Mister Historian, Tear Down This Man

The New York Times R. W. Apple leaves it to the historians to decide if Ronald Reagan really was a great president - then tells them that he wasn't, not really.

If Mr. Reagan's celebrated optimism lifted the veil of malaise that darkened the Jimmy Carter era, it also obscured major problems. Many missed Mr. Carter's burning commitment to civil rights and liberties at home and human rights abroad. African-Americans and trade union members felt particularly aggrieved, as did many Jews, who resented Mr. Reagan's participation in a ceremony in 1985 at a German cemetery where Nazi SS troopers were buried.

Then, there's this remarkable statement. So far at least, Mr. Reagan has achieved no such status overseas, although as president he was held in far more esteem in Europe than George W. Bush is. His brand of radical conservatism had a counterpart in Britain under Margaret Thatcher, but it has achieved little success elsewhere.

Perhaps Mr. Apple should pick up a copy of today's Wall Steet Journal for a refresher on what Ronald Reagan meant to Eastern Europeans.