Don't believe everything you hear about Ronald Reagan
The media is laying the Ronald Regan love on America in thick, syrupy dollops. Slate provides an unsentimental take on five myths about the recently deceased president. Reagan was an important and influential figure, but the human interest angle is overlooking history and trying too hard to convince us America's Greatest Teddy Bear of Optimism and Cheer has just passed from our midst.

1. Reagan, the “Great Communicator,” owed his success mainly to his facility with television and public relations.
2. Reagan was a uniter, not a divider.
3. Reagan was an incorrigible optimist.
4. Reagan restored faith in government and the presidency.
5. Reagan's get-tough policy with the Soviet Union brought about the end of the Cold War.