Oh Brother II

Frist proposes renaming the Pentagon after Reagan.

Let's just rename planet earth after the man. From what I'm hearing from folks out here, and this might surely be a Beltway thing, the press and Republicans in general are drastically overblowing this state spectacle. Honoring him as if he were equal parts George Washington and Abraham Lincoln is completely farcical. Many people are keeping mum during this ceremonial week in respect for the dead. But from what I hear, many people still despise the man and his presidency.

I was apartment hunting recently in Georgetown. My girl and I arrived slightly earlier than the older lady who was to show us the basement apartment. Fortunately, her beau upstairs, an elderly mustachioed gentlemen in his late sixties early seventies, let me in. Pleasantries were exchanged. He was actually from Chicago. I liked his laugh. It was a goofy laugh, one you'd hear in a movie, overcharacterized but instantly comical, like that weird goth artist with the hyena laugh in that movie "The Big Lebowski."

I didn't know what to say. It's been a while since I was stuck talking to a stranger but I was instantly curious. Someone who'd lived in DC for 52 years, 10 presidencies, must have a million and one stories.

I asked, "Will you be heading to the Capitol for Reagan's procession?"

A pause hung uncomfortably in the air. I guess I knew in asking that it was a politically loaded question. He replied, "I have a Kerry bumper sticker."

"Me too," I said nervously.

Here's a man of considerable age and education, University of Chicago, unable to set aside political differences even at the death of a president. I didn't know if I should feel sorry for his bitterness or what. I squirmed for a few minutes before rebounding and then the landlady showed.

If there's one thing I took from this chance encounter, as well as additional discussions with co-workers and others, it's that the gushy rhetoric, non-stop TV coverage, and calls for naming the District after him is far from reflective of how the public views Reagan even after 15 years. Honor him and move on. Too much coverage can be grating, like bloggers who can't stop writing about the same subject.

[PS. WSJ writes in an interesting article how the commemoration, code named Operation Serenade, has been organized for years by former Reagan staffers as means of building his legacy.]