Neither did that shameful and decidedly imprudent cut-and-run at Beirut.
Reagan did what worked, given the situation he faced. So does Dubya, in a different situation, with a different sort of enemy entirely. Hindsight has applauded Reagan, but he took a lot of carping from the peanut gallery at the time. Dubya is taking a lot of carping from the peanut gallery at this time, but hindsight has yet to render a verdict in his case.
Clinton did what worked - for him. But he left a horrible mess for the next guy. Hindsight isn't being very kind to him.
Don't ever mistake Islamist/pan-Arabist terrorism for the Soviet Union. It's true the mouth-foaming Left is in love with the terrorists, just as it was with Stalin. But the Left is shallow. It judges only on surface appearances. In the end, the Russians loved their children too. I don't think we can say that of, for instance, the Palestinians.