Some conservative pundits like to compare W. Bush to Ronald Reagan.
This makes Ronald Reagan's youngest son - a Seattle resident - gag.
What he remembers from his father's Washington, D.C., funeral was a sign saying, "NOW THAT WAS A PRESIDENT!"
Ron Reagan Jr., like his father, is a natural communicator. He can reel off the ways Bush doesn't measure up in stylish bursts embedded with words like Enron, WMDs and Abu Ghraib. But the bottom line is that the son of the most popular Republican president in modern times doesn't believe that the current president, also the son of a president, lives in the real world.
"The big danger in the White House," says Reagan, "is that you are in a bubble. So you depend on the character of people around you. Bush's bubble is rigid and tight. And anyone with a dissenting opinion is dismissed."
Reagan says the 9/11 film of Bush reading "My Little Goat" "was a creepy window into the President's competence. After being told ' America is under attack,' he sat on that stool chewing his cheek for seven minutes, waiting for somebody to tell him what to do."
Reagan Jr., 46, and his wife, Doria, came to Seattle after deciding they "didn't wish to be buried in the rubble of another California earthquake." Considering their options, they decided "San Diego was too conservative, San Francisco was too expensive and Portland was kind of lesser Seattle, so..."
Returning home from a television gig 10 years ago, he was informed by Doria that they'd just bought a house in Seattle. Sight unseen. But it was what they were looking for: a Craftsman bungalow. They became Magnolians. And Doria, a Ph.D. in psychology, set up a practice. She is bright-eyed and dancer-fit. They met at the ballet.
Reagan says many people have false assumptions about his famous family. "We see people on television, and while the camera is revealing, it only goes so far."
People think my mother "was the driving force in my father's career, but she wasn't a political animal. What she did have was acute antennae on personnel matters: is this person going to be helpful or hurtful? She knew Don Regan [one-time Reagan chief of staff] was trouble before anybody else."
Reagan confirms the story that every night Nancy's last words to his father were: "Peace, Ronnie, Peace."
How does he think she will vote this election?
"I don't know. I can't speak for her."
Has he caught much flak for his appearance at the Democratic convention and coming out against Bush?
"Well, a woman in Tempe, Arizona, yelled, 'You killed your father!' But generally people can't come at me too viciously because of who I am."
What are some misconceptions that public has about Ron Reagan?
"They think maybe I'm gay because I was in the Joffrey Ballet. But I'm not wired that way. I knew chemically from early on that I responded to females. Unfortunately, homophobia is alive and well in America. I find it very difficult to understand people who say they are 'tolerant' of homosexuals. That's like saying you're tolerant of Chinese or blacks.... Bush's red states are fag-bashing country.
"People also assume I'm wealthy. Afraid not. I've worked since I was 18. In television, if you get lucky you can make some money. I've had good and bad years."
Reagan will be doing commentary election night on MSNBC. He also narrates major dog shows on Animal Planet that are way better than the movie "Best in Show." The Reagans have cats. He loves dogs.
Ron Reagan says his father, who played a major role in dismantling the Evil Empire, "was highly motivated by a fear of nuclear conflagration. "My father was waiting for someone he could sit down and negotiate with, like he did in his days as president of the Screen Actors Guild. He found Gorbachev."
Reagan says he doesn't expect this election will be over on Nov. 2. "The Bush people are going to challenge everyone voting for Kerry at the polls. They are no fans of democracy. I think we could see Kerry win the popular vote by two or three million, but because of some shenanigans lose in the Electoral College. We know that the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court are controlled by Bush. These people believe God is on their side and will cheat and lie to win. It's hypocrisy."
Freelance writer Thom Gunn is a former Pacific Pubishing Co. reporter. He can be reached c/o editor@capitolhilltimes.com.[[In-content Ad]]
