Reagan, Bush And The Media - (then, as now....the liberal press denigrates great Republicans)

GOSUSA.COM ^ | JUNE 8, 2005 | LISA FABRIZIO

[CHARLITE]

One year ago the nation paid a fond farewell to its 40th president in a week-long tribute filled with pride, pathos and patriotism. Hundreds of thousands of Americans turned out to file past the president lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda and to line the streets of Washington to see his cortege pass.

Millions more spent the week near TV sets to observe the pomp and circumstance attendant a rare state funeral. Crossing the country twice by plane, the body of Ronald Wilson Reagan went from sea to shining sea then back again with near continuous coverage of the events.

Though the advance of Alzheimer's had stolen him from public view for his last ten years of life, his passing seemed as poignant as if he had only just left office. The majority of Americans over the age of thirty--whether or not they agreed with his policies--were moved by his winning personality, while those born later regarded him almost as a father figure. Jack Kemp once called him the last lion of the 20th Century and it seemed the nation concurred.

But the liberal media was once again shocked and taken aback by the huge and sincere outpouring of reverential respect most of America showed their fallen leader. Coverage of his death and funeral created a huge problem for them. For an entire week the press had to bite their collective tongue and restrain their natural predilection to bash Republicans; a talent they had honed so well during Reagan's two terms.

And as they were to learn some months later, most of the country was, unlike them, not repulsed but comforted by the deeply religious nature of the memorial services. In a presage of the current leftist war on faith, the first reading at the funeral service was from the book of the prophet Isaiah:

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

It was shortly after Reagan was lovingly laid to rest on a golden California hillside that the agents of the Lord mounted up in defense of his political heir George W. Bush. The nefarious Christian Right rose up, challenged the Democrats on 'values' issues and delivered the president the most votes in U.S. history.

Even the Catholic Church--whose Pope opposed the Iraq War and capital punishment--weighed into the fray on the side of life and, for the first time since Reagan, the Catholic vote went to a Republican. Not a good sign for liberals who hope to hold long sway over the Latino vote.

Add to the mix the fact that many black religious leaders have been stirred into action against their former bedfellows and the result is a cocktail of pious punch that will be hard to swallow for those on the left.

Also tough to get down the liberal gullet was last week's revelation that their orgasmic idol, Deep Throat, turned out to be something less than the knight-in-shining-armor hero they'd drooled over in absentia for thirty long years. That former J. Edgar Hoover acolyte Mark Felt was convicted of illegally wiretapping radical leftist groups and was pardoned by none other than Ronald Reagan was just another bitter pill to chew on.

So back around the circle we come to the liberals' favorite 'amiable dunce' and the first anniversary of his passing. It is perhaps a tribute to Reagan that the media's attempts to Nixon-ize him fell laughably short time and again as he stepped over and around them to take his message directly to the American people who overwhelmingly handed him a second term.

And so his fellow conservative George W. Bush has also been returned to the Oval Office by a majority of the electorate. It is somewhat problematic to compare the two men given all the history that has passed between their administrations.

The fall of Communism, the first Gulf War, September 11, the War on Terror and a soiled blue dress have further widened the gulf between left and right; between the secularists and those of faith; between those who loved or despised Ronald Reagan and his straightforward love and optimism for America.

Though clearly not Reagan, George W. Bush now represents those values the Gipper once embodied to rouse and rally the American people. Now that task is clearly his to pursue. And it seems that it's the liberal media's unsworn mission to oppose him at every turn.

The conservative battle for the soul of America continues with its beloved leader lying peacefully on a hillside fronting a rolling ocean valley in California. While on the other coast, the rumbles continue.

Lisa Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may write her at mailbox@lisafab.com.

[CyberAnt]

"... liberal media's unsworn mission to oppose him ..."


I'm not so sure it's "unsworn".

[jammer]

political heir George W. Bush.

First, your addition to the title is wrong--you cannot name a "great" Republican holding national office now. And to say that GWB is the political heir to Reagan is ludicrous. With spokesmen like this, no wonder they call it the "stupid" party.