Sometimes the apple falls so far from the tree that it just plain rolls down the hill. Ron P. Reagan, the son of the late President, can’t get enough of the fifteen minutes of fame his father’s death has brought him. Unlike his brother Michael and even his eccentric sister Patti, Ron saw the funeral as a glowing opportunity to denounce Bush on the sly. He made veiled references to his father not wearing religion on his sleeve and not using it for political gain like some other presidents.
Most everyone knew what Reagan was talking about, as he is a supporter of neither Bush’s nor his father’s politcs. Reagan voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 election and now seems bent on helping Bush to not get re-elected, using his father’s death as the platform.
The self-proclaimed atheist (who also aligns himself with Buddhism—making him an atheist Buddhist?) is now calling for outrage from Christians [1]:
NYT: How do you account for all the glowing obituaries of [President Reagan]?
Ron P. Reagan: I think it was a relief for Americans to look at pictures of something besides men on leashes. If you are going to call yourself a Christian — and I don’t — then you have to ask yourself a fundamental question, and that is: Whom would Jesus torture? Whom would Jesus drag around on a dog’s leash? How can Christians tolerate it?
It is unconscionable. It has put our young men and women who are over there, fighting a war that they should not have been asked to fight — it has put them in greater danger.
Apparently Mr. Reagan is so distraught over his father’s death that he hasn’t realized that it’s pretty difficult to find a Christian who didn’t deplore the torture of Abu Ghraib prisoners. Mr. Reagan’s poorly crafted answer doesn’t even remotely fall within the scope of the question.
Outside, flags are at half-mast. It’s too bad that the son of the greatest president of the last century is reacting with half his wits.