Here's an Inappropriate Diary for the Occasion.
A larger than life figure of the late 20th Century American political scene, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, and the absolutely fundamental reason why the Republican Party has risen politically to where it is today, passed away today, as everyone knows. May he rest in peace.
While, if there is a God, his final accounting will come with Her, I do want to make just one short comment about him - the man launched his 1980 Presidential Campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the site of one of the most horrible of violent acts of the Civil Rights Era, the murders of the 3 civil rights activists, occurred. The theme of his speech was States Rights. This will forever mar the memory of Ronald Reagan - for those who are concerned about the respect that need be accorded Reagan's death - remember the lack of respect Reagan had for the deaths of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney.
So, after that preface, my take on Reagan's death and what it might mean for this Election - this is what I think it means - the reinforcement of the issue of strong leadership in keeping the country safe. And that means the Iraq Debacle/War on Terror.
There are many parallels between the 1980 Election and the 2004 campaign. To me the most prominent is the fact that the incumbent was, in the mind of the electorate, requiring of dismissal. The issue then became can we hire the other guy - the other guy was Reagan.
The question asked? Can he keep us safe. Reagan's problem was different than Kerry's in that the fear was that he was too reactionary, too strident, too likely to make irresponsible national security decisions - in short, that he would be like Bush. Well, Reagan wasn't like Bush 43 - either he had more sense or his advisors had more sense, or he was just lucky. Whatever the reason, Reagan has no Iraq Debacle on his watch.
Kerry's problem is different - the question is will Kerry do what is necessary to keep us safe, whatever that is. While I don't propose that Kerry has to be "tougher" or "stronger" to pass this test, in fact, the opposite. I think Kerry has to be smarter, more competent, he has to demonstrate that he knows what he is doing. He has to make the American people confident that he can deal with the dangers that we currently face and that he can deal with the disasters Bush 43 has created.
That means Iraq Debacle/WOT. Kerry must address this issue. And frankly, he only has to address this issue. Did Reagan really convince the electorate that tax cuts for the rich, big budget deficits, supply side economics, class and race warfare and everthing else Reaganism stands for where the right policy presecriptions for America? I don't think so - Reagan, in the 1980 Election, convinced Americans that they could trust him as President not to make the country unsafe through reckless actions on national security. The country had already decided Carter was a failure.
This year, the country has decided, in my opinion, that Bush 43 is a failure. Kerry just needs to make the country comfortable that a Kerry Presidency can keep us safe. To me, that's the only questio of the Campaign. And almost every action by the Bush campaign will be geared to trying to make the American people answer no to that question.
I believe that almost every action of the Kerry campaign must be geared toward having the American people answer yes to that question. that's what Reagan's death reinforces.
History will decide what Reagan's legacy is, the effect of his death on this Campaign will be this.