Not that I am pro-Reagan, but he also helped the country in a few areas. Namely:
1. Stopped run away inflation.
2. Ended the energy crisis by deregulating the oil industry.
3. Increased the number of jobs in America.
4. Supply side or not, he did vastly improve the way of life for most middle class Americans. Of course, we spent the next 10 years trying to pay off the debt.
I was born in '74, so I wasn't soiling my diapers, but I was pretty young when he took office. Although, I was 14 when he left office. What I remember about the Gipper was that you felt a trust for the man. Many claim that he was the best figurehead president that we have ever had, an I might agree with them. As a spokesman for his administration he was perfect, but as a leader who was guiding both domestic and foreign policy he was probably all but absent. People loved the Gip because he related to them and they saw an increase in their weekly paychecks.
As to ending the Cold War, Reagan does deserve some credit. He, or his advisors, saw the monetary advantage that we had over the Soviets. The Cold War was as much about the arms race as it was about ideology. By ramping up our defense spending we forced the Soviets to try and keep up. When their economy collapsed so did the government. Just as an aside, I am also a big Gorbachev fan. I think he saw the writing on the wall and laid the ground work for an easy transition between communism and capitalism/democracy.
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