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From: gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Gene Ward Smith)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Reagan a pathological liar:re to Cramer
Message-ID: <12552@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sat, 22-Mar-86 05:06:13 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12552
Posted: Sat Mar 22 05:06:13 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Mar-86 23:04:33 EST
References: <1016@whuxl.UUCP> <588@kontron.UUCP> <982@cybvax0.UUCP> <611@kontron.UUCP> <12486@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <627@kontron.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: gsmith@brahms.UUCP (Gene Ward Smith)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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In article <627@kontron.UUCP> cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes:
>> In article <611@kontron.UUCP> cramer@kontron.UUCP writes:

>> >I think Reagan is the best President I can remember.  (I would say he is
>> >doing a mediocre to fair job.)

>The Presidents I remember:
>
>1. Johnson: a scheming, lying warmonger -- who wasn't even very good at
>fighting a war.
>
>2. Nixon: a dishonest leftist (remember wage & price controls?) who engaged
>in political repression (remember the Enemies' List?) and because of his
>unwillingness to resign when Watergate started to consume all of his and
>Congress' time, played a role in the takeover of South Vietnam and Cambodia
>by the Communists.
>
>3. Ford: a well-meaning sort who thought that WIN buttons (Whip Inflation
>Now) were going to do something about inflation.
>
>4. Carter: a President who presided over the devastation of the American
>economy (although not entirely his fault, just as the current healthy
>economy is not entirely to Reagan's credit), ignored the intelligence
>reports about the dangers to the American Embassy in Iran until it was
>too late, and maintained the petroleum price controls which crippled the
>economy until 1981.
>
>I stand by my statement.

   One problem is that I remember more presidents (Ike and Jack) than you
do. Another is that you have listed only the bad, and sometimes exaggerated
that. But even by your showing, Ford and Carter still come out better. As
far as Nixon and Johnson goes, Johnson was all you said. He also passed the
basic civil rights legislation. Nixon was "not a crook" but also the author
of detente and the China opening. Carter presided over economic problems which
began before he took office, and which became worse for a time under Reagan.
And Reagan's huge deficits will be with us when Reagan, Ford and Carter are
all dead. And Reagan lost Marines in Lebanon, Carter brought people home from
Iran. And Reagan is a lier, even if not a pathological one. He is the worst
lier by far (worse than Johnson or Nixon even) since he is so good at it. He
is also a warmonger. Or haven't you heard his threat to invade Nicaragua? I
could go on, but one last point: Reagan is terminally stupid. Even things he
supports (the military) are likely to end up weaker in the long run because
of his policies. Or what would you predict as the likely consequence of Gram-
Rudman-Hollings together with fanatical support (even if other programs must
suffer) of SDI? I could go on, but why bother?

   Also, Nixon was not and is not a leftist. I am not likely to agree with
your political opinions. You might at least leave me with the option of
thinking that your opinions could be the result of intelligence or insight.
Silly, stupid statements won't help do that.



ucbvax!brahms!gsmith    Gene Ward Smith/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
ucbvax!weyl!gsmith       "DUMB problem!! DUMB!!!" -- Robert L. Forward