"I went in to tell [Reagan] about this problem that we had. And just the two of us in the Oval Office, he's sitting in front of the fireplace, I'm off in the couch. And so, I'm telling him and he seems to pay no attention to me, so I talk louder. Still not paying attention to me. And then finally, he stops and he says, 'Colin, Colin!' 'Yes?' The squirrels just came and got the nuts I put out for them this morning. And so, 'Yes, Mr. President.' And so, I left. Went back to my office and I thought about it. And I said, 'I know what he was saying to me,' he was saying to me, 'Colin, I really, really like you, I love you, I will sit here as long as you want me to, but it's your problem. I hire you to solve problems. You let me know when I have a problem.'"Alternate conclusions would be that 1) St. Ronnie wouldn't have paid attention if Powell came in to tell him the Oval Office was on fire, and 2) St. Ronnie was showing clear signs of dementia / Alzheimer's disease and his advisors were ignoring it. Either way, it's a window into the fake-front Presidency that was St. Ronnie of Hollywood's.
(photo: St. Ronnie {right} with co-star Bonzo, his Ambassador to the Animal Planet)
