High Noonan At the Ray-Gun Corral

A Gross Misrepresentation of Character: Peggy Noonan’s latest piece of revisionist history about Ronnie Ray-Gun

By: Michael Gabriel

That Josephette Goebbels of the conservative media, Peggy Noonan, is about to release a new book about Ronnie Ray-Gun - a work of fiction, we must assume - titled "When Character was King". That title is certainly her idea of a creative and hilarious jab at - surprise! - Bill Clinton. What an original stroke of genius. How good it must make her feel to keep jabbing at the man who bounced Ronnie Ray-Gun's hand-picked successor, George Bush Sr., out of the White House, then trounced dour conservative icon Bob Dole in the next presidential election. Deal with it honey.

The nation's chief Ray-Gun apologist continues her quest to see that the wrinkled and clueless visage of the nation's bad-actor former president gets up on Mt. Rushmore. But is there any more ludicrous proposal then to equate Ronald Reagan with the word "character"? Puh-lease. Give me a physical break. You have GOT to be kidding me. Ronald Reagan demonstrated about a much character as a toilet seat during his public life, and he wasn't half as useful. Let's review:

• Ray-Gun's hallmark economic plan - Ray-Gunomics - was a tragic farce. The logic of thinking that giving more money to the rich would allow it to trickle down to the poor is criminally insane. Think about the "character" of the rich. The only place that money was destined to trickle down to, was right back into their own fat pockets. But Ray-Gun thought we were stupid.His own budget director said it was a "frenzy of excessive and imprudent tax cutting that shattered the nation's fiscal stability". Ray-Gun no doubt said, "huh?".
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• Every year, Congress passed a budget smaller than the one proposed by The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration, $16.1 billion less over 8 years. But Ray-Gun apologists like to blame Congress for his bloated budgets. I guess they have no idea where the buck stops.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration increased the tax burden on the lowest 40 percent of Americans, while allowing what Stanford economist Paul Krugman said was "a widening of inequality as firmly established as the fact that smoking causes cancer". Reagan's response to Congressional budget office numbers was simply, "I don't believe that's true". Never let hard facts get in the way of firmly entrenched beliefs. Playing dumb was always a great trait of the great Ray-Gun.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• Economic growth under Ray-Gun was lower than under President Carter and the savings rate under Ray-Gun plummeted ushering in the longest recession in more than a half-century. What did he do about it? Nothing!
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration did more damage to the environment than any before it. Ray-Gun's famous quote was "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do". Give me a break. Remember James Watt? 'Nuff said.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• Ray-Gun apologists like to say he defeated the Soviet Union, but he was just there when it happened. He was always good at taking credit where credit wasn't due. How much money was wasted on a "star wars" missile defense system that wasn't practical?
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• Ray-Gun subverted the constitution he swore to uphold. The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration gave us the Iran-Contra scandal. He tried to overthrow a democratically elected government in Nicaragua, for fun and profit. But he just had to get those evil socialists.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• In 1985, almost 600 Reagan administration officials were indicted and 470 were convicted, ten times more than in Watergate. And Peggy Noonan has the nerve to talk about Bill Clinton. Ray-Gun's henchmen were just plain diabolical, just like Nixon's before him.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• Ray-Gun refused to do anything about the emerging AIDS epidemic, because it didn't jive with his so-called morals and ethics. Disease and death do not discriminate.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration told America's school children ketchup was a vegetable. The Ronnie Ray-Gun Administration gave us junk bond scandals, massive deficits, utter financial mismanagement at the highest levels of government.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  
• It was Ray-Gun and his minions who, in their frothing desire to get the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union, funneled megabucks to a rebel named Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. As it turns out, the evil empire wasn't as evil as the man who likely killed 5,000 innocent civilians on Sept. 11.
  
  Now THERE'S a man with real character.
  
  

Peggy Noonan's piece of revisionist history chronicles a man so devoid character so as to make the title of her book scandalous. Noonan continues her attempt to use her tiny role in the Ray-Gun Administration for her own selfish financial gain. If it wasn't so sad, it would be pathetic. The sooner this book is dropped into the discount bin, the better for all of us.