RE: REAGAN = McCAIN

Submitted by DANIEL REDMOND (United States), Oct 24, 2008 at 02:43

Sorry, Tirdad, but Ronald Reagan had nothing to do with the release of the hostages from the embassy compound in Tehran. They were simply released by their captors at that moment as a final humiliation to the outgoing president, Jimmy Carter, whom the Iranians detested. I do agree that the Shah of Iran was a loyal friend to the United States and that his overthrow was a tragedy for Iran and its people, although they did not realize it at the time. The United States treated him shabbily after his overthrow when we refused to allow him an entry visa to live out his life in America.

As for Ronald Reagan, he remains the most over-rated president in history, now absurdly credited [by conservatives] with the single-handed destruction of the Soviet Empire when in reality Mikhail Gorbachev had more to do with the dismantling of the Soviet Union than he did. What Reagan did do was to arm and support a couple of guys we've since heard a lot about: Saddam Hussein in Iraq [to help him fight a war against Iran] and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan [to help him fight a war against the Soviets]. Nobody today thinks, in retrospect, that either of those choices was a very good idea.

Now if the upcoming election was about choosing the best and most heroic former prisoner of war, I'd vote for John McCain with no hesitation. But we are choosing a president, a national (and world) leader, not a war hero and being a prisoner of war does nothing to prepare you for those responsibilities.

You complain that Barak Obama has "no experience in foreign policy and no experience with terrorism." The same could be said about Ronald Reagan before he took office. As Governor of California he dealt with neither of those issues. Nor did George W. Bush as Governor of Texas. What we need now is an innovative and intelligent leader willing to change the course of our nation for the better. I think Obama is the best choice we have for meeting those requirements.

- DANIEL REDMOND

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".