The lightning round begins: Who is everyone’s favorite Republican president? Reagan. Reagan. Reagan. Reagan. Reagan. And finally, from Ken Blackwell: “Ronald Reagan, who brought me into the Republican party.”“Good,” says Norquist. “Everyone got that one right.”[...]Next question: How many guns does everyone own? Blackwell owns seven, which he uses “very well,” and Saltsman rapid-fire lists the guns he owns, ending with a 30 ought 6. “And Ken, I’ll take you on any time.” He means hunting, not dueling, I think.
It's really weird that Republican candidates for high office almost never named Abraham Lincoln as their favorite Republican president. He was, after all, a Republican. And he was inarguably more consequential than Reagan, no matter how enamored you are of Reagan's tenure. Indeed, most historians consider him America's greatest president. But few Republicans appear to feel similarly. It's almost as if they think naming him will offend certain elements of their coalition. The elements that listens to songs entitled "Barack, the Magic Negro," for instance.