“With a firm grasp of Reagan’s story, Jarecki avoids the predictable and takes the long view on Reagan’s life and influence, while staying centered on him as a man of deep contradiction; an American whose patriotism paradoxically led him to impeachable acts, a liberal Democrat who came to define the modern conservative movement.”
I did see that documentary, and it wasn’t as bad as I might have expected. Which is to say it was obviously tilted and unfair, but not horribly so. The “long view” part was fine, I guess, as were various personal details. Which is to say they suggested his blame for the ‘08 meltdown, budget deficits, foreign interventionism, and vaguely what is wrong with modern America (mostly to do with...I don’t know what; greed, or something), but it didn’t cause my head to explode.
The talking head panel was unbalanced. Yeah, sure, it’s only natural for Ron Jr. and Edmund Morris to dominate the conversation. But the authors of “Tear Down This Myth,” “What’s the Matter With Kansas,” and “Way Out There In the Blue,” among others? Do I have to hear from them every two seconds? As for the other side, I remember James Baker and Pat Buchanon, of all people, a snatch or two of Michael Reagan, and of course Art Laffer as the sole defender of the Laffer Curve.
There was the usual cavalcade of gripes: McCarthyism; Big Business Toadyism; Goldwater was a loser-ism; Reagan didn’t free the hostages; Reagan was only popular because he got shot; Reaganomics was welfare for the rich; everything sucked in the 80s and he only got re-elected because the public was duped by his acting ability and avuncularity; the defense budget was hypocritical; we came so close to real arms control before stupid, impractical Star Wars ruined it; the Soviet Union didn’t need our help collapsing, thank you very much; AIDS killed bajillions in the shadows; Iran-Contra; he’s both too simple and too sly; etc.
Like I said, though, it wasn’t that bad. Which is to say I didn’t blow my top watching it.