Saw the bad news yesterday evening...Reagan's dead.
What?
Not this Reagan? The other one...oh. Heh. Oops!
Felt like I should write something on the occasion of the passing of our 40th President, just didn't know exactly what to say, since I don't generally like to speak ill of the dead. Then I thought what the hell...why not?
I was 20 when Reagan assumed the Presidency, wrapping himself in the flag and waving apple pie and God and Country in our faces. But I didn't trust the man from day one, even at the ripe old age of 20. He was an actor, for chrissakes, who better to be a puppet president than an actor? As the years went by, it became obvious that Ronnie didn't have a clue what was going on under his very nose, and didn't want to know either. He was content to play his assigned part on the biggest stage of his life. His was the first example, that I had ever seen anyway, of a figurehead, and it seemed plain that he left the actual decision making to his "advisors", most of whom were in pocket to special interests. At least Nixon, as reprehensible as that old bastard was, could say that he was his own man. Ronnie was Nancy's man first, then his cabinet's, and then the man of those whose pockets he helped line and those wistfully foolish enough to don blinders and think that he had their best interests in mind. Not even Nixon made me as cynical about the political process as our late former President did. And Bush Senior stepped right in to carry on his predecessor's fine work, and now we've come full circle with his equally-as-clueless-as-Reagan son.
Yeah, Reagan was a fine, likeable actor. He was even in a couple of movies with my Forties inamorata Priscilla Lane, lucky him. I want to say we'd all be better off today if he had stayed an actor, and retired gracefully, but no- they would have found someone else...it was inevitable.
So, while I'm happy he's over his struggle with Alzheimer's, an ironic twist if there ever was one and a disease I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, you'll forgive me if I don't shed too many tears for the late Mr. Reagan.
See? Who says I never blog about politics anymore?
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