Ronald Reagan, Source: Photo/Wikimedia
“There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
— President Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987
I would be remiss not to mention that today would have been Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday. Under his stewardship, he helped accelerate the economic collapse of the Soviet Union and reminded Americans about rugged individualism and the optimistic, can-do attitude that makes the United States the greatest democracy in history.
P.S.: To appease the anti-spam detectors at Technorati, I have included their secret decoder message: M6SF2DY2EKSW
Reflections of a Rational Republican 
Unlike many of your generation and certain others who are attempting to re-write history, I actually remember Ronald Reagan and what he did/did not do as President. People shouldn’t confuse myth with reality.
Chuck,
I don’t understand the point of your attack on my generation. We are merely suffering from the gross mismanagement of our country by your generation.
I also said nothing about Ronald Reagan that was revisionist. It is a fact that he accelerated defense spending and it is a fact that the Soviet Union’s economy collapsed shortly thereafter.
I was five years old when Reagan became President. I remember him well too. I remember living under the threat of nuclear war and how knowing Reagan was at the helm made me feel safe. I remember how President Reagan inspired me in a way that no President has done since. I remember how he united the country in a way that I have not seen since.
His re-invigoration of America’s defense establishment helped America forget the chronic incompetence of Jimmy Carter and the political perfidy of Richard Nixon. It also bankrupted the Soviet Union and led to its fall.
It is that simple.
Sean, I wasn’t dissing your generation but merely pointing out that Americans who were children or not born at the time of Reagan’s presidency don’t remember or really understand what Reagan actually did President. They hear and believe the mythology that has grown over the years and bears little resemblance to the truth. The same, by the way, can be said about JFK. I’m glad you felt inspired by Reagan, just as my generation was inspired by JFK. However, I don’t think Reagan did many of the things you think he did, but rather he set the stage for many of the huge problems we are encountering today, including our exploding deficit, financial meltdown and bitter partisan divide.