Saint Ronald

I'm a little baffled by the Republican debate last night. No, not that three of the presidential hopefuls don't believe in modern biology or, based on what I've been reading, that Hardballed Chris Matthews threw pretty much nothing but softballs.

What baffles me is why any of these candidates thought it would be good to set themselves against the great mythical communicator. Surely they are all diminished by the comparison.

And what's with the plane?

But the point of this post is this: Is there another modern president whose image and real accomplishments have undergone a more thorough polishing and embellishment? F'rinstance, last night Giuliani actually invoked Reagan as the steely-eyed cowboy who could go toe to toe with the Iranians and the terraists.

History, you know, paints a vastly different picture.