Demagogue

Ever since former President Reagan died, every conservative commentator, syndicated columnist, blogger or loudmouth has painted a rather skewed version of history.

It was Ronald Reagan, they contend, who almost singlehandledly brought the Soviet Union to its knees.

So I'd love to be a fly on the wall inside the Heritage Foundation or the offices of National Review to see conservatives' reaction to this interesting disclosure from today's WaPo:

Of all the presidents he worked for, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is particularly supportive of one — but it isn't, as might be expected, Ronald Reagan, the first President Bush or even Gerald R. Ford.

Rather, in his memoirs, the new Pentagon chief leaps repeatedly to the defense of Jimmy Carter, the sole Democrat for whom he worked ...

... [Gates] thinks Carter was far tougher on Moscow than is generally recognized.

"I believe the Soviets saw a very different Jimmy Carter than did most Americans by 1980, different and more hostile and threatening," Gates writes. In both conventional weaponry and in the nuclear arena, he argues, Carter would "provide a strong foundation for Ronald Reagan to build upon."

It makes you wonder if Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer choked on their morning danish.