....Reagan would never have stooped to that level. He was able to inject humor where it belonged, in a serious political context.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I recall a couple of his ‘greatest’ stunts...
He was waiting on either the State of the Union address or a Press conference and these guys showed up with a couple of wheelbarrows(?) full of papers...he turned to the camera, looking America “dead in the eye” and (basically) stated—I am supposed to report on this budget material which Congress delivered to my office this Morning....
When he said into a ‘supposed’ dead mike...’we begin bombing in 5 minutes’
BUT he got his message out to the people....
I think Fred Thompson could have pulled something like that off if he REALLY wanted the job......
I think of it this way: Jack Nicholson doesn't do Tv interviews because he wants you to watch his movies to get your fix of him.
Similarly, Reagan didn't have to go on talk shows to show you he was human--he did it 24/7, IN HIS JOB as President. I actually wanted to see him on TV, doing his job, because I knew that was the whole person, at least his public side. He could be warm, human, funny, silly--all while maintaining the appropriate respect for the office and his duties.
That's one of the many reasons I dislike Obama: he's such a freakin stiff.