However, it would not have done for the citizenry to to have any but the most heroic of perceptions of their President. To me this is another case of the media not doing their jobs and making the public aware of the seriousness of Reagan's injuries or their possible
ramifications.
I think a conscious decision was made to downplay the seriousness of Reagan's injuries to the public, but I doubt it was done out of an effort to make him appear heroic. He had, after all, done a pretty good job of that himself, not making a fuss, joking with the hospital staff, and the like. No doubt the first thought was not to sow panic; after all, Alexander Haig was making people nervous enough running around yelling: "I am in charge!"
I can understand being a bit, let's say, restrained in dishing out the medical details for a few hours, or perhaps, depending on circumstances, even for a few days. But--how long?--six years?--is too much. We all remember that when Reagan took office he promised that, as the oldest elected president, he'd have his physical and mental health checked regularly, and if serious problems cropped up he'd resign. What happened to that promise? It was pretty obvious that he was losing it by the time he ran for his second term; why didn't someone (Nancy?) gently discourage him?
A very dangerous situation, and one that we'd really do best to avoid in future. |
