Well, Richard Goldstein of the Village Voice certainly doesn't think the timing of Ronnie's death is optimal for the GOP, e.g.: "Those who thought Karl Rove would keep Ronald Reagan on life support until election eve were proven wrong when the Gipper died on Saturday. In TV terms, he showed very bad timing." <http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0423/goldstein.php>
However, I think this underrates how desperate Bush & Co. were to break the spell of American abasement stemming from Abu Ghraib. And again, this allows them to leverage the national mood of self-reverence connected with D-Day. Above all, Reagan's death lures the troublesome paleo-conservatives back into the Big Tent. The paleos may loathe Bush and his Iraq misadventure, but this is an opportune time for them to reflect on whether they really do want to help hound the guy out of office. Maybe they owe it to the glorious Gipper to rally round the errant idiot Bush Junior after all.
Carl
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