
<p>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.</p>



<p>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 &#8212; who would those candidates be? ;</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>Just for the record, my second choice on the GOP side would be President Eisenhower – and President Truman for the Democrats. ;</p>



<p><strong>So, why Reagan?</strong></p>



<p>Of course, I like his conservative policies. ; I would credit him with one of – if not THE – most successful American foreign policies &#8212; 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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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. ;</p>



<p>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.”</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p><strong>Now, what about Clinton?</strong></p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.”</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p><strong>Summary</strong></p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Which past Presidents would be better today?
