Overboard with Reagan

Has the coverage of Reagan's death has been over the top? Every channel was tuned to the rotunda of the presidential library of Simi Valley for the first couple of days and now are tuned to the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol following people circle around the casket as it lies in state. Politicians of course are reaching into new depths of shallowness searching for words to pay tribute to Reagan and come off sounding phony. There is no doubt in my mind that Reagan was an influential president in this country's history. He did pull it out of the funk (Jimmy Carter used that infamous word in an address to the nation) that it had sunk into. And in some small way, he did have a hand in the eventual implosion of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The means by which he achieved these may not be palatable to some, but there is no denying that he was a man of firm convictions and beliefs. A common refrain has been that Reagan's presidency harkens back to an era of dignity and grace that is missing in today's politics. I think that is poppycock. I read some speeches Reagan gave, and he could fling a mean one at his opponent. I guess the distance of time is always a more favorable judge of a man and his actions. Whatever it is, we'll have to endure this coverage for another day or two.