Monday, June 07, 2004
The Many Faces of Ronnie:
When eventually he bid goodbye to us, Reagan said to Nancy: "Well, Nancy, we must be getting along," ...He was still in his Camp David riding kit of light-coloured leather cowboy boots, flared trousers and an open-neck shirt. I thought to myself that this was the sort of President the American public wanted.
Is this enough for towering greatness? ...There was one hero of Ronnie's two terms... but his name was Jim Baker, the brilliant political manager and mate of Vice-President George Bush, who became chief of staff when a crisis of competence threatened everything... James A Baker III was, for a while, the best president America never had; and Ronnie, upstairs snoozing or watching TV, was a passenger riding his luck.
Politicians who said that the beliefs of a free society could and should be asserted were mistrusted. If you wanted to confront the Soviet Union, you were accused of being a warmonger. Reagan was considered stupid and maverick, Mrs Thatcher was considered ignorant and provincial. The two found that they shared beliefs - and the burden of obloquy for what they believed. That creates a bond.
Blah blah blah... A great leader who will be truly missed... blah blah... A great man and leader is passing us... He was intelligent, principled, informed and dedicated to decency... blah blah... A monolithic figure in post-World War II history... blah... Are we not referring to the same Reagan who tried to topple various (democratically elected) Central American governments because they had different beliefs about how to run their countries?
Let's have some real news now...
When eventually he bid goodbye to us, Reagan said to Nancy: "Well, Nancy, we must be getting along," ...He was still in his Camp David riding kit of light-coloured leather cowboy boots, flared trousers and an open-neck shirt. I thought to myself that this was the sort of President the American public wanted.
Is this enough for towering greatness? ...There was one hero of Ronnie's two terms... but his name was Jim Baker, the brilliant political manager and mate of Vice-President George Bush, who became chief of staff when a crisis of competence threatened everything... James A Baker III was, for a while, the best president America never had; and Ronnie, upstairs snoozing or watching TV, was a passenger riding his luck.
Politicians who said that the beliefs of a free society could and should be asserted were mistrusted. If you wanted to confront the Soviet Union, you were accused of being a warmonger. Reagan was considered stupid and maverick, Mrs Thatcher was considered ignorant and provincial. The two found that they shared beliefs - and the burden of obloquy for what they believed. That creates a bond.
Blah blah blah... A great leader who will be truly missed... blah blah... A great man and leader is passing us... He was intelligent, principled, informed and dedicated to decency... blah blah... A monolithic figure in post-World War II history... blah... Are we not referring to the same Reagan who tried to topple various (democratically elected) Central American governments because they had different beliefs about how to run their countries?
Let's have some real news now...
