Time for another political parlor game. The other day, I was asked who I would pick from past Presidents to lead the nation today. While I think they would be obvious choices, I did not pick any of the Founders or President Lincoln – no one from the pre-industrial age.
I also put my own spin on the mental exercise. If you could pick a candidate for President today from each party – but from only from the post-1900 list of past Presidents — who would those candidates be?
On the Republican side, my pick would be obvious to anyone reading my commentaries. I pick President Reagan. Some might be surprised by my pick for the Democrat candidate. I go with Bill Clinton.
Just for the record, my second choice on the GOP side would be President Eisenhower – and President Truman for the Democrats.
So, why Reagan?
Of course, I like his conservative policies. I would credit him with one of – if not THE – most successful American foreign policies — at least since Jefferson. Obviously, Reagan’s most notable achievement was an 8-year policy directed at dissembling the old Soviet Union – freeing dozens of the so-called “captive nations.” He shattered Stalin’s empire.
Reagan spoke softly but carried that big stick to which Teddy Roosevelt referred – and was not afraid to use it surgically. He ended Muammar al-Gaddafi’s support of international terrorism by bombing the presidential palace in Libya – and pushed back on Gaddafi’s claim over Mediterranean waters by shooting down Libyan fighter jets operating belligerently against American ships operating in international waters. He sent troops into Greneda to prevent a Communist takeover. He toppled the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.
On the home front, Reaganomics ended one of the worst inflationary periods in American history. Reagan was mostly successful in dealing with the major issues that plague America today. He was tough on crime. He understood the importance of border security.
He also had a healthy concern over the undermining of American federalism – specifically the usurpation of powers belonging to the states and the people by an increasing powerful regulatory government in Washington. He summed it up when he said, “Government is not part of the problem, it IS the problem.”
However, I think his greatest contribution may have been his personality and his demeanor. As the saying goes, Reagan could disagree strongly without being disagreeable. Like Lincoln, he respected his political adversaries and recognized the need for civil discourse. And like Lincoln, Reagan often devastated his adversaries with humor.
Reagan made patriotism respectable. He led the American people to the better angels of their nature. That was because Reagan never saw himself as the issue. He constantly referred to goodness of the American people. He was only there to represent that. He never took criticism personally or attacked others personally. Reagan’s warm working relationship with Democrat House Speaker Tip O’Neill was a hallmark of his personality.
Everything that Reagan was seems to be missing in Washington today. There is a reason why the American people gave Reagan one of the biggest reelection victories in American history.
Now, what about Clinton?
Looking at American Presidents over the past 100 years, I have to eliminate President Wilson and President Franklin Roosevelt for the big central government agenda as well as their white supremacist beliefs and policies. Same with President Johnson – although recognizing his late-in-life enlightened racial policies. President Carter was just too weak – and never seemed up to the task.
I am not as negative on President Obama as many of my conservative colleagues are. He was still too much of a big Washington government type. While Obamacare has become more popular, I am not sure it will serve the nation well as it goes along.
But I did not select Clinton merely on the comparison of the others. I have long believed and written that Clinton was a better President than many of my colleagues will concede.
Clinton foreign policies were the establishment of the World Trade Organization. He forced Russia to withdraw troops from Latvia and Estonia. He brokered the Oslo Accords that created peace between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization which provided limited self-rule in exchange for the PLO agreeing to Israel’s right to exist. He led the diplomatic effort that resulted in the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland. He supported the inclusion of Poland, Hungry and the Czech Republic into NATO.
On the domestic front Clinton – with the cooperation of a Republican Congress – produced a rare balanced budget at a time Congress was still living up to his budgeting responsibilities. He was tough on crime and produced a number of anti-crime bills – including an assault rifle ban. The key man in Congress for that legislation was then Senate Judiciary Chairman Joe Biden. Ironically, Biden is now trying to ignore those actions.
Clinton reformed welfare to create a work component and to reduce abuse of the welfare programs. He did not undo the Reagan economic program, but basically continued it – which meant that Clinton was conservative on fiscal restraint. Clinton even declared that “the day of big government is over.”
As far as Clinton’s serial scandals, I can only say that I am more interested in WHAT a President does than WHO he does.
Summary
If in 2024, we were looking at an election between Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, I think every American could take comfort that the nation would be in relatively good hands – one way or the other. Yes …there are differences to be considered and debated. And of course, in my imaginary contest Reagan gets my vote.
So, there ‘tis.