A whole new perspective on Reagan's presidency
Advocates pushing for a 10-cent bottle bill in New York
Please consider supporting The Front Page with a paid subscription: HERE
The tour guide took her small group over to the photo of Ronald Reagan as a young lifeguard in Dixon, Illinois.
It was easy to eavesdrop on the conversation.
When everyone was still, she told them with dramatic emphasis that Reagan had rescued 77 people during his years at the Lowell Park beach.
There's an old saying that when you have to choose between history and legend, print the legend. It may be cynical, but that's my conclusion here.
With a little more research The Chicago Tribune provided context from Dixon locals who said that more than a few of those saved by Reagan were young women hoping to gain the attention of the handsome young lifeguard.
Now, that made sense.
But be careful how you remember the life and times of Ronald Reagan. There is a temptation to see a superficiality because of his good looks and Hollywood beginnings while missing a broader scope of the man and his accomplishments as a pretty good president.
Among Republicans, he is still revered, even worshiped, but for those like me who lived through his presidency, a more careful review is warranted.
My recollections of Ronald Reagan's time as the 40th president are not fond.
As he took the oath of office, I was just starting my newspaper career. Inflation was high, jobs were hard to come by, mortgage rates were up near 15 percent and his promised tax cut provided me, at best, an extra beer a week at the local tavern.
Five years into his tenure and three years into my marriage, we left the local bank with my wife in tears as we learned the 12.5 percent mortgage rate left buying a home out of our reach.
We never did see trickle down economics work for us.
But there is a lot to the Reagan story and when you live the history - as I did - you do not have the benefit of hindsight and often forget important details.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is a mountaintop monument in Simi valley to the man and his accomplishments with a view to match. Inside, the view of the Reagan presidency was better than I remembered. Or were they just printing the legend?
While reviewing his speeches, the highlighted quotes on the walls, I was moved by his presence as a speaker; how well the speeches were crafted and how Reagan personally kept a notebook filled with inspirational quotes to be used at a moment's notice.
That superficiality was misplaced.
Those early days in radio, then acting in Hollywood were the training ground for what we see today as the prototypical politician who is part reality television star.
What is also striking, especially compared with the last Republican president, is Reagan's strength of character and a vision for a brighter future for all Americans. It reminded me of another president suffering from a bad economic climate and problems with Russia - Joe Biden.
When you study Reagan's politics of the time, you find an odd dichotomy. While he lowered taxes for the rich, he took strong stands to protect the environment when he was governor of California. In Hollywood, he was a union man who was president of the Screen Actors Guild, but as president he fired the striking air traffic controllers.
When he challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford, he was considered too radical for the Republicans of the time.
Four years that changed and Reagan became our oldest president ever at 69.
Iran released the hostages as he was being sworn in as president.
He dropped the federal income tax for the richest Americans from 50 percent to 28 percent, but when the federal deficit continued to grow, he conceded a tax rate on federal income taxes.
He survived an assassination attempt and made a spirited recovery that inspired the nation.
He proposed a space age "Star Wars" missile defense system and engaged in serious detente with the Russians that resulted in his most famous speech at the Berlin Wall.
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace - if you see prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe - if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.
Mr Gorbachev, open this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent and I pledge to you my country's efforts to help overcome these burdens. To be sure, we in the west must resist Soviet expansion. So we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength.
Republicans who voted against funding Ukraine with arms might take note.
The White House was a glamorous place hosting state dinners and artists from all walks of life.
Not a bad third act.
Looking back, there is a lot to like about Reagan.
But it doesn't ignore the Iran-Contra scandal.
It was characterized as a small group of Reagan subordinates who engaged in a scheme to sell arms to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages without Reagan's knowledge.
On March 4, 1987 Reagan made a nationally televised address to the nation where he took full responsibility for the scandal. As it played on the video monitor in front of me, I was riveted.
Seen in the context off today's politics, it is a remarkable admission from the leader of the free world.
Reagan appointed a commission to investigate Iran-Contra, but the Tower Commission found no evidence that Reagan knew of the arms for hostages program. Not everyone believes that.
The investigation resulted in several dozen administration officials being indicted or convicted - Remember Oliver North - but all were eventually pardoned in the final days of George H.W. Bush's presidency, Reagan's vice president at the time.
By the time you get to the final resting spot for the 40th president, you have a good feeling about the man and what he accomplished.
Or maybe, it's just that the politicians of today fail so miserably.
On the way into the library, there is this quote from Reagan: "The judgment of history is left to you, the people. I have no fears of that, for we have done our best. And so I say, come and learn from it."
I did.
What stuck with me was what Reagan said about running for president in 1979.
"I believed - and intended to make it a theme of my campaign - that America's greatest years were ahead of it."
I sat there for a second thinking about that and wishing it was true.
I wished it was his lasting legacy and I wondered if the former president would still believe it.
Learning moment
While touring the Reagan presidential library, I came across an older man wearing a Trump T-shirt in the cafeteria area.
I wanted to ask him if he learned anything about how a president is supposed to act after seeing and hearing the Reagan story?
But I didn't.
Comfort area
While visiting the restroom at the Honolulu International Airport, I noticed a sign for a dog comfort area. I had never seen one before so I took a look.
There in the medium-sized room was a small strip of artificial turf and a small fire hydrant.
I wonder how the dogs like it.
Bottle bill
The Times Union reported on Tuesday that advocates are pushing hard to increase bottle deposits to 10 cents in New York.
Not only would the deposit double, but the types of bottles would be expanded to include even more types of bottles.
We're pretty spoiled here in New York where the bottle bill was first passed in 1982. Unfortunately, only 10 states have bottle bill laws.
I find that hard to believe. But you noticey it when you visit other states and see the trash along the road. While visiting my son in Texas and Louisiana, I notice far more bottles and cans littering the landscapes and it is not unusual to see dumpsters overflowing with bottles and cans.
That five-cent deposit makes those cans and bottles a commodity with worth.
Congress has been unable to pass a national law for years because lobbyists for beverage companies continue to fight a national bill.
It always seems odd to me that soft drink and beer cans have deposits, but other plastic drink bottles like energy drinks and Gatorade do not.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
I am a bit older than you and remember poor choices made by Nixon and Reagan. Reagan vetoed the fairness doctrine which enabled news broadcasts to spin facts and bend truths. His foolishness has dumbed down journalism which is loosening our democracy for many Americans. George W and Dick Cheney removed another cornerstone of our hard won democracy by pushing No Child Left Behind down public schools’ throats, leaving little time for critical thinking and anti propaganda curriculum. And here we are…
The bottle bill passing is a must in my opinion. I have seen much more trash by the roadside in the past few years and this is the best way to recycle. As long as the profit goes to the right places and not in to any state coffers that can be used for other things. There are poor people who supplement their limited incomes with this and it's a service that helps keep the roadsides clean. Problem is major lobbying on a national basis and winning is certain states. This country needs to get on a major new recycling trend because too much of our consumer spending is on throw away products.