Liberal douche answer: he gave lots of money to the wealthy, and the wealthy are in the best position to influence public opinion. Probably more accurate answer: he was the last true conservative president. The Bushes are neo-cons, the son much more so than the father though.

I am sorry, but you can't leave "reaganomics" out of the mix when considering Ronald Reagan's administration. His economic policies helped to produce a booming economy. This economy actually increased the revenues that were taken in by the government. Yes, individuals were paying less in taxes, but there were more people working and engaging in tax generating activities. So, there was actually a net increase in the the total revenues. (The reason the deficits ballooned during that decade was because Congress increased government spending faster than the revenues increased.) Reagan also rebuilt the military after the Carter administration allowed it to degenerate. This was part of Reagan's over all policy of confrontation with the Soviet Union. This refusal on the part of Reagan to settle for the status quo with the Soviets helped to speed the demise of that tyrannical government and freed Eastern Europe from its stranglehold. So, these are a couple of reasons why I think that Reagan was a great President. There are others, but it is late and I need to get to bed. (P.S. I misread part of the question. I thought that it was saying to forget reaganomics. However, I am too tired to go back and reword my answer to correct for that misreading.)

He had great hair.

Reagan is often chosen as one of - if not the most - most popular past US presidents. He certainly had a sense of charisma, charm, screen presence, and optimism about America that was addictive in his post-Vietnam era. As a former actor and president of the Screen Actors guild, he certainly knew how to play to an audience and present himself well. One of Reagan's most important achievements was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR. Although the final, culminating events took place during his successor's presidency, it was the result of years of work between Reagan and Gorbachev. This is widely considered a great achievement. It is certainly significant. The rest of his legacy is more open to debate, and there certainly isn't anything approaching universal agreement on it. I don't consider his economic policies to be good. Trickle down "Reaganomics" failed for the working class because of the increasing globalization of manufacturing. Thus, even though the rich did indeed have more money, much of it didn't trickle down to the working class and was instead invested in foreign markets. It also increased foreign debt and the national deficit. His leadership during the Iran-contra affair is still remembered. The US was found guilty in International Court of having supported terrorism in Nicaragua during his presidency. The US was fined by the UN (although we have never paid the fine). His social record is even more controversial. He opposed sanctions on apartheid South Africa. He attempted to scale back welfare benefits. While he did nominate the first woman justice to the Supreme Court, his five other nominees were all men. His cabinet and administration had less than 5 women. A picture of his cabinet and staff in 1981 shows just one woman. Only one staff member in the picture is not obviously Caucasian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

NO -Most people don't know the truth about him or dont care to know.He will alwaysn be thought of as a monster by me and anyone else who lost friends and loved ones to AIDS http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/06/08/EDG777163F1.DTL

I think that depends greatly upon how you use the term great: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1052923 http://www.wikiality.com/Ronald_Reagan

Reagan was a great man after he was shoot he was worried about the nurse getting fired and was cleaning the floor after he'd either split something or bleed on it. That's a hero in my book.

I spent the bulk of my Marine Corps career under Reagans administration.He tried to get me killed a few times.No,i dont think he was all that great.

Not to me.

i think he was

Because the working class actually flourised during his presidency. The economy was great, corporations didn't rule the world, jobs abounded and it was easy to make money. As I look at it, that's what makes a president great, what he does for the working class, not for EXXON, Halliburton, Blackwater and Wall Street

He ended the Cold War between us and the USSR. He stood up to the Communist and brought them down. That's what we need todo now to the Socialist that want to take us back to pre 9/11 days! PEACE THRU STRENGTH! Keep our Military STRONG! We should be spending more tax dollars on moderizing our military. We don't spend enough. Our enemys will not want to take a chance of being destroyed if they know they don't have a chance. We better worry more about our enemys than the BS about Global Warming. I'm more concerned about Bin Laden and Russia than the Polar bears.

Well, long-term economic policy effects are usually seen about 6-8 years after being passed. If you liked the '90s, you can see why Reagan was a terrific president. On the same token, just about 8 years after Clinton demanded the amending of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 to ensure credit be made available to those of little or no credit, our mortgage market melted down. Makes you wish we ensured American kids were taught Econ 101 in high school so they could make educated decisions about our candidates, doesn't it?

does anyone remember the crash of' 87? reagan was president...a lot of people were out of jobs...i really don't remember any booming economy during his administration. i remember a smug, not very bright, reagan...old and out of touch with america...and very elitist. not sure where all this "love" for the guy comes from....

Didn't he make it harder for the people to use drugs? I think that's why.

Because he knew enough to fall asleep and keep his mouth shut most of the time!

Effective marketing. Internationally, he was a bastard. Nicaragua suffered greatly.

He was a great guy to people that had money. He cost many people their jobs in the early '80's. Most guys I knew at the time had to go back to school to learn new trades after he forced the grain embargoes in '82 or '83. I was a bad rough time for working guys.