Short Road to Ruin

I miss Ronald Reagan. Rarely got any BS from him. Cool. Calm. Affable. Down to earth. Defeated communism. Restored America’s prominence in the world after a peanut farmer flushed it down the toilet.

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Still gives me chills when I hear it.

In 1984, The Gipper was facing Walter Mondale in the general election. In their first debate, Reagan performed horribly. He stumbled over several questions and appeared lost and confused. The press branded him as too old and out of touch.

At the time of the ’84 election Reagan was 73. Mondale was 56. The next debate was a critical test for Reagan. He needed to quash any speculation that he would be unable to govern in a crisis. During the debate one of the moderators asked President Reagan point blank about his age as a factor in governing during a crisis. Reagan’s response became a classic:

“I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.”

The entire audience, including Mondale, broke into laughter. The eternal optimist had slayed ‘em. He cruised to reelection in a landslide.

Alas, the party of Reagan is a distant memory. The gains of the Republican revolution of the 90’s have been frittered away. The GOP is on life support. A shot of adrenaline to the heart is needed, but none is available.

I admire George W. Bush. He has faced unprecedented criticism on every major policy decision he has made. But the thing that thing that puzzles and ultimately frustrates is his unwillingness to fight back against often unwarranted criticism. What happened to the W that called NY Slimes reporter Adam Clymer a “major league asshole”? A strong and forceful rebuttal to the hypocrites on the left would’ve defined him as the unquestioned leader of the GOP, but that has not happened and is unlikely to in the future.

McCain? I’m sure he’s a fine man and he has my vote, but he’s too nice to the Democrats. He is more harsh in his criticism of those in his own party.

The wait continues…