Now here they go again...

By Capt. Fogg

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the media's mad push to associate Fred Thompson with Ronald Reagan. Besides the basis for comparison being so tenuous that the bones of this contrivance show through its thin skin, I see Reagan as the origin of most of the United States' current problems which include the rise of anti-American terrorism, the dismantling of necessary government oversight and the increasing power of corporations to own and rule America. Another Reagan is the last thing we need.

Fred Thompson is an actor who plays a tough guy on TV. Ronald Reagan was a minor character actor as well; just good enough to create the presidential character he played on the screen. His diaries reveal, among other sad things, a man of limited ability who believed in astrology and was fairly sure Jesus was coming like Godzilla to stomp out the world any day now. He was a man who thought immoral and illegal deals were all right as long as they were kept secret. He was a man who thought corporate greed led to morality.

Do we really need another empty brown suit? Is the shameless promotion of Thompson an indicator of his ability to solve our desperate and extremely complex problems or is the scheme to give us another shuffling, "awe shucks" Howdy Doody with a reassuring voice to make us feel good while the Republicans continue to sell the furniture?

It isn't just CNN's Wolf Blitzer hawking this shoddy comparison; its all over every American paper. It's the BBC, It's the Australian media and as far as I can tell, the non- story of the day everywhere: Reagan's mantle, Reagan's footsteps, Reagan's legacy. Reagan with his childish notions about economics, the man who cut and ran in Lebanon and ran illegal wars and sold weapons to the Ayatollah and gave him 8 billion dollars to let the hostages go if only Iran would wait until after the election.

It's time this country had more than a chrome-plated hood ornament as president. We need someone really intelligent, really pragmatic, someone who has had long experience with foreign policy, economics, history, and government. Lets put the mantle back in the prop room and look for a real president rather than a president that looks real.

(Cross-posted at Human Voices.)