Submerged in yesterday’s flood of stories about the passing of Ronald Reagan was this amazingly cold-hearted piece from (who else?) al-Reuters: Reagan Remembered as Charming Enigma. (Hat tip: Ethel Carol, who wrote, “Balanced reporting is necessary but this is just nasty.” Indeed.)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ronald Reagan, who died on Saturday at 93, was one of the great mysteries in American politics — was he the man in charge or simply a puppet, the master politician or a manipulated performer?

Even his official biographer didn’t know what to make of him.

To his friends and supporters, Reagan was a man of charm and warmth, a politician of principle who made Americans feel good about themselves after years of doubt fueled by the Vietnam war and the Iran hostage crisis.

But to his critics, he remained the B-movie actor of his earlier years, a puppet in the hands of aides, and a man of little substance who turned the most powerful job in the world into his last great performance.

After all, some of his best lines and stories came from the dozens of movie roles that he played, often as the male star’s best friend and once as a chimpanzee’s best buddy.