Personally, I've always considered Mrs. Reagan's penchant for astrology and horoscopes an irrelevant bit of mean-spirited trivia that's often raised by those people wishing to snipe at her, for whatever their reasons. So, as to my reason for not mentioning it, I declined to do so in keeping with Jeralyn's specific admonition that we not speak ill of the dead on the occasion of their passing -- at least, not in her blog anyway.

It's too bad that you didn't see fit to do the same. It's quite apparent that you don't care for either of the Reagans, and that's all well and fine and perfectly understandable, given the rather pernicious nature and history of the Reagan administration.

But you really ought to have respected the host's request, which you failed to do by not only bringing up the astrologer, but by further calling my comment "hagiography" when it was nothing of the sort. That rendered your mention of Ms. Quigley as both a gratuitous partisan dig, and a cheap and unnecessary attempt at diminution of Nancy Reagan's life.

Apparently you don't understand the proper definition of that particular term, which refers to writing about the lives of saints. While Nancy Reagan could be called many things and has been, candidate for sainthood isn't necessarily what first comes to mind.

And further, there was nothing I wrote about Mrs. Reagan's influential role as her husband's devoted confidante that isn't already common knowledge. She was very hard core about protecting him, and if she felt he was not being well served by members of his administration, she saw to it that they were soon sent packing. What's so hagiographic about saying that?

Nancy Reagan is dead. She leaves behind two children who'll miss her and grieve her loss, and who also so happen to be liberal Democrats. So, people ought to give their partisanship a rest -- if only for the moment, out of respect for Patti Davis and Ron Reagan -- and leave her be.