I’m not trying to pile on here, but there’s a little more Reagan-related fact checking I wanted to mention.
First is the notion that Reagan was among the most popular presidents of the century, if not the most popular. This has been a pervasive myth in recent years, espoused by those who would have Reagan’s face added to Mt. Rushmore, but has been repeated ad nauseum since the former president passed away four days ago.
It’s not true, or better put, it’s not the whole truth.
Reagan enjoyed slightly-better-than-average approval ratings towards the middle of his presidency, but those numbers fell in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal, Reagan’s lies about the ordeal, and talk of possible impeachment.
But in a broader context, here’s the average Gallup approval rating for presidents since Truman:
That’s a list of 10 presidents, of which Reagan finished 6th. Not bad, but not popular by historic proportions.
Others have argued that Reagan left office with record-high approval ratings. That’s not quite right either. Two weeks before the 1988 election, Reagan’s approval rating was 51%. By New Year’s, it was up to 63%. That’s pretty good and it may have been a record at the time, but Clinton’s end-of-presidency support was much stronger.
Just to be clear, approval ratings are not the be-all, end-all. Harry Truman’s poll support was weak throughout his presidency and he left office relative unpopular. That doesn’t mean that Truman was a poor president. Sometimes presidents look far better in hindsight with the benefit of perspective.
Which is all the more reason for Reagan fans to stop insisting that the poll numbers, which weren’t all that impressive, prove Reagan’s greatness. History will judge the record; misstating approval ratings won’t improve his standing.
Moreover, Paul Krugman did a phenomenal job today exploring Reagan’s record on tax cuts and contrasting it with the current occupant of the Oval Office.
Ronald Reagan does hold a special place in the annals of tax policy, and not just as the patron saint of tax cuts. To his credit, he was more pragmatic and responsible than that; he followed his huge 1981 tax cut with two large tax increases. In fact, no peacetime president has raised taxes so much on so many people. This is not a criticism: the tale of those increases tells you a lot about what was right with President Reagan’s leadership, and what’s wrong with the leadership of George W. Bush.
The first Reagan tax increase came in 1982. By then it was clear that the budget projections used to justify the 1981 tax cut were wildly optimistic. In response, Mr. Reagan agreed to a sharp rollback of corporate tax cuts, and a smaller rollback of individual income tax cuts. Over all, the 1982 tax increase undid about a third of the 1981 cut; as a share of G.D.P., the increase was substantially larger than Mr. Clinton’s 1993 tax increase.
The contrast with President Bush is obvious. President Reagan, confronted with evidence that his tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, changed course. President Bush, confronted with similar evidence, has pushed for even more tax cuts.
Reagan and W. Bush made a mistake — pushing tax cuts the nation couldn’t afford. The difference between them is Reagan reversed course, recognized the mistake, and raised taxes. That doesn’t make Reagan great, but it makes him more responsible than our current president.