The Teflon President as Body Shield

Ronald Wilson Reagan was probably America's most popular president. In death, it seems, he will be raised to the same canonical heights as JFK.
Apparently no one remember's Iran-Contra, or Ketchup as a vegetable.

www.mediachannel.org...

The most interesting point to me, is that the current administration is not above using this, the death of one of one of their heroes, as another method of distracting the public from their ever present screw-ups.

"60 Minutes dropped a promised segment with Sibel Edmonds, the FBI translator who claims she saw evidence that the government knew of planned terrorist attacks for a special segment by Mike Wallace who introduced himself as "Nancy's friend" before he became a journalist."

Here's to the continuing focus on Weapons of Mass Distraction.
Cheers.

[edit on 8-6-2004 by John bull 1]

He was popular because he was a former actor and well known, but I agree that they maybe using his passing to get the public away from what is going on in the world for a while, perhaps for political gain, how can we forget Reaganomics and such.

We will be bombarded with media clips and mementos and who knows even Bush will get some extra points for his campaign

It's no great surprise. It's obligatory that upon their death, politicians are canonised - when Thatcher is finally laid to rest here in the UK, you won't be able to move for hypocritical bandwagon-jumpers saying how "great" and "statesmanlike" and "barely insane at all" she was.

I'm concerned by this mastubatory self-indulgent grief that we (the western world) seem to be revelling in these days. It all started with Diana, you know...

Reagen was an average man, a decent actor, a less decent politician, a great orator. He made grave mistakes, but he did good things too. All things shall pass.

So let him go, people. Stop fantasising about back when politics was pure and America was great, and go out, hold Dubya to account, and make it great again.

Reagan is rightly being remembered as one of our great presidents.

It would be a tradgedy of epic purportions if the terrorists pulled off some kind of attack on Friday at the National Cathedral. An attack surrounding this event would be devastating.

Right up the alley of those mad dogs from hell.

Distraction or Diversion? I wouldn't put the outright execution of Reagan by Bush as a means to greater support of Reagan Conservatives and diversion of attention from the Corrupt Administration, past the current Regime.

No. I doubt that this has any semblance to reality, but the flag-waving and rhetoric coming from the Whitehouse/Republican Crappola Machine is disgusting. Like Reagan or not, USING his memory for Political Gain is LOW!

Could I get a side of Ketchup with that order of M-16s smothered in Cocain and Hostage Blood?

Not to mention some other stuff taked about in Woodwards book "Veil".
Where he talks all about the CIA.

Find a single President who didn't make any mistakes, and I'll show you a cover up.

All presidents are forced to make decisions that most mere mortals cannot fathom. That is the harsh reality of their office. Not the reality of academia & ants marching. Think about how worn they look departing office.

regardless of how you feel about the man, he was president for 8 years and does deserve national attention, but i do feel the media is going overboard with the coverage...but that's the media for you, they go overboard with everything, if Reagan didn't die, we would still be bombarded with Scott Peterson.

This will be the biggest U.S. funeral since JFK's.

Reagan is credited for many things, including ending the cold war. He deserves every ounce of pomp and circumstance we will give him. A classy end to a life lived with class is what he deserves.

A great man has fallen.

I wouldn't say he was a great man. A likeable guy maybe, a passable actor?

But do you honestly think that an actor was in charge, when his VP was the head of the ex-director of the CIA?

Reagan was a Jolly, Pleasant, Grandpa. That doesn't make him a great leader.

BTW, I'm not a supporter of Bush sr. But it seems to me that if credit is due anyone, it's not the animatronic puppet dancing for the crowd.

George H.W. Bush would not have become president without Reagan.

Reagan has always been underestimated. That is the secret to his success.

If Reagan was not in control, the plumbers would never have tried to off him.

ok lets DO compate JFK and reagan.


reagan ended the cold war. JFK almost started a nuclear war.

reagan had his share of scandals. JFK it turns out was a womanizer and was fond of pills.

christ people we can do this all day long, take any two presidents and you can systematically tear them apart.

in fact i'm guessing if we did this very same thing to any of you we'd get the same result, things that have happened in your lives you dont want to be judged for while you're doing the same thing to someone else.

i dont know how many more times i need to say it, while reagan wasnt perfect he did do some good but to judge him solely on his good or bad deeds is simply silly.

saying ketchup is a vegetable is a far cry from other things i've heard politicians say like "i invented the internet!" at least reagan had an excuse, he was an old man.

Too true, my point initially wasn't about Reagan. It was more geared toward the fact that the current admin is not above using the death of one of it's own icons as a method of distraction from it's incompetence.

Sorry for the emotional side-bar.

Originally posted by scf
Too true, my point initially wasn't about Reagan. It was more geared toward the fact that the current admin is not above using the death of one of it's own icons as a method of distraction from it's incompetence.

Sorry for the emotional side-bar.

guess what? no administration is above this tactic. i dont why people seemt to think bush has invented all these dirty tricks in politics but they've been around longer than he's been on this earth. some people jsut want us to think that this is all new and blah blah blah. i know history and i'm not fooled by this. but it sure seems to work on the sheeple

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey
i dont know how many more times i need to say it, while reagan wasnt perfect he did do some good but to judge him solely on his good or bad deeds is simply silly.

Why judge him at all ?
The man is dead and no matter what people think of him, love him or hate him, theres nothing that we can say or do that can touch him now.

Originally posted by Pisky

Why judge him at all ?
The man is dead and no matter what people think of him, love him or hate him, theres nothing that we can say or do that can touch him now.

i'm not judging the man. i'm not an angry hate filled bitter person who gets his jollies out of kicking a dead man and i dont see the point in judging the guy at all. what im am suggesting though is if you're going to judge him, judge his actions and judge them as a whole, not the parts you want to judge to suit your own hate filled agenda. people on this board make their biases so obvious then try to play stupid and act like they're neutral when none of us truly are. its hilarious to see people bashing a dead president and bush and then turn around and say "you cant bash clinton! he's nolonger president"...and yet reagan hasnt been president for a long time and some of the same people who said we cant bash cliton are all over reagan like a cheap suit. jackals! thats all they are, jackals. the lowest of the low. do as i say not as i do its their motto while falling back on the now worn out excuse of "its patriotic to bash" catch phrase they've all memorized.

I didn't accuse you of judging him. I was just pointing out to everyone the futility of judging someone who is no longer in the land of the living.

Originally posted by Pisky
I didn't accuse you of judging him. I was just pointing out to everyone the futility of judging someone who is no longer in the land of the living.

its the same behavior kids show when the bully isnt around. they put on an act and talk like real badasses and as soon as the bully shows back up...they shut their mouths until he goes away again.

they're acting out getting their jollies out of bashing a dead man. i suggested they go visit him and spit on him and burn him at the stake. obviously noone replied to that and i'm not surprised, all talk and no action once again.

i often wonder what its like to live with such negativity and to be so hateful and mean that you would bash a dead person. and then i realize i share this world with these people and the answer is clear, i do know and i dont like it. certainly it is their right to act this way and feel this way and think this way but its certainly not healthy behavior.

i wonder if they yell at their spouse and call their kids idiots when they screw up? i wonder if they heckle their wife for burning the family meal. i wonder how many actually have families to begin with. i seriously wonder if they act this way towards everyone else in their life. i suspect no and they're using reagan and people like him as the outlet for the rage they havent the balls to take out on the people in their lives. its easy to do it to someone who cant hear a word you're saying but they cant do it in someone's face.

pisky i understand its futile, itsnot going to change the fact he was president TWICE, its not going to change the fact that he did what he did and he said what he said. it changes nothing but they'll claim "why not?" when you tell them they shouldnt act this way. because one can does not mean one should act like a child on the playground.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid
It would be a tradgedy of epic purportions if the terrorists pulled off some kind of attack on Friday at the National Cathedral. An attack surrounding this event would be devastating.

Really? I'd call it pretty damn ironic if the same terrorists he and Bush armed and trained and taught to take out superpowers in Afghanistan bombed his own funeral.

That are very strong words there Rant But they are so true that make me laugh at the idea not matters how horrible made sound.

We are honoring the death, lets not make it into a joke