CBS Slurs My Dad

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | 10/23/03 | Michael Reagan

[kattracks]

Ronald Reagan, about to be portrayed as an unfeeling, forgetful conservative, had the biggest heart of any President in America’s history – so big that CBS had no trouble finding it when they decided to plunge a dagger into it.

The liberal network had the gall to allow a scriptwriter to put words in my father’s mouth he never spoke – words that pictured him as having no sympathy for AIDS victims.

Now CBS’s defenders are trying to excuse the network for its shameful fictionalization of my dad’s life by noting that the miniseries "The Reagans" gives him credit for many of the great things he did, such as winning the Cold War, but they cannot gloss over the fact that the Ronald Reagan shown in the miniseries is not the real Ronald Reagan.

They want to talk about his forgetfulness, but he never forgot the people of this country. He gave us all a tax break, created tens of thousands of jobs and restored our faith in ourselves. He never forgot the hostages in Iran who were freed the day that he was sworn in as president.

He never forgot the suffering people behind the Iron Curtain, living in squalor and poverty, under the gun for all those many years. He did everything he could to free them.

And he never forgot who he was, and where he had come from. He remembered being poor. He remembered struggling.

The important things he needed to know he never forgot.

On the day he took office, right after he was told that the hostages in Iran had been freed, he called former President Carter and told him, "You’re the one who did the work, you’re the one that did so much to free those hostages. You are the one who should get the credit." And he gave the former president Air Force One and sent him to Germany to welcome the hostages. That was the heart of Ronald Reagan. That story, like so many others, was never told because my Dad didn’t trumpet his good deeds.

The miniseries won’t tell you the whole story about my dad’s visit to Japan when he learned that only the first class section would be occupied in the 747 jet he was traveling on. He went out and got families of service men and women serving in Japan and filled up the back of the plane with them so they could visit their loved ones they hadn’t seen for over a year. They won’t tell you how he took them to Japan and brought them back home on the plane without it costing them one cent.
That was also the heart of Ronald Reagan.

There are so many stories you don’t hear from the people who are hateful, the people who are spiteful, the people who are jealous, the people who never liked Ronald Reagan.

In a column last July I wrote that CBS was planning to produce a miniseries on my father, and noted that while I hadn’t seen the script, I understood it had been leaked around Hollywood and was anything but friendly to my dad.

After all, Hollywood has never warmed up to him, even when he went to bat for actors as president of the Screen Actor’s Guild and won them the right to get residual payments when their movies were rerun – a right he refused to give to himself because he thought that would be a conflict of interest. So his movies alone are exempt from residuals. They also forgot that they elected him president of the Guild nine times.

Moreover, not once – ever – did Hollywood even think about giving my dad an award in recognition of his many services to the film industry and the people who work in it. So I wouldn’t expect them to do a positive miniseries about somebody who gave them residuals so they could take the summers off.

And they also forgot to go to the people who knew him best – his family. Nobody at CBS came near any of us. They were probably afraid we’d tell the truth about the heart of Ronald Reagan and that would have spoiled their plans to show him as they wanted to see him, rather than as he was: a wonderful, caring human being and one of the greatest and kindest men ever to serve as President of the United States.

---

Mike Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is heard on more than 200 talk radio stations nationally as part of the Premiere Radio Network.

[StormEye]

"No, I'm in GA and that hick Jimmy Carter won in '76. Reagan ran against him but lost.
Right, Freepers ?"

Gerald Ford ran against Carter in 1976 and lost.

[Froggie]

That was President Ford that lost to Jimmy Carter...Regan did try to get the nomination from Ford, but Ford had the White House already and prevailed only to get beat by Carter!

[Hostage]

Don't worry Michael, people remember the real Ronald Reagan. They remember the hope, optimism, confidence and patriotism that he brought back to America.

There are many tens of millions of Anericans that remember Ronald Reagan's leadership of America and the world, they will never forget his contributions.

CBS will smear themselves, as they insult a beloved President, truly beloved in their eyes, they will dig their hole deeper. Ronald Reagan has an eternal integrity that they, CBS and others called teflon coating.

The young people today see the decency in Ronald Reagan. They look at his smile, his speech and they know at once he is genuine. No one can take away Ronald Reagan's humble honesty.

[brutuss]

I too contacted my local CBS affiliate. The General Manager at WBTV here in Charlotte, NC is Mary McMillian (704) 845-9076. She is easy to get ahold of and will return your call if you voicemail her.

She is very pleasant lady, extremely reasonable, and she will listen to your comments. I encourage everyone in the Charlotte area to share your input.

My input was to summarize points similar to those already presented here by others, and to request that she exercise her option to not broadcast the program on WBTV.

Her response is that she will raise the issue with CBS corporate, but will likely air the show - she feels that people will recognize it for a smear if that is what it is. She did not seem to be pleased with the prospect of this program being a Reagan smear, nor surprised that it would amount to a hit piece.

[brutuss]

I too contacted my local CBS affiliate. The General Manager at WBTV here in Charlotte, NC is Mary McMillian (704) 845-9076. She is easy to get ahold of and will return your call if you voicemail her.

She is very pleasant lady, extremely reasonable, and she will listen to your comments. I encourage everyone in the Charlotte area to share your input.

My input was to summarize points similar to those already presented here by others, and to request that she exercise her option to not broadcast the program on WBTV.

Her response is that she will raise the issue with CBS corporate, but will likely air the show - she feels that people will recognize it for a smear if that is what it is. She did not seem to be pleased with the prospect of this program being a Reagan smear, nor surprised that it would amount to a hit piece.

[brutuss]

I too contacted my local CBS affiliate. The General Manager at WBTV here in Charlotte, NC is Mary McMillian (704) 845-9076. She is easy to get ahold of and will return your call if you voicemail her.

She is very pleasant lady, extremely reasonable, and she will listen to your comments. I encourage everyone in the Charlotte area to share your input.

My input was to summarize points similar to those already presented here by others, and to request that she exercise her option to not broadcast the program on WBTV.

Her response is that she will raise the issue with CBS corporate, but will likely air the show - she feels that people will recognize it for a smear if that is what it is. She did not seem to be pleased with the prospect of this program being a Reagan smear, nor surprised that it would amount to a hit piece.

[Moonman62]

No, I'm in GA and that hick Jimmy Carter won in '76. Reagan ran against him but lost. Right, Freepers ?

Carter beat Ford. Reagan conceded to Ford for the Republican nomination.

[Tribune7]

ping

[HungarianGypsy]

When I was 14 I wrote a letter to Ronald Reagan. I purposely asked questions and made comments that needed an actual answer. The response I got back was probably typed by his secretary and the signature looks rubber-stamped (I don't know how I could tell the difference) to me, but because of the words on there, I always assumed he took the time to address the items I mentioned. The wording was so exact that even when I read the letter today, I can almost hear his voice speaking through that letter.

[Tribune7]

Gerald Ford lost to Carter in '76.

RR ran against Ford -- the incumbent -- in the GOP Primary and nearly won. RR did make a gracious concession speech to Ford.

[potlatch]

That's sad. On another thread, everyone is sending emails to CBS. Sometimes, getting an abundance of email makes an impression!

[Temple Owl]

Ping. Brother Owl, please post your boycott list on this thread.