Ron Reagan to Pen Anti-Bush
Editorial
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| AP |
| Ron Reagan is shown in this 1992
photo. |
Ron
Reagan, son of the former president of the United States, is set to
write an editorial piece for Esquire magazine urging the end of the Bush
administration.
Reagan co-hosted a panel discussion yesterday for The
Creative Coalition, the non-partisan lobbying group, at the Sundance Film
Festival along with "Lord of the Rings" star Sean Astin,
the inimitable "Joey Pants," Joe Pantoliano, and actor
Kevin Pollak.
Coincidentally, both Reagan's dad,
Ronald, and Astin's mother, Patty Duke,
were at one time presidents of the Screen Actors Guild. Of course, Reagan's
dad was also president of this country, but in Hollywood that doesn't count
as much.
Reagan has always been a vocal opponent of his father's
political party, but never as much as he is now. He told me he will write an
article of undetermined length for Esquire explaining why George W.
Bush should not be re-elected.
One reason, I inferred, was that Bush has blocked
stem-cell research for diseases such as Alzheimer's. Reagan is extremely
clear about his feelings on this subject, since his father, who will turn 93
next month, has been felled by this insidious illness.
"It's unbelievable that Bush doesn't approve stem-cell
research," Reagan said.
I also asked Reagan what he thought of the controversial
TV movie, made by CBS but aired on Showtime recently, about his family.
"I saw it on tape," he said. "Someone sent it to me. I
think my mother saw some clips from it. It looked to me like a 'Saturday
Night Live' sketch. I mean, it was just so bad. And who cared? James
Brolin did a terrible imitation of my father. Judy
Davis is a good actress, but she's not my mother. The problem is
that people made such a big deal out of it, but in the end it was
nothing."
Reagan and I reminisced about the days in the early 1980s
when he and his wife Doria, to whom he is still married,
lived on my block in New York. The Secret Service took up a lot of parking
spaces, which caused much grumbling.
"We left after 18 months," he said. "I never really liked
living in New York. I'm much happier in the country."
As for the panel discussion, I have to say that Astin is
turning into a very articulate and passionate newcomer on the celebrity
political scene. Some of this may be attributed to his mother, Patty, who
led the Screen Actors Guild through troubled times and won a lot of respect
from her peers. We can expect him to make even more of an impression as the
election year drags on.
