I ask this question because I sense that those on the putative "left" (or at least non-Republicans) view of Reagan is probably very much colored by whether or not they were of voting age. I think "age cohort" is a very important determination of political views and affiliation.
In other words, those now in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are the most conservative voting bloc in the country for a reason. They came of age politically during the New Right's rise and their poltical perceptions are very much molded by Reaganism.
Myself, I was a child when Reagan was president, a child who live the first five years of Reagan's term in the UK. Thus, I do not have much hostility or love for the man one way or the other. Indeed, I much prefer Reagan to the current president. I have to give Reagan much credit for recognizing what Gorbachev represented (against the advice of the neo-conservatives in particular) and successfully helped to end the Cold War. Of course, Reagan didn't "win" the Cold War, but he played an important part in its succesful conclusion. As for supply-side economics, the AIDS crisis, and the Latin American interventions, well, I can't defend him here. I am a liberal after all.
But I do think Reagan's bark was louder than his bite - he talked right, governed more from the center. Unlike are current White House occupant, who talks center - "compassionate conservatism" - and governs hard right.
Indeed, I will always associate Reagan with my grandfather - a diehard conservative, who died in 1997 - who was born in the Midwest at about the same time as Reagan, became a radio broadcaster, and moved to California in the 1940s. Reagan and my grandfather are forever linked in my mind, and perhaps because of this, I'm a genuinely saddened.