We gathered in Olney yesterday, at the home of my sister-in-law’s parents, for my brother’s 30th birthday party. A diverse group really. Conversations about current events, Smarty Jones, comics, movies, relationships, went freely. But on this day we were not just Democrats or Republicans – we were Dante’s family and friends, someone we all loved and respected very much.

That afternoon two events would reinforce that unity. When the news was heard over the TV that President Reagan had died, we came around the TV and murmured to each other what he had meant to each of us. Sure there were objections to policies, and there were doubts about the true effect he had on the cold war, but one thing was certain – he was a President that made us feel good about ourselves and the future.

And whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts.

President Reagan’s 1992 Convention Speech.

Read that quote again. Think it’s George W. Bush’s hope? A president whose henchmen emphasize our darkest fears and doubts to justify its policies? He will, as Dave Winer says, attempt to use Reagan as his running mate. Let’s hope people’s short memories don’t forget the many speeches and actions that prove just how far from the Reagan message the man is. Then again, it is our faulty memories that raise Reagan’s status in our minds, not simply the facts. Sometimes the way people make us feel leaves more an imprint than what they do.

Read John Kerry’s comments for someone who is far closer to the Reagan message then the current administration.

Remember that ideals are fluid: they can reside in any party or candidate. Which candidate is the candidate of optimism? Which is the candidate of “big government”? Who believes in America more?

Later that evening, a bunch of people who had never seen a horse race, watched Smarty Jones come this close and lose. In true Philadelphia fashion. The worst part of it is, there was a group of us whose dark sense of humor just had to predict the outcome almost exactly. Me included, “watch him lose right at the finish line. We’re cursed when it comes to sports. Forever second best.”. I realize technically that’s not the case (winning two of the three triple crown races), but that’s the way everyone felt. You should have seen everyone’s faces.

It will be a memorable party.