The Reagan Legacy

Columnist Wattenberg, in his Washington journalistic ivory tower, claims “Reagan’s legacy . . . has changed America--mostly . . . for the better . . .” Come down, Ben, way down, to the people’s level--you know, the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, the hungry, the mentally disturbed, the sick, the disabled, the lunch-less school kids, the hard-pressed near-poor. Ask them.

Ask them about Reagan’s “temporary eclipsed legacy” of guns over bread, about $300 billion for defense (or should it be offense, considering our actions in Grenada, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, etc.)

Ask the squeezed middle class what they think of the record budget deficit Reagan legacy (not temporary by any means) a $10,000 debt for every man, woman and child in America.

Ask about Reagan’s cronies and “heroes” who take the Fifth Amendment to avoid punishment for crimes against the government.

And lastly, ask why our “Star Wars” warrior President turned a deaf ear to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s nuclear disarmament proposals at the Iceland summit meeting.

Yes indeed, I’m afraid Reagan’s catastrophic legacy will survive intact, unless a mewling Congress and a nation of suicide-prone sheep will realize there’s more to the office of President than a charming facade hiding a wealth of nothingness.

SHIRLEY WOLF

Los Angeles