General Remarks on TLJ and Reagan

(First published November 25, 2003)

I realized tonight that one reason you don't receive this newsletter more often is that I take myself too seriously. Remember, for example, the article I wrote over the summer that had to do with racial prejudice? It ended with a reference to Jack Reagan's response when a hotel owner told him, "You'll be happy with this place - we don't allow Jews or any other people like that to stay here." Reagan's dad turned around, walked out into a brutal midwestern snowstorm, and spent the night in his car.

Three people unsubscribed after that article! I thought: great, those subscribers are hard to get, and I've just written an article that offends people. Never mind that their reason for unsubscribing may have had nothing to do with the article. I was still ready to think there was a connection because of the timing.

Or take the issue of editorial policy. Often I've thought, what are all of you most interested in reading about: articles about Reagan or articles on other subjects of the sort Reagan was interested in? The answer is likely both, but pondering that question can keep one from writing anything at all, and does start to take the fun out of publishing the newsletter. It's easy to think about something too much, but that's what happens when you take yourself too seriously.

By the way, I am geniuinely curious about where your interests lie as a reader of this newsletter. A few days ago I wrote a list of all the different kinds of things we might publish here, and I'd like to hear what you have to say on the subject. Please write to me at steveng@TheLastJeffersonian.com to let me know what you're most eager to see when you open this publication.

Peggy Noonan wrote that every generation has its president. My parents were just 36 when Kennedy was elected in 1960; I was 26 when Reagan was elected twenty years later. Every generation has its president. Who will be the president for the young people starting families and raising children now? Who will be the one to lead us through this difficult conflict with Al Qaeda, as Kennedy and Reagan led us through the Cold War?

On November 30, Showtime plans to air a film about Ron and Nancy Reagan. You've likely heard about the dustup that occurred when Reagan supporters forced CBS not to air the show. An article I read said that the film depicts Reagan as a good politician, but somewhat detached and out of touch. Nancy is characterized as determined, intensely loyal to her husband and his interests, and as a mother who doesn't have a great relationship with her children. When I read that I thought, those characterizations are about as uncontroversial as you can get! Apparently critics of the show wanted to see hagiography . . . nothing negative, even if it's true.

We don't have Showtime in our household, so I've been wondering if it'll be possible to see the show. I wrote to Showtime to ask if they plan to sell the tape, and they responded in the negative. Does anyone out there want to make a bootleg tape? I'm not talking about a profit-making venture here: just an opportunity to preserve this show after CBS canned it. On CBS, anyone could have recorded it. On Showtime, many fewer people will see it, and it won't be so easy to tape.

That's enough for now. Please think of people who might like to receive The Last Jeffersonian as a Christmas present. You receive gift wrap and shipment to your friend or relative for the usual shipping rate.