The Left Starts to Rethink Reagan

Ronald Reagan has been considered a successful American President by most Americans since during and after his presidency from 1981-1989. This has not always been believed by those on the left of the political spectrum. This may be changing. Newsweek has an article online titled The Left Starts to Rethink Reagan. The article is by Evan Thomas and recounts an interview with Sean Wilentz (Left) and George Will (Right). Here is the quote that got my notice. It is from Wilentz. He said, "It's no secret that intellectuals, generally being liberals, didn't think much of Ronald Reagan at the time. Unlike Roosevelt, who got covered right away—as soon as he died there were books out about [him]—it took people a long time to catch up with Ronald Reagan. But I think that now they can no longer ignore him. His impact on the world and country, whether you like it or not, was so important that to ignore him is to ignore an entirety of American politics." Obviously, this quote can be taken in many ways. However, the rest of the article shows that Wilentz believes Reagan was a successful president even if he does not agree with everything that Reagan did. It is tough to judge a President who was in office in our lifetimes. Our own political interests cloud our judgements. This is true of historians as well. It takes time to determine how successful a president was whether they be ultimate failures or successes or somewhere between. Wilentz has just published a book titled The Age of Reagan. It looks like a good book to read. I will buy a copy for my library. Whether you liked Reagan or not, it looks like it may be a good read.