I never really thought about this before, but it is notable that for all the sabre rattling, Reagan didn't start any wars. Grenada doesn't count although it was a good model for how to design a winnable conflict.

He gets too much credit for ending the cold war and not enough critisism for the intrigue of the Iran/Contra dirty mess.

However, he was smart enough to not get into multiple wars with too few troops and no defined objectives or end points.