I hear from English friends that the media there is trying to pretty up Margaret Thatcher's legacy, though they are not quite as fawning over there as the media here in the US. So. We have to put up with St Ronnie over here. Why shouldn't the English have St Maggie over there? It's only fair. Besides, the two were such good friends.
The picture is just too precious. Looks like a movie set.
ReplyDeleteSweet. :-)
DeleteMonday's Tweet of the Day says it: "I cried all my tears for the Reagan/Thatcher gang when Pinochet died."
ReplyDeleteGood tweet. The two have a lot to account for.
DeleteOne thing you can say about Maggie is that she was authentic: a real wielder of power and authority and ideas. Reagan was her polar opposite: a mere scarecrow, a straw man, a toy of the puppetmasters, full of soundbites, signifying nothing. Though how can you blame him for taking on the Presidency? The greatest role any actor ever attempted. They should have given him a special Oscar just for that. Though Bush II came in a mighty close second. I date the modern mindless obsession with "identity politics" so-called from Reagan's election: we don't need a real person in the job, just a name and a snappy salute at the door of Air Force One will do nicely, thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is true about Maggie. Too bad she didn't use her gifts for good. You're very right about Ronnie, too, and you say it well and with wit.
DeleteThe media here isn't all one-way - there has been plenty of critical stuff in the Guardian. The right-wing press is another story (nearly typed another tory). :(
ReplyDelete(nearly typed another tory)
DeleteWell, it is.
Sir Ian McKellen reckoned she liked Ronnie because "she had an eye for a handsome bloke" (he watched them talking at some public do). Wouldn't have called RR handsome myself but maybe that was why she had so much time for him.
ReplyDeleteReagan was smiling and genial and got away with a lot more than he should have because of his pleasant demeanor. Maggie did not have those gifts. How unfortunate that the first woman PM in Britain left such a sorry legacy, as it will probably be a while before another is elected.
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