Gleaves Whitney has a wonderful tribute to President Ronald W. Reagan @ NRO. Long live the man. Huzzah, Huzzah,Huzzah!!!
Anyway, here's my favorite passage:
"Two writers for The Economist, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, observe in their book The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America that Reagan achieved his own fusion, selectively appropriating the principles of classical conservatism and those of classical liberalism into a new synthesis. From the former he championed the belief in a transcendent moral order, respect for Western civilization, the legitimacy of old institutions, the force of custom, property rights, and a narrowly defined foreign policy. From the latter he championed individual freedom, equality of opportunity, the rule of law, constitutional government, lower taxes, and less regulation of business. Unifying the two different conservative strands were a fierce love of country and populist streak. It helped politically that Reagan rejected the historical pessimism of the traditionalists, embracing instead a sunny outlook toward the future. He genuinely believed in the limitless good the American people could do — if they were free. "His was the conservatism not of country clubs and boardrooms, but of talk radio, precinct meetings, and tax revolts."
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