Quote:
Perhaps that's because many people don't agree with your assesment of Mr. Reagan.


(general rant follows. Not directed at you nor intended to imply that you necessarily believe/espouse some of what I rant about).

What did that character say? "Saying something nice about someone just because they happen to be dead is the ultimate in hypocrisy!"

So I won't say anything nice. I may be wrong, but it seems like the last Republican president who brought anything to the game -- some thoughfulness, some curiousity, some balance --was Eisenhower. I don't think many people *reviled* Ike, perhaps because his Cold War followed more closely on the heels of WW2 and doing things like, say, overthrowing the government of Guatemala at the behest of big business, was somehow considered "normal", acceptable Cold War behavior.

It may be said the George H. W and even Gerald Ford might have been capable of a few deep thoughts and one or two moments of introspection, but look at the rest since Ike: Nixon, a drunken, frightening, calculating, sociopath whose own Joint Chiefs hid the launch codes from him. Reagan, unimpeached owner of Iran-Contra, builder of crippling deficits? Everything I read tells me that, some homey charm notwithstanding, the Gipper's role as pres was just another role. He was the figurehead. Present with short quips, but absent for any deliberate discussions. I couldn't imagine we could have a worse president...until lately. At least Bush junior has excelled in some way!

All of the funereal fawning really glossed over the great number of people who thought he was a twit, and a dangerous twit. I am glad he is gone. Reagan lovers can rest comfortable in the knowledge that he has gone to Heaven and he looks to be about 23 years old.

The people who are really pushing to get Reagan on the $10 bill? The Grover Norquists...the Heritage Foundation. Well, if they are your kind of people, then I think you really need help!

I am sure that the many conservatives who hated "That Man" probably had a collective seizure when FDR went on the dime. FDR deserved that honor and more as the last truly great president. Reagan replace Hamilton? That goes way beyond bad taste.
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Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.