The One and Only President Reagan The next two posts are going to feature radical thinkers

who made the leap off of the soapbox of one party to the other showcasing true determination to their voters and patriotism. Beginning this showcase is one of the most influential Republican Presidents of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Arguably the only President to publicly switch parties (Lincoln ran from the Republican Party in 1860, and subsequently from the Union Party in 1864, but on the same platform), Reagan was also an actor before he went into politics. Reagan started out as a noted admirer of Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal and publicly announced his switch to the Republican Party in his famous speech in 1964. Reagan believed that the Democrats had gotten carried away with the nascent socialism of the New Deal, but even during his Presidency he highly respected some of their views and saw eye to eye with them over many of these issues. Also arguably considered the father of modern bipartisanship, Reagan worked tirelessly towards compromise in the then highly Democratic House to implement several important factors of his agenda while conceding some of his views. Working with then Speaker of the House Tip ONeill, Reagan was able to put aside their differences, and together they pushed many important pieces of legislation through Congress including the famous bill to save social security bill. Much of this colored history off Ronald Reagan, I learned after hearing his portrayal as a figurehead for the Republican Party and its candidates. Online, I stumbled upon an editorial comparing him to Clinton, and although he was not a Democrat, he truly wanted the best for the average American and he drew the line at entitlements. He was all for cutting deficit, really who isnt, but he believed that food stamps and healthcare were what separated America from the rest of the world. Last election, each one of the Republican candidates refused a 1% tax increase for every 10% spending cut during the primaries. How can any President create an atmosphere of bipartisanship anymore like that during the times of Reagan or Clinton if the Grand Old Party, itself, has moved so far away from real, traditional American values? Works Consulted: www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72468.html http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Social_Security.htm

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2009/04/02/bipartisan-reagan-oneillsocial-security-deal-in-1983-showed-it-can-be-done