Ronald Reagan's Success And Failures

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. The second son of John Edward “Jack” Reagan, a shoe salesman, and Nelle Wilson, an adoring mother and homemaker. As a teenager and a young adult Reagan worked seven summers as a local lifeguard and was credited with saving 77 swimmers from drowning. From 1928 until 1932 Reagan attended nearby Eureka College, a small, religiously affiliated institution, where he majored in economics and sociology or, as he later pretended athletics. In high school, he was popular among his peers, was elected student body president, and enjoyed performing in school plays. After graduating from College in 1932, Reagan had the good fortune to find work as a radio sports announcer. Reagan spent much of his life turning himself into “someone else”. He soon went from a small-town mid-western boy to become a Hollywood “City Slicker” star. He went on to become a notable film

Both Reagan 's successes and failures stemmed from his character and style of political leadership. Reagan 's optimism, geniality, and gracious nature appealed to his opponents as well as his followers. President Reagan 's leadership was his certainty about simple problems and faith in simple solutions was the source of his political strength as well as some of his failures. He projected simple certainty and displayed confidence, but his actions and policies, in important ways, belied his public image. Reagan 's broad vision and clear direction made his political ideals appealing. What made his policy victories possible was his willingness, when faced with political reality, to make pragmatic compromises without seeming to abandon his ideals. Reagan 's presidency was marked by inconsistencies, so his legacies are mixed: in his individual character, in his policy legacy, and in his constitutional role as custodian of the