Many of the best causes are, right? ;)

Unlike too many today you are most welcome. Though, I have to admit, at the time it was mostly self serving.

Thanks for your service.

That is so true!

You are always guaranteed to get more of any behavior that is rewarded.

I cannot disagree with you on this either. :)

I am not sure which came first, the government offering goodies as bait, trolling for votes or people sitting around looking for a handout. Everyone is not a genius but you don't have to be one to earn an honest living. The public trough can be very enticing to those that find the going difficult and before they know it they become too weak to break away. If the leader encourages personal responsibility he makes the country stronger and if that is done through a grandfatherly pep talk, so be it.

I certainly cannot disagree with anything you have said. It is my belief that this country started it's downward spiral when people started looking to government to solve our problems instead of taking personal responsibility. If we take personal responsibility for everything in our lives we do not need a politician to give us a pep talk. Just saying.

How times have changed!!! When Regan first ran for President I felt that we were becoming a nation of people that were non-serious. I was embarrassed that the best we could do for a leader was a washed up actor. Carter had pretty much screwed up everything and it was a scary time. Inflation was running rampant and we looked like we were the next Brazil or Argentina where you would need a wheelbarrow to carry enough dollars to the market for a loaf of bread. It turned out that the biggest obstacle for our country was that we had lost our confidence in America and Old Ron was just what we needed. He may or may not have been a great President but he played the role perfectly. Just like on TV in a commercial for GE, he looked us in the eye and sold us on ourselves once again.

There are reasons coaches give pep talks, sales managers invite motivational speakers to seminars and Madison Avenue is just as powerful as Wall Street. Confidence that you are on the right track and you can accomplish your goals is equally important to having the tools and resources. Just like the Carter Malaise, our current leader has undermined our country by telling us that neither our system or its people are exceptional and in fact, we are responsible for what ails the world. As long as we are willing to listen to this crap, we will spiral downward. This is the fundamental change that we were promised and we elected him anyway to get a cell phone and other handouts!

this is magnificent;;; Thank You!!! -- j

"We must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and woman."
Yes

Wow! If you need some inspiration that speech does it.

the continual surrender by BHO, and in particular a surrender to the islamic republic and assistance to the islamic state (oops - moderates in syria) when contrasted with Ronald Reagan is not two sides of the same coin, but as different as night and day...at one time it was morning in America, i fear it is now well past sunset. where are the winter soldiers today?

Agreed. And he knew how to be funny at appropriate times too.

Hello edweaver,
Thank you! I miss those days. He could deliver a speech like no one since. Positive and uplifting.
Respectfully,
O.A.

"One universal element is the ingenuity of free people solving their own problems. The total outcome of that is greater than the sum of it's parts."

This hits me as very profound. Thank you.

Could you ever in your wildest dreams visualize the current President uttering these words? Neither can I. Ronald Reagan was a great leader and the following Presidents only make him look better.

For all those who deny American exceptionalism, listen to a master motivator. IMHO The greatest intangible Ronald Reagan brought was his ability to lead. The ability to cause people to look up, see the possibilities, work not only hard, but cheerfully, and to follow the waypoints from where we were to our date with destiny is priceless. For all of those want to be Presidents out there, understand that he was really one of us. And, because of the love of freedom and his country, he stepped forward to lead us away from the legacy of the last guy that believed our best was behind us and we were better when managed by government..

We are in desperate need of another great leader. But we cannot role back the hands of time. Yesterday's solutions may not be appropriate for tomorrow's problems. One universal element is the ingenuity of free people solving their own problems. The total outcome of that is greater than the sum of it's parts. That synergy is American exceptionalism.

"--our last undeniably American President."
Thanks you for so accurate a description.
I mean to flatter you some day by stealing that.

I completely agree! Nobody is perfect but he was as close as we have come in my lifetime and maybe for that last 150 years or so.

Proudly, I served under Reagan, our last undeniably American President. Whenever I listen to his words it reminds me of how far we've moved away from who/what this country is supposed to be. Sure, Reagan wasn't always entirely spot on but he sure has hell tried to kindle the true nature of American-ness in everyone.

That never gets old! #WakeUpAmerica

unfortunately this does not have any influence on the washington crowd, not even when he was in of

Thank you, Ed for that reminder of what a president is, and what a country America was and still could be.