Word: reaganism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...beyond anything the New Dealers had ever imagined--first during World War II, then in Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Republicans Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon campaigned as philosophical opponents of Big Government, but once in power they made no real attempt to cut it back. Even Ronald Reagan could do little more than put a lid on its expansion. It took Democrat Bill Clinton to declare the era of Big Government finally over. And by then its most important institutions had become widely accepted provisions of the nation's contract with itself...
...figures are staggering enough already. Originally promised to President Reagan in 1984, the ISS was slated for a 1992 launch at a cost of $8 billion. Now NASA is hoping for 1999. The cost? At least $22 billion, but no one's sure...
Perhaps most importantly though, in the messy world of today's politics, the Reagan way just seems more appealing. Like all nostalgia, immortalizing Reagan enables us to escape the present by reminiscing about a simpler, roiser past. As the post-Cold War world becomes more complex, isn't it touching to reminisce about our Oval Office John Wayne standing tall in the saddle against the Evil Empire...
...Reagan took his hits in the early '90s as the economy tanked and the deficit continued to grow. Now, as the economy improves and the deficit disappears, his popularity is being restored...
...course, either extreme love or contempt for this man would represent a return to the ignorant, simplistic outlook of Reagan we had when we first met him. While this return may be tempting, we must resist it. After all, we're older now...we should know better...