Disillusioned

"To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days."  Gore Vidal.

OK, so we know I'm not necessarily current on my reading, which is why I just finished "Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency," by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (Holt and Co., 2015).  Caveat: I was a fan of Reagan and to an extent I still am.  On the day he died, I was on my way to a gig in Chambersburg.  As soon as I got home, I ordered a ball cap from the aircraft carrier named in his honor.

The research on this book was amazing.  One might imagine that O'Reilly would paint a rosy picture of Reagan.  Although this is definitely not a "hatchet job," the authors portrayed Reagan honestly, warts and all.  From his numerous affairs to his disinterest in fatherhood we learn that Nancy Reagan may have been the best thing to happen to him- even though she had her flaws.

The accomplishments that were achieved during Reagan's presidency cannot be disputed.  Nor can the misses be excused.  It should be noted that many of those accomplishments, and not a few of those debacles, should be attributed to his staff- and Nancy ran that staff with an iron fist.  And, as much as I personally minimized rumors and reports, I must now concede that horoscopes, psychics and the early stages of dementia were all factors in Reagan's ability to govern.

Reagan was the right man, with the right people, at the right time.  I am thankful for that.  His shortcomings serve as an illustration as to how we can idolize people not worthy of our unconditional loyalty.  Vidal's quote was prefaced, "As the age of television progresses the Reagan's will be the rule, not the exception."  We all need to carefully understand the person behind the those presidential images.