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Politics : THE WHITE HOUSE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (9089)	9/27/2007 11:30:19 AM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25737

Differing Views on Reagan Despite recent rhetoric by Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, the only top-tier candidate who has a record of supporting Ronald Reagan is Newt Gingrich -- a record that extends back to 1965. That feeling is mutual, too, as shown by how Reagan endorsed Gingrich's first book back in 1984. Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, both attempting to secure the conservative vote, have invoked Ronald Reagan's name numerous times. Giuliani referred to the 40th President at least 12 times at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference alone, one time calling Reagan "one of [his] heroes." Romney also says President Reagan is one of his heroes. "I believe that our party's ascendancy began with Ronald Reagan's brand of visionary and courageous leadership." But 15-20 years ago, far from singing Reagan's praises, they were on the record in opposition to him. For more on their opposition, as well as this entire post, read this post of mine. How did Newt Gingrich feel? Well, funny you should ask. In The Gentleman from the Georgia, author Mel Steely writes that Gingrich became a fan of Reagan in 1965, after seeing the California Governor candidate debate Bobby Kennedy. Newt especially liked it when Reagan asked Kennedy and an audience full of leftist students, "Do any of you honestly believe that if Stalin had a monopoly on the A-Bomb that we'd be free?" Gingrich would also support Reagan for president three years later, even though Reagan did not enter the race until, in the words of Lee Edwards, "the eve of the election." Now, some may think electing a President based on who said the nicest thing about Reagan is silly -- but that's not the point. The candidate's opinion of Reagan -- from before they were running for President -- is another standard by which we can judge their conservatism, honesty, and principles. For Giuliani, who doesn't even try to insult voter's intelligence by calling himself a conservative, only his honesty is in question: Either he lied when he said he did not like Reagan or is lying today when he calls the President one of his heroes. For Romney, a self-described conservative today, all three look pretty weak: His conservatism for obvious reasons, his honesty because he either lied in 1994 or today, and his principles if he can go from being more liberal than Ted Kennedy to as conservative as Reagan. In contrast, Newt looks very good -- being a fan of Reagan in 1965 shows a much deeper conservative conviction than being a fan of his in 2005. Perhaps just as important as Newt's opinion of Reagan was the President's feeling about Gingrich. In one of his radio commentaries, Newt relays the following story: How would the Gipper handle today’s challenges?…Last week I visited the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Walking through that beautiful library, I was reminded of a meeting that I and a few House conservatives had with him during his second term. We complained for nearly an hour about the goals that hadn’t been accomplished. We told the President what we thought he should do. Then, as we were leaving, President Reagan placed his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye. He said, “It took us 50 years to get into this mess. I’m doing the first eight. Maybe when I’m gone, you guys have to continue the heavy lifting.” That moment put the situation in perspective. President Reagan was reminding us that the biggest dreams of the conservative movement would take much longer than his presidency to realize. Today, much of that work still remains to be done, and together, our generation will be the one to accomplish it. This week I’ll be focusing on how I think President Reagan would have handled today’s challenges. Whether it’s defeating Islamic-fascists, defending God in the public square or competing in a global economy, we will be the ones to take the Gipper’s vision into the 21st century. Our generation’s rendezvous with destiny is now. Ronald Reagan’s legacy will live on through us. I’m Newt Gingrich, and together we can win the future. The interesting thing is how Reagan viewed Gingrich: as a fellow conservative leader. Can you imagine Reagan saying that to John McCain? Rudy Giuliani? Reagan also showed his support for the Georgia represenative in 1984, endorsing Newt's first book, A Window of Opportunity: The vision of Window of Opportunity is a vision of the American Dream in the 1980s and beyond; a challenge to mobilize the spirit, wisdom and strength of our nation; a source of new hope for building an Opportunity Society that sparks the best in each of us and permits us to chart a better future for our children and our children's children. As can be seen, there was a mutual admiration between President Reagan and Speaker Gingrich -- as well as a shared conservative philosphy -- that no other front-runner in the 2008 race can come close to. Again, it's not just that Gingrich was a fan of Reagan; it's that he has very similar views to Reagan, and has felt that way for 40 years. draftnewt.org * * *