Understanding Reagan

Apropos of the recent controversy over the Reagan mini-series, and a brief glimpse I had of a Reagan documentary on A&E, I started feeling rather ignorant about our 40th President. I've become more and more convinced that large segments of the American populace (mostly Republicans I would assume) still consider him the model president. As such, I think one way of understanding our current head of state and his sometimes inexplicable popularity might be to consider how closely he emulates Reagan. For those longing for another Reagan, GWB might be, well, close enough.

Anyhow, this is entirely speculative, particularly since I know so little about Reagan or what made (and continues to make) him so popular. In an effort to begin remedying that ignorance, I've picked up Peggy Noonan's When Character Was King, and will begin reading it as soon as this afternoon's Evidence exam is complete. I'm sure it'll inspire some interesting blogging.