After a shift to the left in a previous November, President Ronald Reagan made these remarks:
“Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached ‘the gospel,’ in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism, which was, in truth, a call to collectivism. Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic Party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own. Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed. … But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type. In their view, apparently, the ends justified the means.” — Ronald Reagan
These words are as appropriate today in the wake of the 2008 election, as they were when they were originally made. You might even say Reagan’s words were prophetic were it not for the fact that the Democrats are so completely predictable.
This insight is only one reason that President Reagan was the best president of the 20th century.
