Bummer. I didn’t really mean that. It did make a catch title though. Ron Reagan Jr. has always been the rebel son. He always followed the beat of his own drummer. As a younger man, he dropped out of college and joined the Joffrey Ballet. He eloped and has been married to the same woman for 30 years. At one point, he appeared on SNL in his skivvies in a skit. In 2004, Reagan spoke at the Democratic Convention on behalf of stem cell research. He supported Barack Obama for president. He has not been the model of conservatism–not by any stretch.
Ron Reagan Jr. is embroiled in quite a battle over his new book, My Father at 100. Who could he possibly be at odds with? His half brother Michael, adopted son of Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan, has taken great issue with several comments Ron made in his book regarding his father’s Alzheimer’s. Michael Reagan, age 65, is a conservative commentator with a national reputation.
Young Reagan relates that when his father was in the White House, he was concerned about little things. He actually reports that he shadowed his dad and noticed some very subtle changes; changes only family members might pick up on. He now feels that might have been the beginning of the disease that took his father’s life.
Michael Reagan has taken great exception to this point of view and responded accordingly via twitter:
“Ron, my brother, was an embarrassment to my father when he was alive and today he became an embarrassment to his mother,”
It might be interesting to note that the 2 Reagan brothers do not share the same mother. Ron Reagan Jr. is Nancy Reagan’s son. Furthermore, what a mean, nasty thing to say publically about anyone, especially a family member.
