You are right! George Will bashed Ronald Reagan with glee prior to and during much of his administration.
George Will is and always has been a GOPe HACK of the worst order. He also is a pompous ass who thinks himself a much better writer than he is.
Bill O’Reilly’s pomposity succeeded in making Will look better here though. This is an ego trip for O’Reilly-—he really doesn’t care about the truth one way or another.