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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the legacy of President Ronald Reagan in celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Soon-to-be White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s former employer Time Magazine has given President Obama a big thank you gift this week. Not only is President Obama on the cover of Time Magazine for the 24th time in little more than four years, but the editors are trying to portray Obama as the next Ronald Reagan. President Obama and President Reagan are polar opposites in both politics and style. For a struggling magazine, I guess putting Reagan on the cover is the only way to sell some copies. Time Magazine and the left will stop at nothing to prop up President Obama’s sagging presidency. Just over two years ago, Time portrayed President Obama as the next FDR on the cover of the magazine, but after the failure of Obama’s big government agenda, Time is jumping to have Obama reflect the country’s more conservative mood. These ploys are pathetic and desperate.

President Reagan served his country with a grace and style that cannot be matched, especially by the current occupant of the White House. He stood up to the Soviet Union by calling them the “evil empire” and courageously implored General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” President Obama used his most recent State of the Union address to tell us how great communist China is and how Americans are lagging behind the Chinese in innovation. President Obama does not believe in American Exceptionalism. If he did, he would not have said “…America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” President Reagan believed America was a “shining city on the hill” and that it was always morning in America.

Citizens United has produced a short video showing that there is no comparison between Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Both men may share the same title, but they view America and the world quite differently. The difference is pretty stark when you hear Reagan and Obama speaking about America. Can you imagine a circumstance in which President Reagan would criticize America in a speech overseas?

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The fall of the Berlin Wall marked a resounding victory for freedom and human dignity.  On this day 20 years ago, a long-standing symbol of division and oppression crumbled under the weight of a revolution inspired by leaders whose faith in God and commitment to freedom changed the world.  Years in the making, that movement dismantled the Soviet bloc in a matter of months, erecting in its place a number of young democracies that our nation now counts among its staunchest allies.

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Twenty years ago today, a figurative and literal tear appeared in the once seemingly impenetrable Iron Curtain–the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.  Soon after, millions of East Germans and others under Soviet domination would rise up and demand their freedom.

That day, November 9, 1989, will be remembered forever as one of the greatest in the history of human liberty.  Throughout the East Bloc, communism would begin to fall.  Millions would begin to experience political and social freedom for the first time. Families, separated for nearly 30 years would be reunited. And, throughout Eastern Europe, the fall of the Berlin Wall would create an opportunity to expose communism’s violent and merciless legacy.

In the United States, though, the anniversary will pass with barely a mention.  With a few noteworthy exceptions (see here and here), the American media has treated the event as an opportunity to praise Mikhail Gorbachev, condemn the West, and lament the coming of crony capitalism in Russia.

Not wanting to let the opportunity pass, some of my colleagues at the Competitive Enterprise Institute have produced a short video commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall .

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