I want to read the book but I think there is a big difference b/w Bush II and Reagan. I fought Reagan's policies very hard both in college and as a young adult. I worried that his hardline policies were going to result in nuclear destruction and I was appalled by the tax breaks for the wealthy. However, I never felt Reagan was "undemocratic" like Bush II. Maybe it was the brake of a Democratic House throughout his Presidency, but I always felt that Reagan and most of his team (Oliver North et al excluded) respected the democratic process. Maybe I am niave but I don't ever remember the feelings of disgust and at times fear I have had in the past 6 yrs.
I was too young to remember much about Nixon but I feel that this has been my generations Nixonian era where every lever of power is used to defeat political enemies. Discussions of imperial Presidents, domestic spying, etc. It sounds and feels like something right out of 1972.
under Reagan. Reagan just did it with a smile, but his policies were no less abhorrent. Ed Meese was no less a sham of an attorney general than Gonzales. If 9-11 had occurred under Reagan, it would be no different than under Bush. Perhaps there would have been less incompetence. But remember, besides the trickle down economics that was later acknowledged as a lie, resulting in borrow and spend policies, Reagan gave us Iran-Contra, a clear assault on the Constitution. That shows how much Reagan held the law in esteem when it conflicted with his goals. Luckily, there was enough of a Democratic check on him. If he controlled the government like Bush has until now, 1984 would have not been just a novel by Orwell.
All true but I think Bush is more Nixonian than Reaganesque. It may have been that Nixon was so close a memory the Reagan people didn't dare pull the political enemies crap Nixon did but I just don't remember the Reagan-Bush I era having this feel. I hated what they were doing from a policy standpoint and fought it but I never felt, even during Iran Contra, that democracy was under assault. I have felt that frequently in the last 6 yrs under Bush II.
In terms of disrespect for the constitution, perhaps, but politically Bush is much more in line with Reagan's policies than with Nixon's.
Agreed on policy. Bush shows disrespect for the Constitution like Nixon and as much as hate Reagans and Bushes policies I find that the most troubling aspect of this Presidency.
