It didn't take long for the left to spin the CBS decision to cancel the "Reagans" miniseries and shift it to Showtime instead. Now we are about to be bombarded with accusations that right-wing nutbars are insisting that Ronald Reagan be portrayed as a saint. Consider this from Timothy Noah in Slate:

It isn't especially troubling that CBS would bow to angry protesters in canceling The Reagans, given that the miniseries itself, if at all typical of the genre, is likely a piece of hackwork. (Those who live by popular tastes, die by popular tastes.) But it is troubling that the public, or at least a highly influential segment of it, has apparently ruled any criticism of President Reagan out of bounds. When did the Gipper become St. Ronald?

The answer is, of course, that he didn't, and no one is insisting that he was. What generated the vehement protests was a script that was so full of lies and distortions that it didn't qualify as criticism; it was blatant slander, and poorly-constructed slander at that. Noah goes on to quote named sources, in most cases published sources, regarding incidents that certainly open Reagan to criticism, but that's not what was in the miniseries.

Be prepared to hear more of this as the month progresses.

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