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Escape From Hicksville

The Bush Library goes downmarket:

“Close to downtown, and the Bush Library...”

Someone Looks Concerned

Ridley Scott’s threat to make movie magic of the 1986 Reagan- Gorbachev Reykjavík summit ripples through the island republic.

Will the er, quiet charms of Reykjavík be replicated on a sound stage, or on the sprawling streets themselves?

It would appear to hinge on Iceland kicking back some loot to Scott’s delightfully named “Scottfree Productions.

Word Pictures

We all have questions about Ronald Reagan, but few look for answers on sites devoted to improving our fishing skills.

“Albacized,” AKA Rich in Framingham, knows no such limitations:

“I know that at some point before he got into politics (at least ‘big time politics’) he did some sports broadcasting. Is there any audio available on line of Reagan calling a game? I checked out YouTube and ‘struck out’…”

Ronnie Goes to Russia?

“Spengler” sees disaster ahead:

“Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in American policy, but not as wrong as it will go now. As in 1980, a lame-duck administration will confront economic and strategic reverses. But it is worse than 1980, for no Ronald Reagan is waiting in the wings to set things right. “

And sends forth the call for the smack of firm government:

“Vladimir Putin, the most talented political leader of our time: what might he have done at the helm of the world’s only superpower, instead of salvaging the hulk of the defeated Soviet Empire? Why not give him the chance? Watching the last round of American political debates, it occurred to me that it’s time to think out of the box…Putin will finish his second term of office as Russian president early in 2008, just when the next American president takes office. There is plenty of time to naturalize him as an American citizenand amend the constitution to permit a foreign-born president. The alternative is to elect another incarnation of the political type that got America into trouble in the first place. “

Closing Time

“With time running short on his presidency — and on the eve of a trip to the Middle East — President Bush seems to have overcome his aversion to talking about his legacy and is now speaking fervently about how he expects to be remembered.

As it turns out, the president sees himself as quite the heroic figure.”

Dan Froomkin provides a highlights reel of George W. Bush ruminations about destiny and himself.