Reagan

Like a lot of people - I have mixed feelings about Ronald Reagan's passing.. Personally - I know this may be hard to swallow - I actually liked most of what he did when he was President.. That said - I'd take Ronald over The Dub anyday.....

The passing of a President usually gets a lot of airplay.. I do recall though that Nixon didn't get the air time that Reagan is getting.. I think there are several reasons why this is the case, but most notably: Reagan was more likable than Nixon.. He had his moments - no denying that.. But as a person of character - he was really good..

Darby and I talked about it tonight.. She thought that as Presidents went, Reagan probably leaned on his staff more than other Presidents, that somehow he didn't have the experience to lead the country than others.. I'm not sure I fully agree with that, but I don't think it's a mystery that Reagan probably relied upon his staff for decisions.. I also don't think that's a bad thing.. Because the input of 20 people on a decision should be better than just one person.. I think Bush is proving that right now..

One little observance I made tonight.. It was when Nancy was escorted by VP Dick Cheney to the casket.. When I looked at her response, body language, etc. the only thing I wondered was whether that was drawn up as a publicity moment.. Nancy looked really confused and unsure of whether to be up there - and what to be doing up there.. Considering she's already spent this past week traveling with the casket - now there had to be one more photo op for the administration..

I have no idea if that was the intent, the situation, or what -- but something wasn't right with how she was reacting.. Nancy has always been a very calm, very natural person in front of a crowd or on TV.. Here it looked like she was being "guided" where to be, where to stand, where to go, what to do...... It's a slight point.. I don't know if there was something going on..

I do know this though - I feel for her, the family and for those that were close to this man.. Love him or hate him - he was a statesman.. I don't think he did much for the economy and I reject the notion of needing "Reaganomics" for the country, but I'm also not a business or finance major, so I can't really say for sure.. I do know that he stood his ground and had a lot of good fortunes that happened in his administration.. He got the hostages out of Iran.. He stopped the Soviet Union.. Assisted in the taking down of the Berlin Wall.. And I actually remember that the world felt safe.. Amazing what a decade and a half can do, eh?? Considering when you've had two republican presidents and a democrat since then..........

One last thought before I close this: I was surprised to hear about Tenet's resignation - but can anyone say that this is really shocking?? Surprised yes, shocking - hardly.. Tenet really dug himself a couple of holes - and *still* didn't find any WMD.. Oops.. Here's the setup: with Tenet gone -that's great news for the White House because the blame will have appeared to shift on to him and not Bush.. Which is still My anger spot: there's STILL no responsibility for these lapses - only excuses.. Business as usual.. Short term memories will abound...