In The Big Inning...

I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from an acute case of Reaganitis. Now, I've been traveling for work the past few days, and therefore have been in South Carolina. Normally, this would be quite unfortunate, as this particular area of South Carolina (Sumter, near Shaw Air Force Base) has nothing but trailer parks and signs making reference to Jesus. However, in this case, it's been rather fortuitous, as Sumter is a bit cut off from the rest of civilization, and has thus been infested with less Reagan-related information particles than, say, Washington, DC might be. And even the less polluted air of Sumter is enough to start giving me dry heaves.

Now, I'm all for respecting a man who served the United States, even if I don't respect his policies. Frankly, at the time, I was too young to care about his policies, so aside from his political affiliation, I don't really have a strong opinion on Reagan one way or the other. (And, even if I did, I have been trying to avoid politics in this blog - not because I think you might not want to read about it, but because I fear of going off on an insane rant and being hauled away, maybe because of some Patriot Act provision...oops, there I go.) However, the level of coverage his deal has been getting is really out of control. The Federal Government shut down!! If he had been shot (well, he was shot, but shot and killed), then I could understand it. And, certainly, he was loved, whether or not he deserved it. But come on, people, let's get a grip. He was 93. His policies may have won the Cold War (I say "may" deliberately), but he also had his share of shortcomings and scandals. (Iran-Contra, gigantic recession, etc.) Maybe it's all part of a plan to grant his desire for smaller government, by shutting everything down for a day. Although, really, this is probably wasting millions of dollars in productivity, at a time when we likely could use it. Have a funeral, have Bush give a speech, but let's be a bit practical.

So, the federal government has no sense of perspective: What else is new? Well, it seems to me that the American public also has no sense of perspective, what with lining up for hours to pay their respects (by walking past the casket) of a man who they didn't know personally, and what they did know of him was only through the public persona he put on. Like I said, showing respect is nice and appropriate, but when you spend hours and hours out of your day to just walk by a casket, it seems that you're bestowing on yourself a sense of importance and connection that really is a bit skewed.

However, part of me kind of understands why this may be occurring at this time in history. Think about it: It's been since Reagan that we had a President that was similarly respected and adored. Now, people will debate average approval ratings, and it's certainly true that Clinton had similar, if not higher approval ratings during his term. But I do recall a much more sincere sense of honor, dignity, and respect that the President and his office commanded when Reagan was in office. I think part of it was that I was just a kid, and so the President just seemed so much cooler at the time. Also, part of it was that I wasn't really into politics, so I didn't know any shortcomings that Reagan had as a policymaker. Nevertheless, I still do think that when Reagan was in office, partly because of his personality and how he carried himself, and also because of how the political climate has changed, many Americans had a favorable view of the office itself. It was almost larger than life, beyond reproach, a little better than your normal human. Accurate or not, I think it's this feeling that's driving this outpouring of emotion, even if it is partially manufactured or fraudulent.

Since Reagan we've had the first Bush, who was viewed as a wimp and only served one term - clearly he didn't command the same amount of respect as Reagan, and bore the brunt of the recession responsibility, even if it was Reagan's fault. Then, there was Clinton, who might have, at the beginning of his term, had a similar level of respect. But, then he became all too human, and it's tough to have a great amount of love for a man one you know that he cheats on his wife with slutty government interns, even if he was a great politician. And, finally, we have our current President, who really had just been pretty awful. Even if you like his policies, he's clearly quite flawed, stubborn, arrogant, and not nearly the communicator that Reagan was.

So, add it all up and you have a Republican administration and Congress that's looking for an edge in the upcoming election. You have a President that was largely looked upon fondly that passes away. And, finally, you have a string of successive Presidents that have either been political failures, or had extreme character flaws, or both, and what do you get? Reaganitis. It may make sense, but it's not making me any less sick.

P.S. I couldn't resist. Here's my favorite Op-Ed columnist, Paul Krugman, talking a bit about Reagan's economic legacy. Here's another one, with a little Bush-bashing thrown in. Only read if you're in a political mood.