When Reagan is mentioned by either those who love him, or those who do not, there is a HUGE hole in the conversation where the Army-McCarthy hearings should be. 

Reagan ratted out his friends and submitted testimony which ruined several careers, and proved his yellow-dog run with the pack mentality.

I believe if Carter had made an issue of this in 1980, the world would be a different place BUT as mentioned below, the left can’t play in the big sandbox.

Joe,
Excellent reporting, as usual. I miss you on Al Franken’s AirAmerica show. I looked forward to that every Friday. I would love to know where to find that info on the those neocons who say said used to demonize Reagan, and are now praising him.

He always has been depicted as larger than life. Though the media has always ignored Bush’s many failures, Bush is alwsys depicted as small in editorial cartoons while Reagan was always larger than life. Bluster and personality has always meant more than substance in American public life. Look at Donald Trump.

I must say I share the blame I am about to heap of political activists of all stripes. 

Most folks just want to go about their daily lives, make enough money to pay the rent, and put their children through college, and retire in a sunny-warm place.

Iran Contra, NAFTA, The hunger on the horn of Africa are too big for them. 

The right made a advertising jingle, or bumper-sticker length case for the general vote. AND they got it.  I Knew Reagan had won six months before the election when Atwater first unleashed the “It’s morning in America” ads. I hated Reagan and those ads put tears in my eyes.... You have to remember that many of us were out of work during the Carter years...not his fault, BUt definetly his burden. so Massachusetts, the only State to vote for George McGovern, gave Reagan it’s vote twice.  Oh, BTW Reagan’s defense build up put Massachusetts back to work… no doubt about that…

So the left says they don’t want to “play dirty” well, guess that’s tough for those of us who would like to see a left turn.  Politics is a dirty game...we (on the left) better find someone who knows how to play....or....get used to losing market share.

It’s easy to believe in lies, they are so safe, so comforting. People always vote it seems, for pretty lies, because you don’t have to do anything about them, you just have to believe.

This is the legacy of Ronald Reagan, he was a great story teller, nothing more. He told Americans the story that they wanted to hear, that we were good, and the Commies were bad. He made people, believe in America again, and it was so very comforting.

His happy talk was so powerful, that even now Republicans, in what could be their darkest moment cling to it, like a child clings to a Teddy Bear during a terrible nightmare.

The truth on the other hand, takes some effort, some hard work and some guts. Time will tell, whether or not the Democratic party is up to the task at hand.

The aticle left out one very important myth about Ronnie.  At their Presidential Convention in Albany (held in Sept. 1984)the N.Y. State Right To Life Party (the most savvy pro-lifers in the nation) did NOT give Reagan-Bush their Presidential-Vice Presidential endorsement--they preferred to leave the line BLANK, despite heavy GOP pressure to tgive the line to Ronnie & Papa Bush.(But how can you report facts you are ignorant of?  You’re forgiven).

The myth about Reagan, the old actor who couldnt answer even the simplest of questions, is just that, a myth created by corporate America who was the beneficiary of his administration’s policies. As Cuomo once said, the Reagan’s biggest achievement was that he made us feel good about poverty in our midst. Why is that every Republican administration since Nixon has created a constitutional crisis. Its because they don’t give a damn about constitution, individual freedom or the like though they give a lot of lip service. The Republican party has nothing to offer.

Comparing themselves to a president that was mentally less than all present and accounted for says everything you need to know about these cartoon character candidates. If that’s the best GOPeeing on us President they have to call attention to - well we’ve all had a front row view of the worst in the office right now. Eisenhower was their best in the last 50 + years but his name doesn’t score points with the corporate sponsers of these clowns.

I notice others who have responded are anxious to bash Reagan.  True, Reagan was not anywhere near as good a president as he is made out to be, but let’s keep the current administration in focus.  The fact is, despite his many mistakes, he would eventually admit a mistake, he could reverse a policy, and he proved to not be a war monger.  Let’s stick to the point of the article: The current neocons and Republican candidates are completely misrepresenting Reagan.
I would urge fellow Democrats to not get into a Reagan bashing mood; the middle of the road Rebublicans (who mostly like Reagan) are precisely the people we need to join the Democrats in cleaning out Washington.  I still think that John Kerry lost his second debate with George W. when he replied to George’s claim that he was the new Reagan by ineptly criticizing some Reagan policies.  Kerry’s bumbling attack on reagan only pushed wavering Republicans bask to George’s camp.  Kerry should have replied resolutely to George: You are no Ronald Reagan!  True conservatives do not support your war, your budget deficits, or your suspension of the the Constitution!
I hope Democrats will respond the same way to the 10 bozos who compared themselves to Reagan.  We can’t destroy a myth very easily; but we sure can use the myth to our advantage by pointing out those who so fraudulently compare themselves to a myth.

I always believed that Nixon (the consumate liar and self-proclaimed King)was our worst President with Ron (the bad actor) a close second.  As a matter of fact, after Tricky Dick’s landslide victory (good old MA. prevented a sweep) I made the conscious decision to not play the fixed game we call voting.  It was the “Boll weavils then” and it’s the same people now.  I decided that, after NOT participating since 1972, I was going to get back in to try to help stop the “Idiot” Dubya.  I wasn’t crazy about Kerry, but a much better choice than Bush.  After that debacle we called a Presidential election (the Reds vs. the Blues)I’ve reverted back.  This country obviously doesn’t care about it’s own well being.  After the damage that has been caused to American society by Bush & his neocons, I made him my #1.  He’s worse than Nixon or Reagan.  Action is required before he totally rapes America.  Impeachment? Not likely, too much $ to be had.  Assasination?  Not enough crazies out there for that.  BTW...When does Sirhan-Sirhan get out?  Anybody know?  FYI - Getting weapons is real easy in today’s America. And the Red states have some pretty good deals, I hear.  Hmmm.
I remember Reagan was the first President to give speeches using a teleprompter.  Sure, they all do, but not exclusively.  I remember that the questions were set up and, one time, they had a couple of females wear certain color dresses so he would know who to pick.  It was said, at the time, that he was dumb.  The dumbest ever.  But, as records get broken and fall, so has this.  Dubya makes Ronnie seem to be an worldly intellectual.  The guy is in Forrest Gump’s class.  But, since they got all that oil$, he gets to rum America into the ground for 8 very long years.  But, on par with Forrest, is the majority of the America’s voting public.  “Stupid is as Stupid does”.

When I was hearing the the Republican candidates invoke reagans name so many times in a positive light I thought to myself I may have fallen asleep for eight years and missed the Presidency of this great President Reagan.Well thank God for the internet there was no other Reagan listed as President in the 200 + history of this country.Then it came to me the Republicans are just lying again.Whew I thought those drugs from the 60s were kicking in again.
Joe it is true that Republicans no matter how many children they have they name each one of them Reagan.

Ronald Reagan was among the worst presidents in my lifetime (beginning with FDR).  The myths surrounding him are just that - myths.  The fantasy that Reagan brought down the Soviet Union is nonsense.  Most experts on poliical history say that other factors having nothing to do with Reagan’s belligerence caused the collapse, including the disillusionment of the Russian people.  After all, it wasn’t Reagan who faced down those Russian tanks.  Gorbachev and Yeltsin were the prime architects of the fall of Soviet communism.  In fact, most Russian historians credit Jimmy Carter more than Reagan, because his moral and ethical example was an inspiration to ordinary Russians.
Reagan’s “trickle down” economic policies were a crashing failure.  The deficit rose sharply.  There was a recession that resulted.  Reagan deregulated the savings and loan industry, thus allowing their owners to speculate recklessly.  The U.S. taxpayers had to pay through the nose to bail out those institutions.  Reagan raised taxes massively to pay for these fiscal mistakes. 
I don’t know whether or not Reagan was aware of the treasonous machinations of Oliver North and others in the Iran-Contra scandal, but he certainly did nothing to stop it.  I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, though, because by that time he was plainly showing the effects of Alzheimer’s.
But what I find most unforgivable is that Ronald Reagan initiated the processs of shrinking the middle class and growing the divide between rich and poor, a process that continues unabated to this day.
Try as I might, I can’t think of a single thing Ronald Reagan did that helped this country, other than deliver comforting, optimistic, speeches.  I guess that should count for something, though.

Let us hope that sentences like “Let’s hope this is all just campaign bluster—and that none of the pretenders who may someday achieve power believe in their own fakery,” are just convenient wrap-up sentences to magazine pieces and not representative of common American sentiment.

The lesson of George W. Bush boiled down to one sentence is: as shallow as he speaks is as shallow as he is.

I’m not hoping a damned thing; I’m calling spades - spades, and Guiliani: a simpleton - because he talks like a simpleton; consistently - like a simpleton.

Hope is extended to those who have earned some benefit of the doubt. None of the Republican candidates have.

Reagan is over hyped and not really a very good president. The criminals in his government are much the same ones in the Bush governments. Reagan had the good fortune to be lucky, otherwise his shallow presidency would be all to apparent.

His was the start of turning away government mandates for energy efficiency and developement away from Petroleum. It is thanks to his policies that we are still today so dependant on what happens in the middle east.

Let us not forget his haste to de-regulate Savings and Loans, without withdrawing government guarantees which resulted in major fraud and the tax payer making up the lost funds.

Let us not forget his haste to leave Lebanon, after a military presence that, if it had been done by a Democratic President would still be trumpeted as an example of flecklessness.

Let us not forget that his huge military expendature wasted much money on military play toys, which did not make us safer. Let us remember that the strength of the USSR had been over hyped by the CIA once again for political reasons and a good thing it was in error or Reagan instead of nearly bankrupting the country, bankrupted the USSR in in its knee jerk response to trying to keep up. I don’t believe the Reagan Administration ever wanted the USSR to fall as it was the only thing that made justification for the outrageous waste in the Defense Department.

That’s all I can remember, but I am sure there was much more. Oh wait a minute, I almost forgot that exercise in Imperial Arrogance the invasion of Grenada. The only reason that didn’t make a stink was that the British were glad they didn’t have to move against a member of the Common Wealth.