Sometimes Reagan wasn't actually agreat communicator

[dArKeR]

AFP , LOS ANGELES
Monday, Jun 07, 2004,Page 6

Despite former president Ronald Reagan's reputation for being the "Great Communicator," he made many gaffes during his eight years in the White House -- at times with humorous consequences.

One of his most immortal slip-ups was his announcement, while preparing to give a radio address from his ranch in Santa Barbara, California: "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

Unfortunately for him, the microphone was on and the message was broadcast.

That was not the only diplomatic slip he made. During a state dinner in Brasilia in 1982, he toasted "the people of Bolivia." When he realized his error, he tried in vain to correct it, saying, "We're going there next." The tour continued, however, in Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/07/2003174114

(The Dumbing Up of a Nation.) How much intelligence does it take to read a script that 5 to 10 scholars wrote? Is this the bar we set for American Presidents? Reading a script from a teleprompter and showing some Hollywood facial expressions? There should be a law in which Presidents must write their own speeches.

[MasonJar]

1. The silver tongue was totally gone in the second term.

[kskiska]

2. He even had a gag writer,

and told the same stories over and over and over.

[Lindacooks]

3. I have a friend who's a psychiatrist

and she says she saw symptoms of Alzheimer's in Reagan in 1981, most tellingly the 'circular thinking' he displayed. I remember being so disgusted with that mean old man when he couldn't even read a sentence (scarily similar to chimpy now - maybe he's got Alzheimer's too? That would explain a lot).

[dArKeR]

4. I agree. If you look at Chimpy, objectively, he can't hold a thought, he

can't grab a thought. Not only does Chimpy's head rotate circularly, when he's grasping for a thought, as Reagan did, Chimpy can only repeat the same words over and over for the last 3 years. If Franken did an analysis, as he did on Limbaugh, I think you'd see Chimpy only uses about 10 basic words in his entire vocabulary. (This is something that can be proven by statistical analysis.)

Personally, I believe Chimpy has an radio speaker in his ear and the handlers are telling him what to say. aWol just looks too weird when he's speechless and grasping at something to say. He's either psychotic or someone is whispering into his ear and he's trying to concentrate and listen to the ear piece while his eyes are seeing reporters from his podium and he's distracted from the visual stimulas and unable to comprehend the sound input from the handlers. This is the only possible explanation I can think of to try to give aWol the benefit of the doubt that he is a sane man and but only a distracted bafoon during speeches from the podium teleprompter. If aWol closes his eyes while grasping for words that's a sure sign that he's getting input from his ear speaker.

[Lisa]

7. Helen Caldicott mentioned this too ...

She had a private meeting with Reagan and reported that he seemed very confused. So that's two physicians who twigged to the problem early on.

[Matilda]

5. Remember when Charles and Di visited the White House

and he referred to Diana as "Princess David"? That prompted Peter
Ustinov to remark that he must have been thinking of his coming
meeting at Cape Diana.

[PATRICK]

6. We have a retired speechwriter

here who does the tricks with odd, sportscasting style and pompous triviality blinding all to partisan flaws. He admires his old bosses because any human of substance(real or purely accidental position) is the AUTHORITY FIGURE, an icon of national piety and a foundation of uncritical order. As substantial as small town Mian Street Disneyland, itself a mawkish, commercialized myth.

So Curt pontificates on the meme as if were a Gospel verse that is not important to understand, an event not necessary to believe, a fantasy that stands on its own as sufficient to a circular, flat universe where nothing need really change or engage doubt... There, I almost sound like good ole Curt Smith.

It was just a meme, a slogan that worked, not a Platonic essence, not a demonstrable fact. It was a Big Lie. A PR ploy. He communicated nothing of substance, only show and most of that borrowed using second rate theatrical training. He always met reporters jumping out of a helicopter, shaking his head, hands to ears to show he couldn't hear.

Cute. The reporters knew it was a shameless joke. The death of the press conference under GOP presidents began then. The regrowth of secrecy and replacement of facts with interpretations from the partisan right, the death of the news media as a mass communicating means... So what did Reagan tell us about anything? Relax feel good about what I tell you to. Buy this used car, it's a bargain.

When it came to real information like Iran Contra we finally got an honest answer. He couldn't remember. He didn't know anything to communicate.

I finally believed him. After several years I got the message.

[Shadowen]

8. To say nothing of one time...

...he spoke in front of a crowd, I believe, at a center for the autistic. Most of his audience was autistic, and his BS body language, phony smiles, etc. had them rolling on the floor!

(I got this from The Bush Dyslexicon; it's a fucking great book!)