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Ron Reagan’s eulogy, religion, and Bush

Dad was also a deeply, unabashedly religious man. But he never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage. True, after he was shot and nearly killed early in his presidency, he came to believe that God had spared him in order that he might do good. But he accepted that as a responsibility, not a mandate. And there is a profound difference.

Ron Reagan

Those are the words of Ron Reagan that people have been talking about since he said them in his eulogy at his father’s funeral.

Ron Reagan is presumed to not believe in God. According to The Celebrity Atheist List:

Ron had a short lived talk show a few years ago. On one show, he interviewed Charles Manson at Manson's current cell of residence. Manson began "preaching" his "message". During it, he turned to Reagan and asked, "Do you believe in god?" "No, I do not," Ron responded.

Yet Ron’s non-belief did not prevent him from evoking religious images in his eulogy. For example, he began his eulogy:

He is home now. He is free. In his final letter to the American people, Dad wrote, "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life." This evening, he has arrived.

And at the end of the eulogy he gave a detailed and beautiful description of what his father’s final “home” might be like. It was truly a brilliantly written eulogy in which he artfully evoked images of Heaven without being the least bit overtly religious. It was in marked contrast to Michael Reagan’s bible-thumping eulogy.

Ron Reagan’s remarks are assumed to be anti-Bush. The New York Times reported in an article published June 15:

[A] friend of the Reagan family, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Reagan, who did not return a call seeking comment on Monday, was deeply uncomfortable with the way the Bush administration intertwined religion and politics and felt compelled to say so at the burial of his father, a ceremony watched by millions.

There has also been speculation that Ron Reagan is especially annoyed with George W. Bush’s opposition to stem cell research. His mother, Nancy Reagan, has been publicly advocating for stem cell research. Presumably, Bush’s opposition is based on religious grounds, because the only real opposition to such research comes from the anti-abortion Christian Right.

The jab in he eulogy was a pretty minor rebuke considering the disdain that Ron Reagan has shown for Bush in the past. According to the same New York Times article, at the 2000 Republican convention, Ron Reagan said about George W Bush, “What's his accomplishment? That he's no longer an obnoxious drunk?” I bet that Ron Reagan isn’t going to be invited to speak at the 2004 convention.

There is a 2003 Salon.com interview in which Ron Reagan is extremely critical of Bush, and he also blasts Republicans who are opposed to stem cell research.

Ron Reagan said that he doesn’t wish to enter politics because he dislikes the fund raising process. And then he slammed Bush when Salon asked a follow-up question:

What if a group of concerned citizens approached him and helped raise money for his entry into politics -- would that make a difference? "You mean like they did with George W.? 'Hey, you've got name recognition, that's all that matters -- we'll give you millions of dollars to run!' Imagine coming to a man with just two years' experience in public office, and a ceremonial one at that. Imagine installing such a blank slate in the presidency of the United States! This is a regency, not a presidency.

Bush was asked about Ron Reagan’s remarks at a June 15 press conference:

Yes, Elisabeth.

Q -- Ron Reagan's remarks at the former President's funeral –

PRESIDENT BUSH: I didn't hear them.

Q He said that politicians should not wear religious faith on their sleeve. And a lot of Republicans interpreted those remarks as being critical of you and your position on stem cell. I'd like to ask you about that.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Whether or not a politician should wear their -- I've always said I think it's very important for someone not to try to take the speck out of somebody else's eye when they may have a log in their own. In other words, I'm very mindful about saying, you know, oh, vote for me, I'm more religious than my neighbor. And I think it's -- I think it's perfectly -- I think it's important for people of religion to serve. I think it is very important for people who are serving to make sure there is a separation of church and state.

I guess that clarifies Bush’s views on this issue.

Lest this post be interpreted as being strictly anti-Bush, I would remind people that Clinton also made a big deal about being religious and carrying his Bible with him and going to church. It is my opinion that liberals didn’t mind that because they thought that Clinton was just pretending to be religious in order to get votes. Liberals dislike Bush’s genuine belief in Christianity.

Additional commentary in the blogosphere:

Click this link for additional commentary at The Moderate Voice.

Some anti-Bush commentary by Bob Brigham at Bay to the Beltway.

UPDATE

Ron Reagan was interviewed by Chris Matthews on Dateline NBC only a few hours after I wrote this post. (Link to transcript)

Reagan: "Well, what I find interesting about it is that everybody assumes that I must be talking about George W. Bush, which I find fascinating and somewhat telling. If the shoe fits—"

Matthews: "Were you?"

Reagan: "Well, I said many politicians. If he's lumped in that group then fine, fine. That's all right. There's a lot of-- I think there's a lot of false piety floating around Washington."

posted Friday, June 18, 2004

1 Comments:

By GirriG:

It's my opinion that conservatives don't mind Bush pretending to be religious in order to get votes. Conservatives dislike liberals genuine belief in Christianity.

Mirror-imaging sometimes reveals truth.

posted at 6/18/2004 11:02 PM