Blah blah right-wing Rumsfeld warmonger chickenhawk evil Bushies Wolwowitz and his neocon cabal for oiloiloiloiloiloil blah blah ignorant stupid bloodthirsty morons, the real axis of evil on a ranch in Crawford and blah blah blah no WMD he lied, Bushitler lied, people died died died tie-dyed peace peace peace down with the Zionists! peace peace Kyoto! they hate us they hate us they hate us and what can we do and root causes and root causes and blowback and Plame and Plame and Chalabi Plame Wilson blah blah blah unilateral multinational Halliburton Enronism crony capitalism and it's all about oiloiloiloil blah blah blah, cowboyish disregard for allies, for the wishes of the world community who rise up against us, the terrorist threat is overblown and anyway, it's all our fault because we gave Saddam his weapons to begin with, photo of Rummy and Hussein, but make no mistake, he no longer has those weapons because inspections worked, containment worked, and blah blah blah Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan handle it, Roy, handle it handle it, Caspian pipeline oiloiloiloil blah blah blah show me the stockpiles, anthrax CIA plant Richard Clarke said so and we believe him because and unless unless unless Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib Abu Ghraib, square-jawed cocksucking military jarhead torturing fucks, bring home our troops! We care about the troops! We support the troops and don't you question our patriotism our love for this fucking filthy crass consumerist bullying country of redneck dolts and biblethumping bourgeois suburbanites with their SUVs and where are the CAFE standards fight the real terror, eco-terror, Israel, the US, imperialist colonialist racist homophobic hegemonic and blah blah blah blah blah because dissent is patriotism and fighting against your country is really fighting for your country and our dissent keeps the nation strong and we're brave and heroic and up is down and black is white and oiloiloiloiloiloiloiloil blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.™

[Just taking it for a test drive - jg]

There are some Daddy issues that Ron is still no doubt working out. Maybe someday he will grow up.

Ron, Jr. reminds us that for all his strengths, Ronald Reagan had some flaws. One of them, documented elsewhere, is that he was distant towards his children (Patti and Ron) during their formative years.

Still, I'm willing to forgive what he said Friday night at the sight of him and Patti rushing to support the widow when she collapsed while viewing the casket for the last time. It was perhaps the most heart-rending and uplifting image of the week even if it wasn't (thankfully) copied in every paper the next morning.

As some interesting back ground that might shed some light on Ron Jr's apparent dislike for George W., this was found in "The Bushes:Portrait of a Dynasty" by Peter Schweizer and Rochelle Schweizer, Doubleday,2004, page 292. The setting is the 1980 presidential inauguration. (tip of the hat to Andrew Rogers for finding this in the Clinton Admin Scandals mailing list).

"Watching George W. greet Ron Reagan, Jr., was another source of [Bush]family amusement. W., wearing cowboy boots, looked at the aspiring ballet dancer suspiciously. It was not the sort of thing he saw very often in West Texas. They spoke awkwardly for a few moments before young Reagan slinked off to look for a friend. W. just shrugged his shoulders, laughed, and went back to his table."

Draw what conclusions you will about that encounter. Myself? I think perhaps Ron Jr. saw in Bush the type of person that he thought his father wanted him to be and that he rebelled against.

Compared to how other presidential children turned out, such as the Bush twins, or Amy Carter, one shouldn't be too hard Ron Reagan.

I thought he did a very good job with the speech, probably because I agree with him that his father, although religious, kept the proper distance between church and state. W is too outwardly Born Again than is appropriate for a religiously diverse society.

For that matter, Clinton too overdid the act of walking around with his Bible and going to church. I thought the Ron was attacking Clinton just as much as Bush II.

You are wrong on that, he was pointedly attacking Bush. And whether he has a point or not is irrelevant, IMO, when we are talking about the setting. it's not appropriate to suck any of the air out of a eulogy with a divisive political statement. it's simply not appropriate.

PS - what's wrong with the Bush twins? They're teenagers and they drink?

Bettern' the Olsen twins, that's fer damn sure!

Compared to how other presidential children turned out, such as the Bush twins, or Amy Carter, one shouldn't be too hard Ron Reagan.

Most of us need a little time out of college and into say our mid 20's before we really even start to settle into adulthood. I think the jury is still out on the Bush twins (and Chelsea for that matter.) Most of the behavior I've seen from all 3 of them is not too atypical for kids in college exploring boundaries without parents around to set limits. In 5 to 10 years I think we'll have a better idea about what kind of women these girls have become. Until the verdict is in I'm willing to give the young 'uns the benefit of the doubt.

I have no idea what Amy or the Ford kids are up to, maybe because they don't seek out the press to voice their opinions. Apart from the role he had to play in the funeral events, Ron Reagan certainly does speak his mind to the press (as is his perfect right) but he is an adult now and I'm willing to cut him less slack about "surprise" over his comments.

I thought he was attacking his brother Michael. Ron hasn't named names that I know of.

Clinton's daughter graduated with a Masters degree in international foreign policy and has a job with a large company. Her future looks bright and though her father gave cause for folks to wonder about his infidelity, she, is beyond reproach. She didn't get arrested for drinking. She was a lady and always was. Bush's daughters are like her father the alcoholic and her mother who was drunk and ran over her boyfriend and killed him.

Ron Jr. is absolutely right about Bush. Bush is nothing but a bully and an arrogant son of a gun. He is typical of any alcoholic...even those in recovery. They think it is their way or the highway. President Reagan was able to listen to all sides and make a decision. He even admitted when he was wrong and made corrections. Bush is not like that. Bush will never be the president or the man that Reagan was and I am glad that Ron Jr is pointing that out. Bush needs to remember that not everyone is a born again and his religion is not the religion of this country. He has lied about WMD, he has lied about the connection between the 9-11 attacks and Iraq, he is just a sober drunk who lies and throws hissy fits when he does not get his way.

PS - President Reagan is probably in heaven smiling down on his son because President Reagan was a man who respected people's opinions. That is the America President Reagan wanted. Bush doesn't like differing opinions. So, yes, Ron Jr. is a product of president Reagan and is probably very proud of him. He may or may not agree with him. But, he isn't in heaven throwing off his angels wings having a hissy fit like Bush would be. Again, Reagan was a man, Bush is just a stupid alcohlic weenie.

David, I'm sorry, but you are caught up in irrational and very personal hate for Bush. Consider the fact that all you did was high-five Ron Reagan, completely ignoring that the thrust of my post was the fact that whatever his opinion (which along with yours I think is completely unfair) it was not appropriate to use this memorial service as a pulpit for a divisive political issue.

PS - It's funny you know? I'm an agnostic/atheist who wants "under God" removed from the pledge, but for some reason I find all of this resentment about Bush's religious faith to be some of the most exagerrated and personally motivated horseshit that I've ever heard. Get over it. the man is religious. He hasn't shoved it down my throat yet.

David, you did miss the point that the appropriateness of getting political at a funeral does backfire. Look at the Paul Wellstone Service, which became a Democrats only cheerfest. They booed conservatives offering prayers and condolensces. Can we say showing our true colors? Also, Ron Reagan hijacked a funeral for his father to get into a personal bickering contest. No doubt Nancy could not say much or pay attention, since she had to remain classy and stately, unlike her son. David, you would probably think it appropriate for Madonna to rant at the wake for the Pope, as long as she slammed Bush. Both groups would react bad. Well, let's see, Bush is pro-life and against stem cell research. Like most Catholics and Ronald Reagan Sr. Bush is also a conservative, which rubbed some attendees the wrong way, but they had class to keep quiet. The liberals are loud and prove they have no class, like Ron Jr. and by your post. Enjoy turning people off of your viewpoints. Victory in 2004 for who truly deserves it.

Nick