Saturday, June 05, 2004

Goodnight, Bonzo

Ronald Reagan died today. It is not very surprising, given his state of health for the last many years. I am not sure what to think about his death. Reagan was first elected when I was 10 years old. I remember sitting in the school library to watch the news coverage when he was shot, my fifth-grade teacher launching into a civics lesson to correct Alexander Haig when he claimed to be in charge. During the 1984 election year, I was in a civics class. At the beginning of the year I wrote a paper on why I would vote for Reagan, all reasons that my father gave me. But then I had to watch the debates and keep track of the pros and cons for the class. During this process I realized that I was a liberal, and wrote my final paper supporting Walter Mondale, to the chagrin of my entire family. In all subsequent elections that I could vote in, I have voted Democrat, with my family slowly joining in (other than my wife, who has been an adamant Democrat for as long as I have.) So I guess I could credit Reagan, with his voodoo economics, evil empire rhetoric, and shady Iran-contra dealings with making me realize what kind of government I wanted.

How many future Democrats has George Bush made?

No comments: