I have been a "fan" since he vetoed the West Georgia Parkway that would have gone through my bedroom... selfish, I know. Campaigned actively for him in '76 and '80. Sheila and I and the kids attended his SS class several years ago and really enjoyed it.
He has always been a very willful, assertive man, whom I have admired. He is decent, but no wallflower. Never was.
His Presidency has fared better with historians than predicted after his BIG defeat in '80. No scandals. None. Camp David Accords. Resolution of the Panama Canal issues. Reagan gets credited with our military build-up of the eighties and the fall of communism, but cruise missiles and stealth bombers and Pershing missiles etc. came from the Carter Administration -- and helped to turn the liberal wing of the Democratic Party against him, and thus give the Presidency to that actor from California.
He was probably too hands-on, but he did not throw us into terrible debt, like Reagan & the Bushes, or into unnecessary wars. And w/o that stubborn hands-on approach there would have been no Camp David accords.
And his rescue attempt in Iran was brave and the right thing to do. But for that blasted sandstorm, along with some other incredibly bad luck, it just might have worked and history would be different.
I have read and enjoyed all his books, except the novel (Hornet's Nest) -- I just couldn't get into that. Sorry Mr. President, I don't think fiction is your thing. And you would have never been a convincing actor.
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