3 ms·
The basic problem is that everyone makes mistakes. I feel bad if people do things maliciously or in bad faith. None of those, as bullets, feel that way. He did
by blagie 3y ago
The basic problem is that everyone makes mistakes. I feel bad if people do things maliciously or in bad faith. None of those, as bullets, feel that way. He did a lot of big things, some of which will invariably be big mistakes.
Expanded from bullets (e.g. Iran-Contra) there was badness, but what would be helpful would be to:
1) Expand those out a little bit, to where we can see the bad.
2) Compare to other presidents for level of bad.
On the whole, I have complex feelings here. The quality of recent presidents and presidential candidates has been very, very low. I think I'd take Reagan over Hillary Clinton, Trump, or Biden. On the other hand, I think I'd take Obama, Romney, and probably McCain over Reagan.
- hobs 3y agoThe right's obsession with trickle down economics alone and the no new tax pledge is enough to think Reagan was a bad president. We see an entire portion government apparatus effectively obsessed with killing the government, but only performatively. This is what I see as a Reagan special.
- blagie 3y agoI agree about the harm that caused by that movement, but as much as Reagan was part of it, I have a hard time attributing the whole movement to him. FWIW, as much as a president has a soapbox to advocate from, budget and tax policy are set by congress.