In 1980, I was released from a three-year sentence to something called “high school,” which had been seriously cutting into my hunting, fishing, and woods-bumming time. But during that sentence, all three years, I was on our high school newspaper, and in my last year, I was made Opinion Editor, which was a lot like giving a maniac a loaded gun — I had a lot of fun, but it also made me more politically-aware than I had been. That was when I started my habit of challenging my assumptions, of digging into issues more deeply than I suspect most people do, and that was also when I started forming some of the opinions and principles that I still hold now, almost half a century later.
And that summer, I marched into the Reagan campaign offices in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and volunteered to help. Granted, all they let a fired-up 18-year-old kid do was hand out flyers, buttons, and bumper stickers, but I did that with aplomb, and in November, I marched into the voting booth for the first time and cast my ballot for Ronald Reagan. I never regretted that vote. Reagan was one of the most consequential presidents of the 20th century and was legitimately a great man, and now we see that the Dennis Quaid film about Reagan is blowing up home sales.
The film “Reagan” has surged to the top of the home sales charts following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on Nov. 5.
“Reagan” was listed as #2 on Amazon’s Best Sellers list overall Monday for DVD, Blu-ray and digital download sales, having been No. 1 over the weekend, the movie’s publicist said.
The team that created “Reagan” cited similarities between the two Republican giants and the synergies between Trump’s successful campaign and the movie that retells the life story of Reagan, a popular two-term president and previously a Hollywood actor.
I’m not sure how much President-elect Trump’s (you know) reelection victory has influenced these sales. There are some similarities between the two: Both were in show business, both wielded some controversial opinions, and both were not afraid to buck the prevalent opinions of the Washington establishment. But while Donald Trump entered politics in 2015 when he came down that golden escalator to announce his run for president, Ronald Reagan had already had a career in politics before running for president — including two terms as governor of California. There are differences in style, as well:
Actor Robert Davi, who played Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in the film and is a staunch Trump backer, said, “The film showed how Reagan was demonized just as Trump was.”
He said he was “elated” by Trump’s victory and was in Palm Beach with the president-elect for the victory celebration.
“They were both red, white and blue. The difference is in literary style. Trump is like Hemingway and James Joyce, direct and stream of consciousness, Reagan had a more restrained, poetic style,” Davi said.
That’s a fair observation; Ronald Reagan was cheerful, optimistic, always smiling and upbeat, while Trump can be short-tempered and acerbic.
See Related: There They Go Again: Dennis Quaid Says Facebook Censoring Marketing for Reagan Movie
WATCH: Dennis Quaid Made a Perfect Speech Supporting Trump at Coachella Rally- ‘Time to Pick a Side’
Chris Wallace Lays a Lame ‘Gotcha’ Trap for Dennis Quaid on Reagan, Trump. He Doesn’t Fall for It.
Ronald Reagan, though, is hard to compare to any other president in living memory. Without him, the Cold War may not have ended peacefully or as soon as it did. He oversaw a generation of economic growth and, more importantly, replaced Jimmy Carter’s “malaise” and “turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater” austerity with “morning in America.”
I remember the Reagan years as sunny and prosperous. That’s an America we need to go back to. And, yes, I’ve already bought my copy of the film. I recommend everyone do likewise.
