F1,
Not only will I concede the point that Reagan entered office being vilified by the press in the examples you gave, I especially remember that he was alluded to as some sort of demonic figure..Ronald(6 letters)Wilson(6)Reagan(6)=666.

I think Reagan has been maligned by writers from opposite end of politics, BUT he has been given a revisionist iconic status by those on his side of politics....especially after he passed away.

The truth always lies somewhere in the middle. I have vhs archives of c-span, sunday morning political shows, lectures,etc because at a young age I realized that facts and stories can and will be distorted by historians and the press AFTER the fact.

I will try to dig through them, but while I have to concede the point that news press, book publishing, and academia are filled with people with left leaning views, I think that valid scholarly criticism can and should be applied to any public figure.

In terms of bias, I've always said that bias is not what you write about the guy you don't like, it's what you refuse to write about the guy you like.Let me change that to person since Mrs. Clinton is presidential candidate now.
Mrs. Clinton has been given a pass by the majority of the press for what were legally criminal actions. That is the bias. When/if a person on the other end of politics does something similar...he or she will be the top news story of the day until he/she resigns.

It's all a big joke, but when we read books or articles about political figures we can only go by the facts....and their actions, votes or words and place everything in context.

Also, not only will I concede your point about media driven narratives about candidates, but I remember almost being ashamed when I heard people I know repeating these narratives VERBATIM like parrots.
Bush Sr. was a "wimp" Quayle was a "dumb blonde". W. Bush was a "dullard"
The day after Howard Dean gave the rousing speech closer "We're gonna win in Michigan, Ohio.......AHHHHHHHHHHHH" Reporters said "with an outburst like that, he's not fit to run for president" and I heard co-workers say the EXACT SAME THING the next day. shameful.

Anyway....while I try to dig up these archives, we can judge Reagan by the things that are public record like his words, votes, actions, testimony, etc.

Lot of truth has been written in this thread by multiple members, and I think if we place things in context, nobody is wrong.

About the Iraq War and W. Bush, young Americans enlist to protect the people and interests of the USA. They make THE ultimate sacrifice. Manipulating information and using Colin Powell's respected image to knowingly mislead the public and the world community to support the military effort was a betrayal of those people on the ground making those sacrifices.