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Perhaps the most ignorant American president in history. This isn't being partisan or prejudiced. Reagan was just hugely incompetent in everything he did and frequently lied to get by. Started out as an actor and somehow thought this made him qualified to run for office. Put a tremendous amount of effort into the "War on Drugs," one of the most spectacular failures in American domestic policy. Strangely obsessed with Star Wars, going so far as to support the idea of the "Star Wars" missile defense program and often (seriously) referring to the Soviet Union as the "Evil Empire." Hated Communism and Socialism with a passion. Traded arms for hostages in the Iran Contra crisis, thereby helping both murderous guerrilla "freedom fighters" and Islamic militants at the same time. Because of time and circumstance he was present when the Soviet Union eventually collapsed. For some insane reason, and despite the fact that they had been moving toward this for years, many Reagan supporters and ultra conservatives give him "credit for ousting their regime" which he didn't. Currently has Alzheimer's [the Cult of the Dead Cow made a joke of taking responsibility) and is now ridiculously senile. This isn't much different than what it used to be, considering he regularly fell asleep during important political meetings both with his advisors and with such personalities as the Pope and often had little idea what was going on at any given time. Had a fetish for Jelly Beans and survived an assassination attempt. Almost always consulted with an astrologer and both Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Falwell were huge supporters, which should tell you a lot. On a side note, was also responsible for one of the largest American deficits in history.
Actual quotes from the man himself:
1965: "We should declare war on North Vietnam... It's silly talking about how many years we will have to spend in the jungles of Vietnam when we could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and be home by Christmas."
"I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at the point of a bayonet, if necessary."
1966: "I would have voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
1976: "Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal. It was Mussolini's success in Italy, with his government-directed economy, that led the early New Dealers to say 'But Mussolini keeps the trains running on time.'"
1980: "All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." The claim is provably false.
"History shows that when the taxes of a nation approach about 20 percent of the people's income, there begins to be a lack of respect for government... When it reaches 25 percent, there comes an increase in lawlessness." The claim is provably false.
"Because Vietnam was not a declared war, the veterans are not even eligible for the G.I. Bill of Rights with respect to education or anything." The claim is provably false.
"Trains are not any more energy efficient than the average automobile, with both getting about 48 passenger miles to the gallon." The claim is provably false.
"Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation. So let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emissions standards from man-made sources." The claim is provably false.
"Growing and decaying vegetation in this land are responsible for 93% of the oxides of nitrogen." The claim is provably false.
"I have flown twice over Mount St. Helens. I'm not a scientist and I don't know the figures, but I have a suspicion that one little mountain out there, in these last several months, has probably released more sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere than has been released in the last ten years of automobile driving or things of that kind." The claim is provably false.
"Mr. Carter is acting as if he hasn't been in charge for the past three and a half years; as if someone else was responsible for the largest deficit in American history." (Carter's total deficit: $252 billion; Reagan's: $1.4 trillion)
1982: "In England, if a criminal carried a gun, even though he didn't use it, he was tried for first-degree murder and hung if he was found guilty." The claim is provably false.
1983: "This country is compelled by scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ to oppose Russia with all military and political means."
1984: claims homeless people are homeless by choice
When a student at Shanghai's University of Fudan asks which life experiences best prepared him for being President of the United States, Ronald Reagan replies: "You'd be surprised how much being a good actor pays off."
1985: "I think that there's nothing wrong with visiting that cemetery Bitburg, where those young men are victims of Nazism also, even though they were fighting in the German uniform, drafted into service to carry out the hateful wishes of the Nazis. They were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."
1987: regarding AIDS "Maybe the Lord brought down this plague... because illicit sex is against the Ten Commandments."
Quotes made *about* Ronald Reagan:
1981: "The best we could probably hope for is a military coup, or something like that." - Sen. John Schmidz, if Reagan's policies fail
"He knows less about the budget than any president in my lifetime. He can't even carry on a conversation about the budget. It's an absolute and utter disgrace." - House Speaker Tip O'Neill after Reagan vetoed an emergency spending bill which would have prevented a shutdown of the federal government
1984: "President Reagan doesn't always check the facts before he makes statements, and the press accepts this as kind of amusing." - former president Jimmy Carter
2001: "When Ronald Reagan got Alzheimer's, how could they tell?" - George Carlin
