Post a thought or remembrance for Ronald Reagan

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I was going to comment on how wrong all the liberals (including The Boston Globe Editorial page) were incorrect about President Reagans policies in the 1980's but I won't. Instead I will quote the late President: We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all. And so, good-bye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. -Ronald Reagan upon leaving office RIP DUBYA '04!

Cuz, Allston

I remember a cheerful out-of-touch president, who had no grasp of anything going on in his administration beyond sound bites. He had some good points such as a willingness to compromise and I think good intentions, but he was FAR from "great" as some people dying to capitalize on his death are expounding.

Jessica, Winchester

I grew up in the '80s and Ronald Reagan is the reason I'm a Democrat today.

Mike, Boston

It appears that the Reagan legacy will be rooted in Hollywood fantasy. When will the reality of his administration sink in? We have Reagan to thank for homelessness (closing of state hospitals) reduced school lunches (ketchup is a vegetable) failed drug rehab programs (just say no to drugs) and Reaganonmics which made the rich richer and poor suffer. Don't forget the air traffic controlers, Iran contra, attempts at rolling back racial and sex bias laws....have I left anything out? Oh, yes, no AIDS research until 1987. Please, honor the man for who he was, not what the republican administration would like us to believe he was.

dlg, Boston

the year reagan was shot, i think was 1981..i was in the 10th grade..and i remember playing basketball in my neighborhood, and a friend, (who is still a close friend to this day) came running out his screaming that reagan was dead!....it was after we crammed into my friends living room and turned on the tv...did we realize our friend had over-exaggerated. i remember feeling quite afraid that day. i can even remember the weather. it was cloudy but humid....for some reason it felt like summer. when i found out he had passed away, the day he was shot was the first though that came to mind...take care, mr president!

TONY, BROCKTON MASS

With so much emphasis being placed upon Reagan's winning the Cold War and defeating the Soviets, one should pause a moment to reflect upon Reagan's strategy for waging that struggle in central Asia, specifically Afghanistan, where in order to defeat the Soviets, this nation supported radical Islamic and anti-Soviet elements. Reagan's greatest legacy, therefore, should not be considered the collapse of Communism, but rather the rise of al Qaeda. Reagan's second greatest legacy is the global AIDS epidemic that resulted from his inaction in response to the AIDS crisis of the early 80s. Reagain sat idly by while an entire generation of gay men succumbed to AIDS. How ironic that Mrs. Reagan should be so tirelessly lobbying on behalf of the stem cell research in the midst of a political climate overwhelmingly opposed to stem cell research. Even those, such as myself, who sympathize with Mrs. Reagan and her cause must recognize the irony that now she knows what it's like to watch a loved one suffer and die while a callous and unresponsive administration sits idly by.

Dean, Hyde Park

My adopted daughter, Mary-Lou, was born 9 days after President Reagan's first Inauguration. Her birth mother named her Reagan because she so admired the President. She was only 16 years old. When President Reagan came to Boston in l984 during his reelection campaign Mary-Lou wanted to go to meet him. We were able to get tickets and off we went. She was only 3 years and 9 months at the time. She could not understand why she could not give him some of her jelly beans. She also could not understand why we could not invited him home to lunch! When she learned of his death her comment to me was, "I saw President Reagan when he was President." None of her peers have such a personal memory of President Reagan. Mary-Lou is a proud and lucky young lady and a very patriotic American. God Bless you Mr. President May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Mary, Arlington

Reagan is who made me choose to go to college in DC and continue living there for 10 years afterwards ... the fact that he changed careers to go into politics and did such a great job was inspiring to me and many others. When I saw in a TV interview that he himself was inspired to a political career from seeing the Jimmy Stewart movie "Mr Smith Goes to Washington", I immediately rented it. It defines his vision for his presidency and the USA.

saima, astoria, NY

People have very short memories. AIDS wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Ronald Reagan. The only good thing that has come of his presidency is the fact that Nancy Reagan now supports stem cell research.

J, Boston

I am a democrat but voted for him twice..The economy was at it's best I was never so financially stable as I was when he was President..God bless Him, Nancy and thier family

maria, weymouth