Reagan

It's funny. I have finally reached the presidential portion of Bob Spitz's biography on Reagan, and I find myself enjoying the book less. Spitz is going through the presidency kind of fast. It's almost like reading an encyclopedia or Wikipedia entry. The pre-political life of Reagan seemed to be treated more fully and with a greater interest in painting for us the personality of the man.

I am not turned off by the book. I'm just a bit disappointed with the treatment of Reagan's political life, which should have been the meat & potatoes of the project, though I suppose the book would have needed a second volume to be done right. In the future, I can see myself cutting out after the episode in which Reagan gets shot. Spitz breathes some life back into the book in his coverage there. This is the first time I've seen these scenes so fully, including the comical interlude with Haig claiming command & control.

Cheney

There's a new bio-pic coming out for the Christmas holidays on Dick Cheney titled "Vice". Is is apparently not a kiss-kiss piece. It wasn't made by Dinesh D'Souza. Maureen Dowd writes one of her sharper columns that is about the relative demerits of Trumpian Republicans and Dubya Republicans. She asked Adam McKay, the director of "Vice", which right-winger was worse, Trump or Cheney.

McKay said, “Here’s the question: Would you rather have a professional assassin after you or a frothing maniac with a meat cleaver? I’d rather have a maniac with a meat cleaver after me, so I think Cheney is way worse.” Yeah, but what a choice! The real world.

[NYT]