I voted for Reagan once but never thought he was a great president, good in some ways but not great. Here are some things to put him in prespective in reality and not memory.
Reagan was the most popular president since World War II.
False: Reagan's approval rating, as measured by Gallup, stood at 53 percent when he left office. Bill Clinton's approval rating at the completion of his two terms was 63 percent. Reagans average rating was again 53%, Clinton was 55%(Gallup), basicly a tie due to the margin of error.
Reagan cut taxes.
False: Reagan pushed through a tax cut in 1981. But then, he had to raise taxes in 1982, an increase that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, was substantially larger than Clinton's 1993 tax increase (in percentage of the budget)
Reagan reduced the size of government.
False: The government workforce increased from 2.8 million to 3 million during his tenure.(GAO)
Reagan reduced government spending.
False: Government spending on defense increased. Spending on domestic programs, such as welfare and health and education programs, was cut. Overall, spending increased and our government's debt soared. He doubled the deficit and tripled our national debt.(OMB)
The economy boomed because of Reagan's economic policies or lower taxes and decreased government regulation.
False: Unemployment was 7.5 percent when he took office, averaged 7.5 percent during his term in office and fell to 5.4 percent when his last term expired. Under Clinton unemployment was 7.4 percent when he took office, averaged 5.2 percent and fell to 3.9 percent when he left office. Wages decreased 4.3 percent during Reagan's tenure, according to the Congressional Budget Office and incresed 6.5% under Clinton.
Reagan presided over the longest period of economic expansion in history.
False as a statement but he did do very well coming in third with 92 months behind Kennedy/Johnson at 106 months and Clinton at 120 months according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Overall, he probably did the best he could which in some areas was very good but not so in others. He made me prouder to be a Marine but sad that he did nothing after 200 of my fellow Marines died in Lebanon.
Hopefully, we haven't gotten to the point where good is now taken as great.