Having lived through Reagan I have no idea how he became a conservative god (sorry no capitals required), but then conservatives are all about facades so Tom T makes perfect sense. I was thinking recently how conservatives have becomes the party of "the group 'W' bench" ala Arlo Guthie. Maybe Commander Codpiece picked up the "W' subconsciously? It all comes together if you consider the neocon movement as the "group W bench" taking over... but I digress.

... in their fast-track hagiography of St. Ronnie Reagan to note that his belief that AIDS was a divine punishment for gayness wasn't markedly different from Jerry Falwell's bizarre attempt to pin 9/11 on gays (and a bunch of other groups he didn't like.)

Also, anyone else chortling over the irony of the GOP debators scrambling over each other to claim kinship with Jack Bauer --- portrayed by the son of HUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGE anti-Vietnam war activist, Jane Fonda's ex-boyfriend at the time, Donald Sutherland?

A moderator with sparking synapses would have asked that immediately at the debate to form a challenging question instead of just allowing the doofus monkey posedown for a banana and loud applause.

The guy saw 29 members of his administration convicted of crimes.

He occasionally failed to recognize members of his own cabinet when he met them outside of the White House.

He quadrupled the national debt in 8 years and while he claimed he'd balance the budget by 1982, he never actually submitted a balanced budget during his 8 years in office.

He sat idly by while two members of his cabinet traded jobs without even telling him.

He thought trees caused pollution.

He slept through cabinet meetings and didn't read briefings.

Honestly, this guy only looks good compared to the current clown. Tell me again, why is he so loved?

Charlie

this picture of the GOP faithful is so accurate. And the most pathetic part of all is that Reagan was a terrible president. Many of the problems we have now trace straight back to his proclivity for economics as magical-thinking, and the nurturing his administration gave to the nut-balls who are running things now. Not to mention Iran-Contra, which proved, if nothing else, that the President can commit multiple felonies and get way with it if he intimidates the right people in the right way.

And let's not forget how Reagan negotiated secretly with Teheran to hold our hostages until after the 1980 election. That piece of offal should have been jailed for that all by itself.

Reagan was a disaster for our political culture, and the activation of the most primitive, nativist wing of the GOP that he enabled will require us all to fight for generations to quell it.

This is one of the year's best from Tom Tomorrow. Honestly, an instant classic.

I never thought we could do worse than Ronald Reagan until the last 6+ years proved me wrong. It doesn't bother me that conservative nutcases deify Reagan as much as it bothers me that your average American (or so we're told) buys the pablum about him being "The Great Communicator." Randi Rhodes even gave Reagan such credit just last week. "The Great Poser" ... now that I can get on board with.

Incidentally, someday, if they (and by they I mean the conservatives' power brokers) elevate Ronnie and Dubya to a position on some denomination of our currency, can people or businesses legally refuse to accept such a denomination whatever it might end up being?

coffee shot out of my nose...!!!

"Tell me again, why is he so loved?"

Charlie

Really, now, what a silly question -- haven't you been reading your PowerLine, your Freepers, your Li'lGreenFootballs?

Because he single-handedly brought down the commies, broke the back of inflation, gave hard-working Murkins the biggest gosh-darned tax cut of all time -- thereby returning morning to America!

And if you don't think that over 50% of the voting public actually believes all of the above and then some, then you haven't been paying attention at all.

The media are not now, and have not for over a decade, been telling the truth about anything political. If we do not take back the media -- or create our own -- we'll just have to keep fighting the same battles over, and over, and over, world without end.

How come he hasn't got one? His letter is full o' fact: has only one comment: and asks a telling question (which other readers take up on). You can't do better than that!

I guess he's loved because the MSM loves to portray high Office and the presidency in particular using simple psychological narratives. Reagan brought morning back to America because he was simple (but not simple-minded as he admonished at the time) and he was an optimist. Bush will stay the course in Iraq because he is loyal and stubborn etc...and because you have to fight 'terrists' in Iraq else you'll have to fight them at home.

They like to give simple folksy narratives about how the psychological make-up of the leader has a one-to-one correspondence with how they carry out policy, rather than deal with the far murkier truth about how exactly policies devised to serve 'national interest' are carried out. Hint, it's not just directed by one person, and it's quite often unspeakably immoral.

I'm convinced of this. Ask your typical voter (of any stripe) what should the president be like? and they'll give you a summary based on projections of how they'd like to be, hence why unthinking people love Bush (he doesn't do nuance) and liberals hate him (he doesn't do nuance)

All in all, instead of having a serious look at the dysfunctional process AND this dysfunctional administration, the GOP candidates, the media and the voters are retreating into fantasies of some saviour in the form of a new Reagan will come and sort everything out. Ironically in Iran and Iraq this same sort of magical thinking is rife amongst the shiites in the form of awaiting the return of the Mahdi or 12th Imam. No need to use reason, courage, intelligence and honesty to make a better world, far better to just wait for a messiah and then everything will be allright...want some milk with your cookies honey?