Happy Birthday President Reagan

Today, Ronald Reagan would have been 96 years old. I wish we had him as President again. His vision, clarity of purpose, and optimism are sorely missed today.

I turned 18 too late to vote in the primary election in 1980, so the very first vote I ever cast was for Ronald Wilson Reagan to be President of the United States. He remains the great standard against which Presidents of my lifetime will be measured. In historical perspective, you can make an argument for George Washington, and perhaps Lincoln as having done more for the nation. I'd place him ahead of Lincoln, for although he did not face the crisis of a Civil War, he also worked to limit the scope and reach of government rather than to expand it.

During his tenure in office, he had many critics. (They never seemed to influence him in the slightest.) And even today, there are many who refuse to acknowledge his achievements. But he changed the world in a way few others in history have ever done. We are all, not just Americans, indebted to his work.

And for what it's worth, I voted for President Bush, but when I hear conservatives speak of him being like Reagan, I want to puke. No, he's not. And that's too bad.