¶ … PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN UNDERRATED OR OVERRATED? Ronald Reagan

Is President Ronald Reagan Overrated or Underrated?

Is President Ronald Reagan Overrated or Underrated?

Is Ronald Reagan Underrated or Over Rated as A person?

Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States of America. He won the presidency in the year 1980. Ronald got elected as the president in an era which was considered as an era of humiliation and aggression for the people of the United States of America. Ronald had an effective and a strong personality and he was a great communicator. With his provoking words he instilled new hope and enthusiasm in the people of the United States of America. During the Reagan's era the United States of America witnessed a great rise in its economy. Due to this rise a large number of people earned millions of dollars. This rise was majorly due to the rise in of the most influential market, the Wall Street, in the United States of America. Another great achievement of the Reagan's administration was the destruction of communism in the Soviet Union. It is believed that President Reagan ended the cold war in a peaceful manner. (Reagan.utexas.edu, 1983)

Despite the above discussed victories Reagan's era had its own flaws. During the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, there was a massive increase in the income gap between the ordinary working class and the rich people of the United States of America. Apart from that, some serious blunders prevailed in the foreign policy of the United States of America. In addition to that, during Reagan's era, racial relations in the United States of America worsened terribly. (Reagan.utexas.edu, 1983)

According to a study conducted by the Federalist Society, Ronald Reagan ranks eighth among the Presidents of the United States of America. Whereas, according to a study, conducted by the Schlesinger group in the year 1996, Ronald Reagan ranked 25th out of the 39 presidents who were being included in the study. The Federalist Society's research also indicated that President Ronald Reagan was reported to be overrated by twenty three of the respondents, whereas, sixteen respondents believed that he was underrated. (Lindgren, 2000)

President Ronald Reagan is indeed an overrated president because of the controversies that stood high against him. He was accused of being interfering in President Carter's hostage Rescue Mission and his allies were reported to have a continuous contact with Iran. In addition to that, it was further revealed by a Russian report that President Reagan had an alliance with the Iranians in relation to the release of the hostages as they were released shortly after his election as the President of the United States of America. (American Experience, 1980)

On the 4th of November, 1979, a group of young Iranian revolutionists, who were students, took over the United States Embassy, situated in the city of Tehran in Iraq. These revolutionists took over about sixty American hostages. These students vowed that they would not release the hostages until the United States of America sends Shah, who was a former Iranian leader and was under cancer treatment in the United States of America, for trial. In addition to that, they also...

These hostages remained under the custody of the aggressive Iraqi revolutionists for about 444 days and then they were released immediately after the election of Ronald Reagan as the President of the United States of America. (American Experience, 1980)
A Russian Government report provided the reasons for the coincidence of the hostages' release, immediately after the election of Ronald Reagan as the President, many years after this event. This report was presented to the United States Embassy in Moscow on 11th of January in the year 1993. It was suggested by the report, on the basis of various evidences, that the release of the hostages immediately after the election of Regan as the President was directed towards convincing the people that Reagan was a tough leader who was being feared by the enemies and adversaries of the United States of America. (Mountainsageblog, 2010)

It was also implied by the Russian report that the allies of President Reagan including, William Casey (who directed Reagan's campaign in the year 1980), George W. Bush (who was running for the vice president with Reagan) and Robert Gates (who was a CIA officer before his election as the executive assistant of Carter's CIA director) were constantly in contact with the Iranians. It was proved by the report that an agreement was signed between the Iranians and the republicans regarding the release of the American hostages and as a result of this agreement the United States of America continued to provide the Iranian army with weapons and supplies. (Mountainsageblog, 2010)

Apart from that, it is also said that President Reagan put an end to the cold war but it would not have been possible without the cooperation of Gorbachev, who became the new leader of the Soviet Union in the year 1985. President Reagan predicted the Soviet Union's defeat in the cold war. He believed that the Soviet Union, with its government controlled economy, would not be able to compete with the United States of America, with its free market economy. He believed that the Soviet Union was not as strong as it appeared to be. He aimed at subduing the Communist bloc in the Soviet Union and reversing its gains. (Dujmovic, 2011)

President Reagan wanted to put an end to the Soviet Communism, which he referred to as 'evil empire'. For this purpose he designed a number of policies and he also supported the anti-Soviet Union groups, both financially and morally. Soviet Union, on the other hand, was not able to compete with United States military power and technological advancements and this led towards the further deterioration of the Soviet Union's powers globally. (Dujmovic, 2011)

But in this whole event, the role of Gorbachev has been neglected. He was elected as the new leader of the Soviet Union in the year 1985. He had new visions for the Soviet Union and did not follow the traditional goals. President Reagan immediate realized that Gorbachev's goals for his country were revolutionary and very different from the traditional ones. He also realized that if Gorbachev would be able to bring the perceived change in his country then it would serve the United States of America's interests. Reagan, therefore, planned some meetings with Gorbachev, which were not disclosed to all of the officials and convinced him that the United States of America would not make him feel sorry for his selected course of action. Thus, through the cooperation of Gorbachev, Reagan was able to put an end to the cold war without much frustration. Therefore, it can be concluded that one of Reagan's greatest achievements would not have been attained without Gorbachev's cooperation. (Dujmovic, 2011)

Despite the above discussed facts, it cannot be declined that President Reagan was a strong willed person. On the 30th of March, 1981, John Hinckley, who was a deranged drifter, fired six shots on President Reagan. One bullet entered President Reagan's chest and punctured his lungs, missing his heart by a few inches. President Reagan was immediately surged into the presidential limousine and was taken to the George Washington Hospital for immediate. Despite of the severe bleeding he walked into the hospital by himself. While he was taken to the operation theater for surgery he joked with the doctors and his wife. He was discharged after 12 days and he made public appearances that were carefully scrutinized to show that he was making fast recovery. But in reality, he was suffering from severe weakness and his workload was immensely curtailed. Apart from President Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, Thomas K. Delahanty and Timothy J. McCarthy were also wounded in this incident.…