Good morning--aside from the staff meeting, that is. A very long and tiring weekend, and sad. Reba told me Friday night that she had heard on the news that Mr. Reagan's family had been called to his home, and then we heard the news of his death while we were out Saturday with the kids.

Sunday morning I had the television tuned to NBC, and was surprised to see an early edition of Today with the usual suspects lined up to talk about Reagan's legacy. The theme that Matt and Katie decided to keep hammering was that of how the Washington of the Reagan years was so much less bitter and partisan, and they and their guest regaled us with tales of how he would invite Tip O'Neill (D., Boozehound) over and they would pal around and tell stories, and his personal touch with Mr. Gorbachev. And how he NEVER had a problem connecting with 'the people.' (As opposed to the professional nattering class who are, of course, better than mere 'people.') Oh, how cute and sweet! What little Matt and Katie kept simmering barely beneath the surface during their reminiscences was that we're supposed to compare the love and light of that golden time of bipartisanship and international cooperation with the evil way things are now.

Which is just pure crap, or at best willfully ignorant. The same rhetoric from Europe we hear directed at George Bush today--with the big paper heads, the drums, the comparisons to Hitler, the 'biggest threat to world peace is the US'--all that junk was said about Reagan, too. And while some may think that divisiveness among the parties has reached a fever pitch today, all you have to do is go read a newspaper. Yes, Reagan was a good and great man, and personable to a fault--but let's concentrate on that and not try to use it as a hammer to chip away at the current president. It sorta makes it look like you have a hidden agenda or something. Perish the thought.

Although, if Matt and Katie and the rest are so intent on exploring these supposed differences, one interesting comparison might be to see how the Reagan funeral will be handled, versus, say, how Paul Wellstone's was. It might be a bit more instructive.
posted by Terry at 9:25:00 AM