“Society has always regarded marital love as a sacred expression of the bond between a man and a woman. It is the means by which families are created and society itself is extended into the future. In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is the means by which husband and wife participate with God in the creation of a new human life. It is for these reasons, among others, that our society has always sought to protect this unique relationship. In part the erosion of these values has given way to a celebration of forms of expression most reject. We will resist the efforts of some to obtain government endorsement of homosexuality.” – Ronald Reagan, July 12, 1984. That’s a useful reminder to me not to get too carried away by Reagan’s differences with Bush-style conservatism.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “You refer to Adam Clymer as a Bush-hater. Wouldn’t it be better to say that Bush is an Adam Clymer-hater? After all, it was Bush who called Clymer a “major league asshole.” But if Clymer doesn’t care for Bush because of that, I can’t say I blame him.
You must remember, dislike of Bush is not, as many conservatives seem to think, some irrational mental disease affecting loony partisans. Bush brought this on himself. The whisper campaign against McCain in 2000; uncompromising on his agenda after an election where the other guy got more votes; the ads questioning the patriotism of Max Cleland; saying some in the Senate “didn’t care about the security of the American people” because they backed a different Homeland Security Bill from Bush’s (after Bush fought the very idea for months); campaigning ferociously and indiscriminately even against the Democrats in congress who supported him on the big issues of Iraq and tax cuts — these and other actions caused a lot of bad feeling for Bush, and it’s a big reason why the Democrats are so united against him.
You’ve already rightly pointed out the many ways Bush pales in comparison to Reagan. In that same line of thought, can you envision Reagan behaving in a similar manner as the examples above?” – More feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 