Presidential funerals in the future....

[Aviation Pro]

...after the spectacle of Reagan's funeral here's a prognostic view of future Presidential funerals:

1. President Jimmy Carter - A quiet, dignified affair that will eschew the pomp and circumstance which would not befit a gentleman farmer. Attended by all who wish to give their last respects to a great humanitarian.

2. President George H. W. Bush - Held in total secrecy in Paraguay. Attended by a phalanx of oil men, lawyers and shady ex-heads-of-state. The gravesite will be permenantly "frozen" by the Secret Service who will guard the large mauseleum and burial chamber 24x7 (at taxpayer expense).

3. President William Clinton - A raucous affair held simultaneously in the newly rebuilt New Orleans, Little Rock and Harlem. Jazz will fill the streets for 24 hours followed by a somber march, Mardi Gras style, to the cemetary.

4. President Little Monkey - Unknown at this time, but probably involves a prison somewhere.

[YOY]

1. I suspect #4 will need only 2 pallbearers

As garbage cans (albeit goldplated) only have two handles...

[Captain Hilts]

2. Reagan's was the standard funeral. Ike's, JFK's, etc. were all just like that. nt

[Aviation Pro]

3. The one difference being....

...the lavish media coverage which outdistanced any Presidential funeral before his. Even JFK's, a President assassinated, didn't have the kind of coverage given to #40.

[rsdsharp]

4. If Reagan had more coverage

and I don't really think he did, it was only because the GOP stretched it out for 7 days to milk the political benefits. There was no cable news in 1963. But all three networks were literally 24 hours a day with the JFK assassination and funeral -- at a time when the networks weren't on 24/7. There was NOTHING else on TV from the moment the story broke until after the funeral. That didn't happen with Reagan.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Uh, there is a lot more news coverage of EVERYTHING now. It was all over the TV dial...

back when Eisenhower died. All stations.

No president since then has had a full state funeral.

Most of Reagan's was based on protocol.

[BenDavid]

6. Maybe #4 will be cremated and

someone will throw his ass, oh excuse me, his ashes to the wind.