“It should be noted that this comic is neither a piece of Reagan sycophancy, nor is it political satire”  –Talking Points Memo

 

What’s with these guys? First the vaguely progressive Huffington Post faithfully reprints Associated Press’s recycling the disproved George W. Bush Jacket ‘n Tie fetish myth.

Now Talking Points Memo, with a staff that actually writes stuff, endorses a Ronald Reagan comic that’s kind of a mess.

TPM may not find the work sycophantic, but it’s certainly the product of  a sycophant.

Comic author Don Smith doesn’t fake the fawning. Did you know that, unlike some, Ronald Reagan “really loved this country.”

It’s true!

“I mean he constantly was saying, ‘The United States is a city set on a hill… He constantly would say, ‘The United States’ best days are still ahead.’ I mean that is amazing!“

Smith’s command of facts amazes as well, managing to work wrong dates into the assassination attempt panels.

And Smith confidently applies the simple truths of the Reagan Era to our present difficulties, with a happy result:

“Regarding radical Islam terrorism, I think his philosophy would be “We win, they lose,” just as it was regarding the Soviet Union back in the 80s. And frankly, that kind of moral clarity is desperately needed right now!“ 

Maintaining Deniability 

Does anyone actually “edit” The Huffington Post?

Nancy Benac’s fascinating Tuesday run-through of Barack Obama’s Oval Office decor was marred by the repetition of  a long since refuted tale:

“Obama has set a less formal tone for the Oval Office from his first days as president. When the White House released its first picture of him at work there, Obama was in shirt sleeves. George W. Bush, by contrast, made it a point to be in coat and tie whenever he entered the Oval Office.“

This Dress For Success/Dignity of the Office nonsense launched in the Obama Administration’s earliest days, promoted by Bush hanger-on Andy Card. But the story was quickly shot down by, among others, The Huffington Post.

Still, HuffPo’s automatic content recycling machine is cracking! Benac’s fraud regurgitation was accompanied by links to both the original line of crap, and the blog’s own story shooting it down.

Hey there! JFK__1960 is using Twitter.

Remember when Facebook got tiresome, when all your cranky aunts and uncles opened their own accounts to spy on your younger cousins?

Brace yourselves.     Twitter now brings all the magic and excitement of “This Day In History” to the Kennedy saga, in the bite-sized form Twitterati so prize.

The Kennedy Library this year will dutifully pump out daily updates of fifty years ago, when a youthful John F. Kennedy challenged everyone’s favorite villain Richard Nixon for the ultimate prize.

 Admires So Much Of Both In Self

                                                            

 Doomed* Massachusetts Republican Senate Candidate Scott Brown has gone all Dan Quayle in his first ad leading up to the late January special election.

Scratchy black and white film of John F. Kennedy touting a tax cut morphs into our Scott, somehow color-free but also eager to splash some money out of the till.

Brown clearly sees himself on the path of glory.

 But timing is key.

“They’re powerful, rich, handsome people and they’re dead. And they can’t make a difference, while I still can.’’

— Republican Senate  candidate SCOTT BROWN, comparing himself to John F. Kennedy Jr. and Princess Diana 

 Old Acquaintance, Be Forgot! 

Brown took offense recently when his opponent mentioned Reagan’s well known propensity to pose with beverage alcohol.  Ronald Reagan has now become such a seamless garment of myth that Republican candidates can get all huffy when elements of the myth-building are recalled by their opponents.

Democrat Martha Coakley worked in the reference during a debate, saying “While everybody thought he was fun to have a beer with . . . I think that he did a great disservice to this country.’’

Brown pronounced himself disappointed at such disparagement.

“He brought great pride to our country at a time when we needed it and helped to bring down the Soviet Union, Iron Curtain. Just to [say] go out and have a beer with him, that’s, I think, inappropriate.’’

Student of History Scottie needs a refresher course in the importance of beer in crafting Reagan’s everyman facade.    His staff staged serial stein hoistings, crucial anecdote generation to putting across his less than populist measures.

The beery myth making reaches its apotheosis at the Reagan Library of course, where they hauled in parts of an Irish pub Reagan visited and dressed up the food court with them. 

Reagan did do one concrete thing for beer.

   He signed federal legislation forcing the states to raise the drinking age to 21, launching a generation of youth binge drinking.

*But then they saw his truck

Whose Star Do I See Tonight?    

The holidays mean gifts for all, and the White House Christmas tree brought forth a splendid new bounty. Even as frenzy mounted over Chairman Mao’s cameo on the tree, the serious squinters at Little Green Footballs have spotted the fount of another cult of personality amidst the dangling.

Take a bow, Ronald Reagan!