Just a brief comment on “Why I Gave Up Being a Republican” by Michael Stafford — It begins —

When I was young, Ronald Reagan bestrode the world like a colossus. I grew up watching the Cold War end-game play out as Reagan faced down the Soviet Union- which really was evil- and helped break the long night of communist repression in Eastern Europe. He was my hero.

The extent to which Reagan was responsible for the fall of the Iron Curtain is something most of us would, um, quibble about. Reagan was mostly good at posturing and assuming credit for events that other people were driving. However, once again we have the example of a Gen X individual who fell in love with Reagan in his youth and was a loyal Republican for decades after. For many of us who were older in the 1980s Reagan didn’t stride the world like a colossus as much as smother progress like a big, wet blanket. But the young folks sure were taken in.

The rest of Stafford’s article is mildly interesting, also.