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Author Topic: Reagan Diaries
Michelle
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Babbler # 560

posted 20 August 2007 06:12 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I just got this e-mail forwarded to me, apparently from a reputable source, but a quick google didn't confirm it for me, so I can't be positive about the accuracy.

But apparently Reagan had this to say about Dubya:

quote:
This is a direct quote from the just published REAGAN DIARIES. The entry is dated May 17, 1986.

'A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work.'


HA! God, I hope it's true!


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
jrose
babble intern
Babbler # 13401

posted 20 August 2007 06:20 AM      Profile for jrose     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Wow, that just brought a smile to my face! Love it, Michelle!
From: Ottawa | Registered: Oct 2006  |  IP: Logged
Albireo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3052

posted 20 August 2007 06:47 AM      Profile for Albireo     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
HA! God, I hope it's true!
Alas, it is a columnist being clever:
quote:
The literary editor of The New Republic, Leon Wieseltier, brought the joyous news. "Guess what, Mike. You're mentioned in Reagan's diaries." The diaries were published recently by HarperCollins and were generally well-received. Edited by America's historian-on-steroids, Douglas Brinkley, The Reagan Diaries apparently reveal Reagan to be more thoughtful than he is normally given credit for. Of course, our standards in the area of presidential thoughtfulness have plummeted in recent years. Still, the fact that Reagan was writing it all down was news, and an interesting departure from presidential tradition. Traditionally, presidents use a hidden tape recorder.

But I was more interested in the me angle, frankly. And it was a puzzle. What on earth could Reagan have written? I indulged my imagination, and my ego: "January 22, 1983. Mommie [Nancy] says that Kinsley's column this week in The New Republic undermines the entire philosophical basis of my administration. O dear O dear, I had better not read it."

Or: "October 6, 1987. Why does Kinsley keep picking on me? He is the only thing standing between me and the total destruction of the welfare state. But, ha: I will destroy him--destroy him utterly--or my name's not ... not ... not ... . Say, they had 'State Fair' on TV last night. What a wholesome, clean-cut young man that Pat Boone is."

Or: "May 17, 1986. A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."

Excited, I borrowed a copy of the book and gave it a "Washington read." That means looking yourself up in the index. ...


My Lunch with Reagan

Michael Kinsley writing in The New Republic. The rest.

[ 20 August 2007: Message edited by: Albireo ]


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Michelle
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Babbler # 560

posted 20 August 2007 06:50 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
D'oh! That's too bad. Oh well, it was a nice thought while it lasted!
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Bacchus
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4722

posted 20 August 2007 10:39 AM      Profile for Bacchus     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Im plowing my way through this book at present. Would love to find such an entry but I doubt I would

From: n/a | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged

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