ac: What was your proudest moment?

AL: When I got Father of the Year award here on the West Coast along with Harry Belafonte and John Ritter in 1983. You know I have six children and they are my life, along with my wife.

ac: And what was your worst moment?

AL: Gosh, there were a lot of those, but probably when my father died. He was my best friend and Yalie, by the way, class of 1927. It still bothers me. He was the closest to me. It still bothers me.

ac: I am going to mention some names of people that I think you have opinions about, and I'd like a quick response on each. Starting with President Reagan?

AL: I think Reagan was an absolutely spectacular leader of the world, and he really changed the shape of the planet with supply side economics and strong defense. I have not seen anything like that except for maybe Lady Thatcher. The only difference was that he came from the most influential country and she came from something a little bit less. But they were very similar people.

ac: What about George Bush 41, who at one time labeled your work as voodoo economics?

AL: I like George Bush 41 very much. He is a fine, genteel, decent man. I think his wife is wonderful. I think he has done a great job with his family but that he was a terrible President. Very simply, he should have kept his promise on taxes and he didn't. I think he should have finished the job in Iraq and he didn't and that hurt him badly. When a President doesn't win re-election, it is clear that the public is not enamored of him. It is too bad because he has all of the class and the smarts to have done a great job. He just didn't have the driving light of principle to guide him the way Reagan did. George Bush 41 is as smart as any President, probably more so in all those regards than Reagan. But Reagan really did know right from wrong. George Bush gave up on his promises. And that was a big mistake.

ac: Well that leads to George Bush 43?

AL: I am extraordinarily impressed by George Bush 43 in every regard. I am amazed. I didn't expect him to be as good as he is. Both on defense and economics. I am enthralled by how good this man is.

ac: And the President in between, Bill Clinton?

AL: I thought Bill Clinton was a great President. The first two years were really bad. Then he changed the tune and became even more Reagan than Reagan. He did the '97 Capital Gains Tax Act, he did welfare reform, he appointed Greenspan twice, he pushed NAFTA through Congress, how wonderful was that. He cut Government spending as a share of GDP by 3½%. He left us with surpluses. This man did a fantastic job for the country. Her was a very good President.

ac: Milton Friedman?

AL: Milton Friedman I love. How can you not love Milton Friedman? There during the darkness of all the Fabian economics being pushed down on the Earth, there was this little tiny guy standing up there like Mighty Mouse just right in the face of it. And he did a hugely credible job of extending good economics during its darkest hour. And a very fine man. I don't know if you know Milton but he is a dear friend. You know he is 94. He is just as honorable and nice a man as you will ever meet. In fact I am going to see him this week up in Sacramento. We are both on the Governor's Advisory Council.

ac: Arnold Schwarzeneger was the next one on my list.

AL: Well, Arnold Schwarzeneger is just fantastic. I have never seen anyone with more raw material than him for being great. When you are in the room, it vibrates. I have been in the room with lots of them and he is just unbelievable. Here is a man who became the world champion bodybuilder, then he became the top movie draw, then he became a very successful businessman, and now he holds the top possible elective office for a non-born American. He is more fun to be with than Reagan or Thatcher or any of them.

ac: Rush Limbaugh?

AL: I was on his show a long time ago when he was in Sacramento. I am going to miss that question. That is not my style of debate, I'm not confrontational. I think that we all in this world have a good streak and want to come to the right answer. Confrontational types of discussions are rarely positive. I don't like that kind of confrontational style although obviously I agree with a lot of what he says.

ac: I thought that might be your answer and that is why I put Michael Moore on this list.

AL: Same kind of thing. It is just not right. It is the wrong way of debating policy. People are people first and foremost and if we can't all sit down and go through the logic and answer the questions and put the evidence down correctly, it is not a time for screaming and hollering. This screaming and hollering stuff is really unpleasant. That is why I disliked the election so much.

It is just very negative and not the right way to do it. Anyone who impugns the Conservatives and says they are against the poor is just plain wrong. And the same thing is true for the other side. How do you help the Poor? We all want to. The question is how do you do it. The question is how do you make things better for the world.

The same thing is true for Iraq. If I thought that [the war was] just a belligerent and imperialistic thing, I would never have supported it. I honestly believed the invasion of Iraq was warranted at the time and that it is a positive move toward eliminating terrorism on the planet. It is an area where we Americans can openly debate the issue but it is not where we should throw names at people. Do you know what I mean?

ac: I do. It wasn't on my list, but what is your feeling about the role of the media in this country and as being an instructive free press to the rest of the world?

AL: I think the media in this country has been exquisite. Their role is to inform but it is also to challenge. I can remember under Reagan and all the press that I got, much of it, as you know Al, was not positive. But it was fair and very challenging. It was pointing out the possibilities of error. The more sources there are of media, the better off we are. I like the Internet, I like the bloggers, I like Fox, I like the networks, I like all of these channels. I like newspapers and the radio. It really provides Americans with a lot of information and a lot of different ways of looking at issues. I think that it is really great.

ac: Last question, do you have any counsel that you would give a group of 60-something friends about where they are now and what is ahead of them.

AL: I was going to ask that advice for me. I am enjoying life enormously, and I know my friends in our Yale class are too. It was a great class. I have great friends in that class.

Arthur Laffer's email is jax@laffer.com.