Cold War Myth

One of the great enduring legends of the Cold War is that Ronald Reagan won it by outspending the Russians. Conservatives hold this myth as an article of faith, central to the canonization of Reagan. Cheney has taken to dusting it off to intimate that Kerry's votes against Star Wars and other gross expenditures in the 80's would have left the USSR in power.

The fact of the matter is that by the time Reagan started the arms race, the USSR was a paper tiger. Matter of fact the arms race helped prolong the illusion that the USSR was a superpower.