Reagan's last journey to Capitol=The Hill.com=
I found President Reagan's state funeral to be quite moving. For me, he was the towering political figure of my formative years. In second grade, our class took a Weekly Reader mock Presidential vote. I was the only member of my class to vote for Reagan, much to the puzzlement of my classmates. This was "Carter Country", after all. I remember feeling quite vindicated by the November election results.
Anyway, I did not become a lifetime Republican, I suppose now I would identify myself as a moderate Libertarian, whatever that means. But President Reagan struck a chord with both myself and the American public, and I feel that he deserves our respect for at least preserving the appearance of civil discourse, rare indeed these days.

Reagan's Place in History
As a non-professional historian, I have given some thought to how Reagan will be treated by history. I think that we are already seeing a dramatic re-evaluation of his legacy, only fifteen years after leaving office. President Truman has enjoyed a similar renewal, but it took quite a bit longer (he did leave office with much lower approval ratings than Reagan). As always, time and perspective will be the ultimate judge.

My own personal ranking of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century?

1. FDR
2. Reagan
3. Truman
4. Wilson
5. T.Roosevelt
6. LBJ
7. Bush I
8. Nixon

FDR: Obvious. The right man at the right time.
Reagan: A surprising(to myself) second. Stepped up the pressure on USSR and hastened its demise. Dubious fiscal policy pulled us out of the economic doldrums of 77-82. Strong leadership with conviction, but the willingness to compromise.
Truman: My personal hero, could surpass Reagan again. The quintessential "common man" who had the unenviable task of guiding the country through the minefield of the postwar period. Stood on his convictions, not afraid to take unpopular positions, set the groundwork for the opposition to global Communism. Met with unprecedented problems, made the tough decisions. A-Bomb necessary? Probably.
Wilson: Made the US a global player. Solemnly responsible. Possessed intellect and vision.
T. Roosevelt: Vibrant leader, inspired the US after the death of McKinley. Redefined the role of the Presidency.
LBJ: Primarily for his social policies, most notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Obvious minus for escalating Vietnam.
Bush I: Slightly out of his league, but did negotiate the Cold War's end. A truly decent guy, undone by "the economy, stupid".
Nixon: Perhaps a surprise, but his foreign policy legacy is notable. Established detente, extracted US from Vietnam quagmire. Opened doors to China. Should have burned the tapes.

And the rest?
Taft: A better Chief Justice.
Harding: Out of his league.
Coolidge: A caretaker President.
Hoover: Tried, but failed. A better ex-President.
Eisenhower: A caretaker President.
Kennedy: Inspiring figure, narrowly avoided nuclear holocaust. Needed at least a full term to fully make a lasting impact. Style over substance.
Ford: A caretaker President. Couldn't escape the image of a "bumbler".
Carter: Micro-manager. Indecisive.
Clinton: More fun than Coolidge, but another caretaker President. Lucky to preside over a booming economy and a peaceful country where few people knew the name "Bin Laden".
Legacy will be his character flaws.

Of course, these are my opinions, I could very well be wrong. But I'm not.

Now returning to the usual goofy, pop-culture based scheduled programming.