SAINT RONNIE….I note that tonight’s Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan library has provoked an even greater gusher than usual of Reagan nostalgia among GOP hopefuls. A few days ago, for example, Tom Bevan wrote that the search for a new Reagan is “hanging especially heavy over the current presidential race.”
No surprise there. After all, what choice do they have? Bush Jr. is radioactive; Bush Sr. was an apostate; Ford was an accident; Nixon was a crook; Eisenhower was practically a socialist by modern Republican standards; and Hoover was….
Well, let’s not even go there. The less said about Hoover the better. But the bottom line is that aside from Reagan, there’s literally no Republican president in the past 70 years that Republicans really feel comfortable with. The unpopular ones (Hoover, Nixon, Bush Sr., Bush Jr.) are toxic and the popular ones (Eisenhower, Ford) are far too moderate for today’s crew. So Reagan worship is in full swing because, really, they don’t have any other choice, do they?
