I find both Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan to be overrated

[FillJackson]

First of all the collapse of the soviet union had more to due with the soviet union and not Reagan, granted he deserved a small amount of credit for keeping pressure on them, but Reagan was far from the #1 reason why the soviet union collapsed.

It's silly to say Reagan brought down the Soviet Union.

However, he does get credit for recognizing the possibilities of Gorbachev as a world-historical figure and talking with him. This was opposed by many hard liners in his administration--many of whom George W. Bush brought back. George Schultz also deserves credit for this.

[1987_Lakers]

Reagan was fortunate his presidency didn't happen in a 24/7 news cycle because that man committed acts that would make him a political dead man today. His name would be a toxic as George W. Bush. As mentioned before, his administration set the precedent to put spending on the government credit card when he tripled the debt, unheard of back then. It's his administration that started the income gap with his "trickle down" economics crap which has proven not to work by two more Republican presidents since then. And let's not forget his incompetence and ridiculous judgment when it comes to foreign policy. His administration was responsible for some of the biggest missteps that have shaped our foreign policy (in a negative way) for the last 3 decades. You think people get on Obama's case about the Iran deal now? How do you think Reagan would fare when people found out he authorized illegally selling weapons to Iran while their affiliates were holding American hostages? And that's after the Lebanon embassy bombing that killed about 20 Americans. That's after our barracks was bombed killing 200+ marines a few months later. Reagan thought selling Iran weapons would gain favor with them and their affiliates would free hostages. And three hostages were eventually freed only to be replaced by three more new hostages. Iran wanted to keep the "hostages for arms" gravy train running. Reagan would no doubt be crucified and called "feckless" and a traitor by Americans today. His administration also tried to pull a "Hillary" and destroyed incriminating documents but many of Ron's posse were charged and convicted anyway. And while Reagan was selling Iran weapons under the table he was funneling that money to the Contras (a terrorist group) for their little war in Nicaragua. And to give the Contras a bit more war money Reagan's administration let them import their crack cocaine into the country (mostly in black neighborhoods) at bargain basement prices under CIA protection.

And that wasn't even his biggest screw up. Reagan's administration took sides in the Iran/Iraq war and took Iraq off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list so he could sell Saddam Hussein's regime weapons, chemicals, and help them with intelligence. Then his administration turned a blind eye when Saddam used chemical warfare on Iran and civilians. The United States even ran interference in the U.N. when they wanted to hand down some punishment to Saddam and dummies wonder why old hard-liners in Iran chant "Death to America" today. It's not because they hate our freedoms Reagan's idiocy in propping up Saddam's regime affected our foreign policy in the middle east for the next 20+ years. Once Saddam turned on the hand that stupidly fed him we had two wars with that asshole. You know why Bush was so convinced Saddam had WMDs? We still had the receipts from everything Reagan's idiot administration sold him

Somehow Reagan's shit gets buried by dipshit right wing amnesiacs and the GOP want to prop him up and brainwash the public that he was this "great" president but the fact of the matter is Reagan would be considered a walking clusterf*** today. All they want people to remember is that "tear down this wall" bullsh**. Reagan should have ended is presidency in a prison cell. One of the worst presidents of all-time.