A Hundred Years of the Gipper
By aaroncynic in News on Feb 7, 2011 9:20PM
Illinoisians celebrated what would’ve been the centennial of former President Ronald Reagan's birth over the weekend. The Gipper spent the first 21 years of his life in Illinois and is the only U.S. President to be born here. The Tampico Illinois Historical Society held a birthday party for the Great Communicator and a special service was held at a church in Dixon, Illinois, where Reagan attended high school. In California, where Reagan presided as governor from 1967 - 1975, celebrations were held at his presidential library and the Regan Ranch. Last night’s Super Bowl featured a video tribute to the Gipper as well.
Politicians across America also took the opportunity to elevate Reagan to an even higher pedestal. President Obama said his “positive outlook” and “sense of pride” were what Americans needed during his Presidency. Newt Gingrich took the opportunity to push his coffee table book dubbed Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny. Sarah Palin didn’t miss the chance to grab the spotlight, using the Gipper’s legacy to continue telling Americans that the U.S. is on a road to ruin and that he “refused to sit down and be silent as our liberties were eroded.”
While there’s no doubt Ronald Reagan took the helm at an incredible time in American politics and helped the country to feel good during some very troubling times, like any other president or political figure, his legacy isn’t all shining cities on hills. Whether he’s celebrated by some for his economic policies and victory in the Cold War or remembered as a centrist cheerleader, willing to work across party lines, the Gipper had his faults. The Big Bad Government so loathed by today’s Republicans got bigger in the 80s and Reaganomics definitely plays a role in the economic crisis we’re facing today. The Reagan administration supported Saddam Hussein, shamed the country during the Iran-Contra affair, invaded Grenada, and had a hand in helping create some of the terrorist threats we face today.
Ronald Reagan's legacy isn't as cut-and-dried as either his champions or detractors would have us believe. It's a legacy that still needs careful analysis before anyone carves his likeness into Mount Rushmore.