--- Doug pointed out:
>> But the timing is too early, no? The Ronnie nostalgia will fade in
>> a
>> week or two, and Iraq will still be a mess.
>
>
Maybe. But with some astute planning, they could also milk this thing for at least six more months, keeping the Reagan name alive forever. I think you can count on it. We know that the GOP has been trying to get everything imagineable named or renamed after Reagan: stamps, currency, buildings, infrastructure, holidays...I've even heard of adding him to Rushmore. <snip>
------------------------- That cynical shitbag Tom Wolfe sometimes comes up with a good one. I've always liked his simile comparing the press corps to a "Victorian gent," forever anxious to ensure that the _right tone_ be struck on every occasion. I'm sure that the mixture of funerary solemnity, cloying sentimentality, and patriotic uplift will persist for a while. The quintessence of this glop can be found (where else) in today's NYT. Read it if you can stand it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/politics/10teevee.html
Speaking of cynical shitbags, of course the GOP will try to milk Reagan's demise for all it's worth. I don't think it will last, though, and predict that efforts to put the son-of-a-bitch's mug on Mount Rushmore or the dime are going nowhere. The Victorian gent will commence to twitter if the repugs go _too far_ in taking advantage of this somber occasion of national mourning. (Witness, once again, the NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/opinion/10THU3.html> )I propose renaming one of the moons of Mars after the guy. Which should it be? Phobos or Deimos? Once the hoked-up glow begins to fade, dissenting voices will be heard--in fact, they're being heard already--and the whole business will be dropped. Even the AP has already run a story, "Many Troubled by Reagan Legacy." In talking to people about RR over the past few days, I've found that it doesn't take much to burst the bubble. Wanna play 80s nostalgia? How about death squads, the AIDS crisis, Iran-Contra, homelessness, the S&L mess, the deficit... Seeya Ron. Don't come back.
Jacob Conrad