If Reagan family dislikes the Bush's so much, how come...

[WI_DEM]

both Poppy and Chimpy are giving eulogies? I guess it is customary for the incumbent president to do so--but I know that Ron,Jr. and his sister Patti have both said unpleasant things about the Chimp trying to allign himself with Ronnie.

As for Poppy, it is well-known that Nancy didn't care for either Poppy or Babs.

So I guess I'm confused as to why the Bushies are having such a large presence at Ronald Reagan's funeral.

[seabeyond]

1. doesnt matter the pay off............give ronnie this

cuase he so wanted to be worshipped and we will allow you to play off him and use him. we will sell out once more for ronnies vanity and ego

[BurtWorm]

2. Because if they don't let them

Ron Jr. will wind up at the bottom of a river somewhere.

[havocmom]

6. ding ding ding! We have a winner!

:thumbsup:
Probably only took one phone call to remind them that Hinkley has a brother who is not in custody and might just be having supper with a Bush, yet again.

[didntvote4shrub]

3. Because Shrubby's in charge. n/t

[Philostopher]

4. Appearances, I guess.

Reagan found GHW politically expedient at the time, and GHW was his Veep. W* is the standing resident of the White House. It would not look good for them to leave either of them out. Nancy's all about the social contract and appearances -- and Ron and Patti sure wouldn't buck her on that; she knows she has to accept the social contract. Snubbing them would probably take more energy than the gal has, right now, and I doubt she'd derive much satisfaction from it -- she's been watching her husband die in increments for ten years. I'm sure she's quite tired.

[hlthe2b]

5. I doubt they want to, but it is a STATE funeral, afterall: Poppy was his

Vice President.... Nancy, Ron, and Patti (despite their well publicized differences with their father) will be careful not step on his legacy. Any departures from decorum for this funeral will be subtle and generally conducted behind the scenes.

Once the funeral is over, though, I believe the gloves will be off, especially with respect to stem cell research and blatant attempts by the RW to exploit Reagan's legacy in ways the family deems inappropriate.

[Justice]

7. But Ford Didn't Speak At Nixon's

[hlthe2b]

8. Peerhaps he didn't want to/request to? eom

[Lindsey]

9. I thought that at Nixon's funeral

all of the past presidents (except Reagan due to his condition) went to his service.

[JI7]

10. i believe Reagan went to Nixon's funeral also

i could be wrong, but i remember seeing a picture of it recently. it might have been a picture of another event.

[UTUSN]

11. And How Come Poppy *and* Babs Were on the Air

within hours of the news giving their comments? It was jolting to see Poppy passing the spotline to Babs, who breathlessly related that they had already had phone contact with Nancy (who hates her guts).