I'll admit, when I saw the recorded footage of Nancy beside the casket tonight on the news, I burst into tears.
And never fear, the miserable, envious reprobates MUST throw in their two bits:
Associated Press: "Over two terms, from 1981 to 1989, Reagan reshaped the Republican Party in his conservative image, fixed his eye on the demise of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communism and tripled the national debt to $3 trillion in his single-minded competition with the other superpower."
BBC: "His foreign policy was criticised for being in disarray. . . . His October 1983 invasion of the small Caribbean island of Grenada was dismissed as a clumsy sham. Then there were his gaffes. . . . The report [from Congress on the Iran-contra kerfuffle] was seen as a devastating indictment of Mr Reagan's style of government. . . . More of a figurehead than a strong leader with a grasp for detail . . ."
Reuters, in the lead paragraph of an obituary: "Ronald Reagan, who died on Saturday at 93, was one of the great mysteries in American politics--was he the man in charge or simply a puppet, the master politician or a manipulated performer?" (Hey Reuters, isn't one man's manipulated performer another's freedom fighter?)
Reading stuff like this reminds us of just how similar the complaints about President Bush are to those about Reagan when he was in office: "cowboy," "simplistic," "warmonger," "dim-witted," "figurehead." The only one missing is "movie actor," and in a particularly imaginative bit of Bush-bashing, the Times' Alessandra Stanley manages to disparage the current president for not being an actor:
After American troops seized Baghdad, President Bush donned a flight suit and landed by jet fighter on an aircraft carrier festooned with the words "Mission Accomplished." Mr. Reagan stopped wearing costumes when he left Hollywood. Yesterday, he once again stole the show.
Stanley's colleague Adam Nagourney tries to find hope for the Democrats: "Some Republicans said the images of a forceful Mr. Reagan giving dramatic speeches on television provided a less-than-welcome contrast with Mr. Bush's own appearances these days, and that it was not in Mr. Bush's interest to encourage such comparisons."
Well, maybe. Certainly Bush isn't as eloquent as Reagan was. Then again, neither is John Kerry. When Bush speaks, you often imagine Reagan might have said the same thing better. When Kerry speaks, you imagine Reagan would disagree--assuming he could even figure out what Kerry was saying. I love BotW.
I stayed home yesterday from work to see the casket moved and for the ceremony and because I wanted to see the crowds of people paying their respects. I burst into tears too, when Nancy laid her cheek on the casket - and I was so heartened by Patti holding her hand throughout the service and holding her mom while at the casket - telling private things to each other and the younger comforting the older. It was really beautiful. I'm taking off Wed and Friday, too, not just because I hate to miss history, but because I want to feel the power of the man one more time.