What Makes Ronald Reagan A Good Leader

Ronald Reagan is one of the best presidents the United States has had so far. He never gave up on the disaster America was becoming. He always strived to make the country safer, more peaceful, and stronger. Despite the confusion with his involvement in scandalous foreign affairs, he stood for what he promised. He had a sense of sanity and peacefulness in his poise and voice that could calm the worst of a storm. He truly knew how to comfort and provide for the people of America and never stopped fulfilling his promises. Reagan will always be remembered as a remarkable president and an honest leader.
Ronald Reagan won the hearts of American people by standing true to his beliefs on peace and tranquility. “When his campaign began, his first
speech,“A Time for Choosing”, covered the necessities that the United States needed to function properly” (Drury 8) and the extra should be used better. He had so many great plans and courses of action to make America better again that the people of the United States naturally gravitated toward him. Even people of the opposing party supported some of his main arguments. When he was elected president, the first mission he began was managing the nations spending down to the last penny. Most people say he went on a spending spree, but he truly spent money to protect the country and keep it neutral. At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the “Reagan Revolution”, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism."(Katri 15). Reagan restored the basic confidence of Americans not only in their economy but also in their country as a whole.
Ronald Reagan was president during the Cold War and dealt with many foreign relations throughout his presidency. Reagan worked closely with the Catholic Church and its Pope. The Pope of the Catholic Church during Ronald Reagan’s presidency was the pontificate of John Paul II (1920 – 2005). Despite the many allies of the Cold War, the Vatican-American relations were practically closer in the second half of the twentieth century than at any time in their history. Reagan had a way with words that seemed unique and comforting in its own way. Reagan had a nickname or “was known as The Great Communicator” (Gayte 7), a president who could reach out and communicate with ordinary Americans on their own terms.
Reagan’s style of management was to keep in mind the small subordinate things, but always looking at the big picture.
He continually expressed the importance of keeping an eye on every detail in order to strengthen the country financially and structurally. Reagan would never be prepared for the turmoil that would come afloat involving the people in Iran and the Contra Rebels, otherwise known as the Iran-Contra Affair. In November 1986, investigations revealed that members of his National Security Council (NSC) were secretly selling weapons to the Muslim fundamentalist nation of Iran, officially designated as a terrorist state. Apparently, Reagan was aware and approved of the original arms for hostages deal. However, as his National Security Advisor John Poindexter testified, Reagan was not told about the illegal diversion of funds to the Contra rebels. The public was stunned by the news of the scandal Ronald was suppossively involved in and started to question the president’s “good” intentions. For a long time, the public was angry with the president even though there was more evidence supporting the innocence of him rather than the guilty. Reagan was so disappointed, even his wife Nancy said that “…he went into a state of depression because he felt that his reputation had been ruined.” (Brit 4). Eventually, the heat from the incident died down and soon after Ronald
retired.
A few years after coming out of office, Reagan returned home with his beloved wife Nancy to focus more on his passion of riding horses and spending time with his family.
Reagan was riding one of his horses when all of a sudden, the horse became spooked and threw him off and he landed on his head. The brain injury did not affect him other than he developed a severe case of Alzheimer’s. The disease slowly destroyed Reagan’s memory and he could only stutter a few words at the time. He barely remembered a select number of people other than his wife. Eventually Reagan could not even mutter a word other than the gestures he could give that only his wife understood. About a year after the injury, he died from the Alzheimer’s. His funeral took place at the Capitol Dome in Washington D.C. President George W. Bush paid his respects to Nancy and gave a speech on how honorable Reagan was as a president, disregarding the agenda that he had waiting for him back at the white house. Bush came to watch Mrs. Reagan smash the champagne bottle against the ship in honor of Reagan. Bush came to see the ship that replaced the USS George Washington, the USS Ronald Reagan. Nancy smashed the champagne bottle against the ship, unaware that it splattered all over President Bush. She laughed and said she only “…wished Ronald could be here to watch but she felt that in a certain way he was.” (Reagan
19).
Ronald Reagan was a remarkable president who died from a tragic incident. He was widely known for his persuasive speeches and calming voice. The public sincerely loved him. People came from near and far to send away the president in peace. From ordinary citizens to world known leaders came to pay their respects to the honorable president. The christening of his military war ship was just America’s way of honoring his passing. He was mostly remembered for all of the good that he did for the United States of America.