On the Eve of the Republican Convention: An Open Letter to Ronald Reagan....

[EveningStar]

A nice FR thread from last year images/icons/smile.gif (http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3983395c7f90.htm)

[EagleTed]

President Reagan:

A couple of days ago, I was talking with a friend from Pittsburgh who was preparing to head to Philadelphia to serve as a delegate at the Republican convention. We got to talking about how different this convention will be from the one he first attended, back in '84, when you were afforded your party's nod for the second time.

That conversation, and its implications, have been running around in my head ever since, and, despite my best efforts to keep a stiff upper lip, because of what will soon be occurring in Philadelphia, just fifty miles or so from where I sit, I've found myself focusing almost obsessively for the past few days on how far we've fallen as a nation/society since you bid farewell to the White House a mere twelve years ago.

During the Reagan Era, many of the nations of the world were facing serious economic and political upheaval, and some of the peoples of those nations were turning, in desperation, to leaders whose aims and credentials were less than stellar. But America was an exception to that rule: In you, the American people saw the potential for stability -- and not merely stability at any cost, but stability obtained through reasonable measures, which were based on choosing right over wrong, and long-term success over temporary comfort. In short, despite the sense of panic which seemed to permeate our national psyche, we didn't opt for quick fixes, or empty promises. Instead we placed our hope for the future in the hands of a man who exuded virtue in leadership.

In the forward to your book, "Speaking My Mind," you wrote, "I don't believe my speeches took me as far as they did merely because of my rhetoric or delivery, but because there were certain basic truths in them that the average American citizen recognized....What I said simply made sense to the guy on the street, and it's the guy on the street who elects presidents of the United States."

Unfortunately, Mr. Reagan, it appears that, given a dozen intervening years, the priorities of the average American guy on the street have changed to the point where your concerns, and your well-reasoned and well-intentioned methods of addressing those concerns, are no longer held in the same esteem as they once were. And America is paying a dear -- perhaps deadly -- price for that shift in national priorities.

I believe that there are three major essential areas of effective leadership in which you and the current occupant of the White House are worlds apart -- and that the vast expanse between the two of you also defines the difference between the American conscience of the '80s and the American millennial conscience (or lack of it): (1) patience; (2) willingness to accept responsibility; and (3) placing value on virtue/goodness. ..... (http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3983395c7f90.htm)

Great catch, Evening Star.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

President Clinton united all the crooks. Religious, communists, liberals, drug dealers, special interests & all welfare recipients - that's what happened.

And look; as the direct resolt - 9,11.

And be ashame of yourself, you stupid 5 star writers.

[Timberwolf]

never mind...