I don't think the world was quailing before the Soviets during the eighties, and anyway, if anything the Reagan administration was responsible for at least, an apparent softening towards the USSR.
As for SDI, it was a huge financial disaster, regardless of whether it was a bluff or not, which I don't think it was.
Finally, Reagan has always struck me as the American President of recent years that was more of an empty figurehead that all others.