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J L Graham's avatar

Yes, we bought the snakeoil, and the media that had formerly rode herd on Nixon just couldn't help loving telegenic Reagan, "The Great Communicator". A year after his death, 2.4 million Americans in the poll, organized by the Discovery Channel and AOL declared Former US President Ronald Reagan has been voted the "greatest American" of all time, edging out Lincoln. An insight into the man behind the image was released in 2019 of then Governor Reagan speaking in 1971 to then President Nixon about the Tanzanian delegation to the UN:

“ 'To watch that thing on television, as I did, to see those, those monkeys from those African countries – damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!' Reagan tells Nixon, who erupts in laughter."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/31/ronald-reagan-racist-recordings-nixon

Nice guy? Yes, when your window to the world is TV.

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Mike S's avatar

JL. Excellent post into Reagan's true character, which, was also displayed through the lie about the black woman in Chicago with 15 addresses collecting welfare.

Sadly, Reagans open racism is exactly why Americans loved him.

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