Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911-2004
Published June 09, 2004
My strongest feeling about the passing of Ronald Reagan is not much feeling at all. Part of this is simple ambivalence: I was at my most liberal during Reagan's presidency, didn't vote for him, resented his yanking of the country to the right, the silliness of "just say no," the bizarre disconnect of being an affable father-figure to a nation but a distant, uncommunicative father to his own children.
Yet I have come to accept the importance of his grasp of symbolism and message communication: Reagan's ability to project unwavering power and determination to our Soviet-bloc rivals and "morning in America" optimism to the masses at home.
Besides personal and political ambivalence, it also feels very odd to suddenly focus lavish attention upon a figure who has been slipping away bit by bit for over ten years, drifting off into the wilderness of his own mind, wandering alone, incommunicado, for all intents and purposes dead to the outside world and a stranger even to Nancy.
With all the sudden attention, it's as if he has suddenly reappeared only to REALLY disappear: "Hello, I must be going. I'd love to stay but I came to say 'I must be going.'"
But having finally dragged myself into this mindspace, let's see what's going on:
- SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - A black Cadillac hearse arrived at the hilltop library that bears the name of former President Ronald Reagan on Wednesday morning for the first leg of his journey to Washington for state funeral ceremonies.
The Reagan family was to escort the body from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to the nearby Navy base at Point Mugu for a flight to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington aboard a presidential Boeing 747. From Andrews, the body was to be taken to the Capitol to lie in state until a funeral at the National Cathedral on Friday.
The casket will then be returned to California for burial at the presidential library that evening. [AP]
He certainly remains popular:
- More than 100,000 Reagan admirers filed past the former president's flag-draped coffin at the library on Tuesday, a steady stream of well-wishers that continued past nightfall.
"It's a lifetime event. I wanted to show my gratitude. I wanted to show my love," said Jesse Garcia, 52, who with his wife traveled down from their home in Northern California.
Reagan, the nation's 40th chief executive, was 93 when he died Saturday of pneumonia, as a complication of Alzheimer's disease. He announced he had the disease a decade ago.
His death revealed that the popularity of the former Republican president, California governor and movie actor remained strong despite his long absence from public life.
"It is unbelievable what I am seeing on TV," Reagan office chief of staff Joanne Drake quoted Nancy Reagan as saying Tuesday. "The outpouring of love for my husband is incredible."
- Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911-2004
- Published: June 09, 2004
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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My view is perhaps more nuanced.
At the time one of my cousins used to joke his kids would think the president was named "Fucking Reagan."
hey jim:
i am with you on that. but tonight i am saying it with my new blogcritics.org
t shirt that really accentuates my gut.
i got the email below today from
kip addotta....the comedian i think.
Dear Jack,
God bless President Ronald Wilson Reagan!
Thank you Nancy Reagan!
is there some vast right wing comedian conspiracy?
i just thought is was odd.
jack
You and your new Blogcritics shirt rule, Jack E! We need way more ruling Blogcritics shirt wearers.
I'm not sure Dennis Miller and Kip make a vast conspiracy.
Got my BlogCritics mousepad and coffee mug today. They're great! :)
Oh, and Jim: Have you ever said anything positive about any American?
The fact you hate the US AND Reagan further cements my belief that Reagan was a great man, with all the right enemies...
Jack E --
Hmmm... you may have something there... "Accentuate Your Gut" with a BC t-shirt. OK. These are ideas, only ideas.
How about: "What better place to hide your vodka than a Blogcritic's coffee mug?"
OK, I'll stop.
How about:
"Masterbate to cyber-porn? No problem! The BlogCritics mouse pad is mostly white. It will hide ALL evidence of your self-abuse..."
Yeah, that was a little sick. So what? :)
Interesting selection of articles with multiple angles. Good job with the research.
I think the Hitchens analysis was very negative but also very interesting:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2101842
Hitchens was pissing on a grave. Just like he did with Mother Teresa. Just like he'll do with Maggy Thatcher (if his liver holds out that long)...
Come on, though, RJ. What Hitchens said about Mother Theresa was so ballsy and provocative, even if it was cruel. If you find me hilarious, you should worship him. He called her a necrophiliac and had various astute criticisms of her message, ideology, and image. Someone track down the original article, because I'm too lazy.
Hitchens is cruel and picks the worst times to assail our cultural saints, but he's almost always dead-on, as he was when he called The Passion of the Christ "homoerotic, fascist sadomasochism."
http://slate.msn.com/id/2096323/
In a time when most writers try so hard to play the middle and have very little of interest to say for fear of being controversial, Hitchens is one of the best at dissecting sacred cows for the truth. I don't agree with many of his political positions lately, but he's a very talented judge of personality and persona.
wow.
Dropping Christopher Hitchens' into casual conversation! This Booey guy really is smart!
Nice work on the compilation, Eric.
random thoughts:
I can't figure out if the current hero worship/airlift to Mt. Olympus is real/justified, political, or just some strange, deep socio-psychological thing Americans are chasing after?
Some consolation that comes with a shared cultural mourning -- and we fear this might be the last biggie NOT related to a 9/11 type of incident?
Is there a feeling of meaning, patriotism, etc. that is not necessarily that related to the reality and deeds of the man himself, but more related to a ubiquitous vapidity in most of our lives?
Is this some form of an implicit antidote to the bad news from Iraq, the loss of anonymous life over there, a subconscious response to the triviality of contemporary life?
To go from watching "The Good Life" and "Fear Factor" to watching a nationally televised wake is quite a shocking juxtaposition, but maybe the interest shows an inherent national need?
And I wonder who could ever garner such a level of attention in the future, ie. is this the last of an obsolete exercise? An end to the social/cultural atmosphere that can even create such a person? Can you imagine another American getting this treatment during our lifetimes? (I couldn't imagine Reagan getting it, but that's another story)
I dunno, but I suspect it might be the last of a soon-to-be extinct national mourning exercise?
Reagan represented a lot of things to people over a variety of 'times' -- 1911-2004 covers quite a number of generations, events, etc. Maybe that's a large part of it.
And there's definitely some 'father figure' thing going on, but I'll leave that analysis to the voodoo experts.
Thanks for the compliments Bob and Shark! Hitchens's view is perfectly valid, but he does seem awfully eager to be the first iconclast to pounce.
Very interesting questions and obsservations Shark - I hadn't thought about the 9/11 angle. I wonder if Bush benefits from the comparison to Reagan - as many have now made explicitly - or if he suffers by comparison. Surely he is not the communicator, nor does he possess the style that Reagan did.
Maybe the enthusiasm Reagan is receiving is a subconscious "you're no Reagan" directed at Bush, but I don't know.
And we really DO need a lot more people buying Blogcritics merchandise. I don't want to pressure any more than I have about donating, but picking up some Blogcritics merch is win-win all the way around. We REALLY need the income one way or another. Thanks.
Ah, pressure.
As for Ray-gun, I am avoiding all of the funeral/tribute hoohah -- let those who wish to do so unite in mourning. I have more important things to do, like watching "Elimidate."
Suffice it to say that I wish no one dead and offer condolences to Nancy and the kids. As for lib commentary, I'm down with Hitch on this one and furious with Ted Rall, who hoped verbally that Ray-gun would be a "crispy-brown" about now. Might Reagan go to Hell? Perhaps. But if there is a possibility that I will end up in heaven, there is a possibility that RWR will as well. The Creator is merciful, and that is a good thing.
i really enjoy the humor or r j elliott, even though i don't always agree.
the comment about the white mouse pad is sick, twisted, perverted and funny as hell. not to mention a great selling point.
jack e. jett
Jack, the boy is as serious as a heart attack. Which he seems to be about to have in regard to the demise of a 93-year-old man who lived too long. What puzzles me is RJ Elliott's continual references to Reagan and urination. Somehow, in his mind, the two go together.
An abomination to progressive politics, the thousands saying goodbye to Reagan reminds one of Franco's funeral in Spain. Such a spectacle only confirms America's love affair with fascism. Burn in hell, Ronnie!
I just wanted to add that Elimidate rules. That's my political statement of the day.
That is all.
"[T]he comment about the white mouse pad is sick, twisted, perverted and funny as hell. not to mention a great selling point."
Thanks, JEJ! Sick, twisted, perverted bastards like myself become fully-erect after garnering such praise.
Oh, shit. I blew a premature load again! Darn it... [wipes self with mouse pad]
Heh... ;-P
"What puzzles me is RJ Elliott's continual references to Reagan and urination. Somehow, in his mind, the two go together."
Didn't Reagan have an enlarged prostate?
Anyway, I'm just glad MD is still reading my comments, golden-shower references and all... :-P
Thanks for the excellent article on Reagan, Eric.
More than can be said for some of the comments. Almost hesitate to join such a crowd.
I didn't like many of Reagan's policies but respected his ability. He at least knew how to be president, which is more than can be said about some.
One comment in the article is a little strange: "The young boy turned to his mother and the teachings of her Fundamentalist church, The Disciples of Christ, which gave him a belief in predestination and a strong sense of good and evil." The Disciples of Christ do not believe in predestination. They do believe in good and evil.
Sincerely,
Roy Davison
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Fuck Rotten Ronnie, he presented a smiling face of terror during the 80s, while he was directly responsible for the murder, rape and torture of hundreds of thousands around the world, while looting the 'murrican treasury (remember the Saving and Loan bail-out of the Bush boys?)
Never mind the incipient and daily threat of casual nuclear war.
Y'know, it seems I can't say "fuck Ronald Reagan" enough to relieve two decades of pent-up stress.