Never elect, hire, appoint, aquire, sign, or contract a person who hates and wants to destroy the very profession they pursue.

I believe historians will mark Reagan as a popular and rather benign president who happened to preside over the early years of the American decline. I wonder if he ever knew that. I’d bet he did. He was a little smarter than most of his detractors would admit. Not that he was some great, progressive mind. To be honest, I really could never fathom the man’s depth. But I was young then. So maybe I missed something. Just the same, he’s not my favorite president by a long stretch, not even in my lifetime. Heck, I’d rank GHWB over Reagan. But Reagan was, I guess, a uniquely American character. I don’t think we could elect a Reagan today because of his past, which is sad as I’m sure we’d be better off. Considering people as they are as opposed to what they once were would be better than the trivial, yellow-tabloid nonsense we see in today’s presidential vetting. I mean, could you imagine an actors guild president rising up through the GOP ranks today? Fuggetabowtit.

I do miss the eighties, though, and Reagan reminds me of those times. I think they’re too overrated these days, though. It was great - if you were a white, middle-class kid that went to good schools, or a stock or commodities trader in those early free-trade/dereg days - but if you were poor, working-class, a minority, an immigrant, or just any poor schmuck who like to party a bit, those days were not so great at all. The blow-back from all that dumb governance is coming back on us now. I wonder if Reagan understood that. I can’t imagine.

JMJ