I've always thought of leadership as a natural quality or characteristic that is based on charisma and the unique ability to inspire people to heights and accomplishments they otherwise would not attain. This explains the phenomenon of the "reluctant" leader. Many people aspire to leadership but fail to achieve it because it is not something one can learn. You either are a leader or you are not.

I was asked to put this into a political context and would do so thusly: Liberalism claims to have leaders: black leaders, minority leaders, etc., but these people are not leaders at all. They advocate the status quo of dependence and the subordination of individualism to the group at large. There is no leadership, no inspiration or motivation to individual greatness, but rather a continuum of wallowing in the rut of blame and the rationalization of failure.

Conservatism, however, sponsors and promotes leadership by championing and promoting individualism, from which leadership truly descends. Reagan, vilified by so many, was a leader precisely because of his ability, based on the strength of his personality, to make people feel good about themselves and their country, which motivated them to seek accomplishment and achievement beyond that which they felt themselves capable of. Voila! Leadership . . . which was anathema to liberals. How 'bout that?

--Limbaugh on Leadership

When writing this book I devoted a lengthy chapter to Ronald Reagan. After completing the book I reread the Reagan chapter, and I found that almost every single point I made in that chapter I had covered in other chapters. As a result, I decided to abbreviate this chapter in order to avoid redundancy. Based on this fact, it should be obvious to you how important I deem Ronald Reagan to have been in shaping the future course of this nation, and indeed the world. He is a man to whom we Americans owe a debt that we will never be able to repay. In various chapters of this book I explain the contributions of Mr. Reagan, how he continues to be maligned, and how his record is continually distorted by liberals and the media.

Ronald Reagan enabled conservatives to come out of their silent-majority closet after experiencing years of derision, ridicule, and disparagement at the hands of the dominant media culture. Conservatives have always felt that they were in the minority, but Ronald Reagan inspired them with the confidence to come forward and express their views proudly and to recognize their actual majority status. You see, there was a time when many conservatives truly felt that their philosophy was doomed to minority status. After LBJ's annihilation of Goldwater in 1964, there seemed little hope for the conservative movement in terms of its ability to ultimately affect policy decisions in this country. During those bleak years it was stalwarts such as William F. Buckley, Jr., and Ronald Reagan who refused to allow conservatism to be relegated to political obscurity. For they knew that to do so would be the same as abandoning the principles upon which this country was founded. Buckley and Reagan continued to carry the torch of conservatism during its dark years, providing guidance and confidence for many who may have otherwise given up the fight. The continued to oppose the forces of socialism and collectivism, the ever-expanding governmental bureaucracy, the emasculation of our system of law and order, the assault on our nation's value base, the undermining of our spirit of patriotism, and the systematic effort to weaken our nation's economic and military prowess.

With progressive income tax rates having reached the confiscatory level of 70 percent and the estate tax code severely limiting one's freedom to transfer wealth to future generations, this country might as well have begun to call itself socialistic. Our entire capitalistic system is based on economic freedom and market economies and is undergirded by the very cornerstone of capitalism: private property. With the tax code destroying nearly all incentive to create wealth, and limiting one's ability to pass it on to his heirs, the concept of private property was in real jeopardy in this country. Karl Marx couldn't have asked for much more cooperation if he were seeking peaceful revolution. But Reagan and others persevered.

When Ronald Reagan took office he was successful in reducing marginal income tax rates and eventually lowering the highest rate to 28 percent. Plus, he was able to drive through Congress a bill that greatly expanded the estate tax credit, which significantly reduced the penalty for making gifts to heirs. Both of these were major victories for private property and capitalism and were critical to the future of this country as an economic and military world superpower.

Moreover, Reagan's vision and leadership brought conservatism into the mainstream of this nation's political thought. The advent of Reaganomics and Reagan's revitalization of our national defense enabled the conservative movement to become a driving force that was large enough (without becoming diluted in its purpose) to encompass nearly all segments of society. No longer was conservatism to be considered a fringe, extreme, or reactionary movement. I have to believe that the occurrence of this phenomenon was unimaginable to seminal conservative leaders such as Mr. Buckley and Barry Goldwater. For the first time I can remember, people were beginning to believe in the conservative ideal-they were witnessing the results of conservative governance. They were observing that conservatism in practice was not bereft of compassion and that all classes of society could benefit from fewer government regulations and taxes. They were proud of America again.

I couldn't submit an issues-oriented book for publication without paying tribute to Mr. Reagan and crediting him with the phenomenal difference he made in our future and that of our children.

But sadly, the misinformation about Reagan and his administration persists. The effort to destroy him continues to this day. Examples are chronicled throughout this book, from blaming him for the Los Angeles riots of 1992, for the AIDS crisis, for environmental destruction, to the unending criticism of his economic policy leveled by practically every liberal Democrat in the country. It is a ceaseless blend of cacophonous and disjointed hysteria. Why? Quite simply, my friends, it is because Ronald Reagan is hated and despised. Strong words, I know, but I mean them. Hated because he demonstrated the folly of liberalism. He is the conspicuous symbol of its demise. Now, isn't it true that liberals, who so cavalierly accuse conservatives of being consumed with hate, are actually the ones who own its franchise? How else to explain their absolute paranoia of returning to any aspect of the 1980s? What else could sustain such a frenetic energy to discredit one man and his presidency? So beware. Liberals are arrogant and condescending and will pursue relentlessly their goal of destroying the legacy and truth of the Reagan presidency.

Reagan's presidency, coupled with the longest sustained economic boom in modern history, invalidated almost everything liberals stand for, believe in, and have been spouting for decades. Virtually every important cornerstone of liberalism was shown for what it is: wrong. The last thing liberals want is for you to understand this. Remember, their power derives from your ignorance and whatever degree of dependence they can lock you into. Of all things, Reagan understood this and sought to rebuild the self-respect of this nation.

Thankfully, he succeeded.