The Reagan Role in the election

After the initial shock and sadness at the Reagan family's loss, I did wonder what effect Ronnie's passing would likely have on the election. I figured Bush would no doubt enjoy a boost, as American's would listen to the press call him beloved and speak highly of him. Republicans would then call on people to remember the America Reagan loved and tell people they could have it back.

The two do have their similarities, such as running up massive deficits and making sure the wealthy break the backs of the working class. As Ed Gillespie says in a New York time article "Americans are going to be focused on President Reagan for the next week. The parallels are there. I don't know how you miss them."

But the article points out a few of the differences, too. Differences that have some Republicans probably wishing for different timing:

Some Republicans said the images of a forceful Mr. Reagan giving dramatic speeches on television provided a less-than-welcome contrast with Mr. Bush's own appearances these days, and that it was not in Mr. Bush's interest to encourage such comparisons. That concern was illustrated on Sunday, one Republican said, by televised images of Mr. Reagan's riveting speech in Normandy commemorating D-Day in 1984, followed by Mr. Bush's address at a similar ceremony on Sunday.

"Reagan showed what high stature that a president can have — and my fear is that Bush will look diminished by comparison," said one Republican sympathetic to Mr. Bush, who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing the president.

Another senior Republican expressed concern that by identifying too closely with Mr. Reagan, Mr. Bush risked running a campaign that looked to the past, which this adviser described as a recipe for a loss.

What's the boy king to do?

I remarked to my wife that Reagan sure knew how to speak. This was a day after I remarked that Bush should fire his speechwriter. But I never thought to contrast the eloquence of the one with the lack of it in the other. Hire that unnamed Republican and get him on Kerry's team. We need more free thinkers like him.