Eulogies

When I heard that President Reagan had died, I knew we were going to be hearing an awful lot about him this week. It does give us a lot to talk about, most of which won't be aired in the election-year eulogizing. This includes his unwillingness to mention AIDS until the epidemic had been building steam for several years, his foreign policies in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and the rest of Central America, nuclear proliferation, and his slashing of domestic progrems. There is lots to say and I'm the least well-qualified. Unfogged has a wrap-up of blogger opinions on the issue. The one I liked best is Billmon. He concludes

"So, while Reagan - like the entire decade of the '80s - has faded into history, I certainly won't mourn his passing. And I suppose I'll just have to grit my teeth and do my best to ignore the glowing tributes and bipartisan praise we'll be subjected to over the next few days - just as I did when Nixon died. The ritual deification of Ronald Reagan has become one of the essential bonds that holds the modern Republican Party together - not to mention a lucrative fundraising vehicle for some of its leading lights. The rest of us will just have to make the best of it."