leave, also loved the people he
lead and was called to service for that reason.

Growning up I hated Reagan. I hated his economics. I hated his foreign
policy. I hated him. Of course at the time I was an angry college student
rebeling against the establishment. As I get older, I still stand by my
views of Reagan's policies, but I've changed my opinion of the man. I
think while Reagan favored big business causing a national screwing of the
american people, I believe his actions were bourne from the belief that
the laisez-faire regulation of business would truly better serve the
american public, rather than serve a small group of friends, family and
self interests.

Regan, Carter, and Clinton were idealist with their presidency reflecting
those ideals. Even if those ideals did not bear fruit, it is the attempt
I applaud. Carter wanted world peace. Regan wanted to restore the
country to a time when Americans who took personal responsibility
prospered. Clinton wanted to insure all people could receive health
care. Though vastly different in their experiences, and beliefs, all
three came from humbler beginnings and managed to maintain a closeness to
the people they served.

I don't have that "feeling" from either Bush administration, and in these
times, it was with irony and sadness to hear of Ronald Reagan's passing.

Bob Dimond


In article , "Jim"
wrote:

http://slate.msn.com//id/2101829/


Reagan said:

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal
establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the
powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or
to the people.

But that didn't happen. As Michael Kinsley has observed, after Reagan's two
terms spending by the federal government was one quarter higher, factoring
out inflation, than when he got there; the federal civilian workforce had
increased from 2.8 million to 3 million; and federal spending, as a share of
Gross Domestic Product, had decreased by one percentage point to 21.2
percent. "If Ronald Reagan and his 'Reaganauts' could only slow down the
growth of government spending, not reverse it or eliminate wasteful
programs, what hope is there for any other conservative president?,"
complained the conservative Heritage Foundation soon after Reagan left
office. The only major government agency Reagan managed to eliminate was the
Civil Aeronautics Board, which didn't have much to do after the Carter
administration deregulated the airline industry. Fittingly, the Ronald
Reagan Building on Pennsylvania, completed ten years after Reagan left
office, today houses 5,000 government employees and is the largest
government building in Washington.