vernment in the face of the expansive Soviet Union, which he said was bent on world domination. Also, he wanted to be able to stop the Cold War. Ronald Reagan claimed the prevailing policies of containment and détente would not bring a satisfactory end to the Cold War. President Reagan strongly disliked détente. In a 1981 news conference, he said, "So far détente's been a one-way street that the Soviet Union has used to pursue its own aims. Their goal must be the promotion of world revolution and a one world communist or socialist state." According to Reagan, the Soviets considered détente a sign of American weakness and vulnerability. Instead of détente, he wanted peace through strength by building America's economic and military power. He said, "Our strategy is defensive; our aim is to protect the peace by ensuring that no adversaries ever conclude they could best us in a war of their own choosing."
 Reagan admired President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose "New Deal for the American people" provided jobs for his father and brother during the depths of the Depression. Although he never lost his admiration for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Reagan became an ardent conservative and switched his registration to Republican in 1962. Reagan's political and ideological evolution was the product of numerous factors: increased wealth, and the higher taxes that accompanied it; conflicts with leftist union leaders as an official of the Screen Actors Guild, and exposure in his General Electric days to a growing view that the federal government, epitomized by the New Deal, was stifling economic growth and individual freedom.
Roosevelt, according to Reagan, was a strong leader, one to emulate in certain respects. He had taken over the presidency during a time of unprecedented crisis and implemented a plan of action to bring the nation out of its doldrums. Reagan fondly recalled Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, which were designed to give hope ...