Of course I am expected to chafe when the words "Greatest" and "Reagan" are used in the same sentence.  I don't because I've been hearing it for nearly two decades.  There is no disuading the faithful in their belief, whether it be the sancity of Jesus, Mohammed, or Reagan.  I do believe I understand the phenomena, however.  For those of us who were born after 1960, Reagan had, perhaps, the "greatest" influence on our world and political beliefs.

Ronald Reagan was the first President I got the chance to vote against, twice, at least where it counted.  I remember in first grade waving a Humphry sign and being absolutely appalled that my classmates, when polled, chose Wallace over him or Nixon.  And no, I didn't move to Ohio from south of the Mason-Dixon line.  Reagan was President while I studied political science and law, and was the influential center of all topical discussions I had in or out of class during those years.

While there seems to be general agreement that as a person, Reagan the man and Reagan the communicator was extraordinary, and his place in history at the very least as a better than average if not one of the top dozen chief executives is secure.

There is a list of things Reagan did wrong, where he just outright blew it.  A longer list of things he neglected or never got around to addressing.  But his optimism, love of country, faith in the better nature of mankind and infectious humor made me hate him.  As a young man devoted to standing against his policies, I hated him not because he was bad, but because he was so damn good.

He truly was amazing, the sine qua non of True Hollywood Stories.