Reagan at 100

A short excerpt from a well-written piece appearing in the Telegraph:

Now that Reagan is celebrated for his geniality, it is important to remember that, at the time, these policies caused him to be detested and feared not only by the Communist powers, but by the Western Left and the media elites. Critics claimed that Star Wars would destroy the balance on which nuclear deterrence depended. The myth that he was a dangerously stupid man was assiduously propagated. He wasn’t stupid – although it is true that eager beavers such as Margaret Thatcher were constantly astonished by his ignorance of detail. He was determined...

He never compromised on his creed, and he always understood what is now called spin – the need to ensure that your public messages constantly reflect what you are trying to do. In this sense, he was ready to fight an ideological war, and he won it. Liberals have to praise him now because he beat them, not because he joined them.