re: No hero
"Reagan wasn't a hero, of course, but he definitely was much more liked than your current president."
Reagan was a great president. And a hero to some. I think it's possible that our current President will end up with higher standing than Reagan.
I wonder how you compare Bush with the current leaders of the world?
Who is on the top of our list? What about all the world leaders and/or US leader during your lifetime? Who stands above the rest, who is the lowest?
I think Blair is an outstanding leader, I'm not sure how I would compare him to Thatcher- I think history will rate him higher.