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This thread has caused me to think about the positives of Reagan. I think the biggest positive I can think of is that he was such a great communicator that he was actually able to campaign on the basis of a philosophy. The notion that he had a strong, principled set of beliefs was quite refreshing, and although he went off-principle fairly often while in office, it still left us with the feeling that there was a true leader there. This is especially true because of the relentlessly political animals we have had in the office since then.
Sometimes it feels like W wants to represent "Reagan lite" chowing down on certain principles such as his anti-terror doctrine and his notions of permitting faith in government. But he can't pull it off because of his inability to communicate. When he goes into "good ol' boy" mode, relaxed, off script, personable, he seems like he could pull it off. Then the next day he has to work from a prepared speech and he comes across like someone in 9th grade speech class.
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