[Clemenza]

Minnie Pearl was an American treasure. She would have made a better President than me, but that isn't saying much.

Sarah has to learn to speak to a larger electorate to show competance and disprove all of her naysayers a la Ronaldus Magnus. Reagan had a very hostile media too, but he was able to project competance, charm, and strength that went way over the heads of the Dan Rathers of the world and straight to the mass of Americans, whether in New Jersey, Alabama, or California.

[AnAmericanMother]

I think that -- from the point of view of how he appeared in the media -- Reagan looks a lot better in retrospect than he did at the time.

Have no idea how old you are, but I well remember the media trashing Reagan as out of touch, stupid, "bedtime for Bonzo," senile, warmonger, immoral divorcee, you name it.

About the only thing they didn't do was the in-the-gutter sexual innuendo, and that was just because it wasn't acceptable in polite society at the time.

Despite the media onslaught, I think most people realized that he was better than Jimmy Carter. Not that that was saying much . . . people were very tired of gas lines, self-righteous preaching, and humiliation at home and abroad.