Hi Ab,
You will notice that I did not sleaze-ball Reagan. I pointed out that he was controversial. It is an inopportune moment to attack him right now I agree. However, if public claims are made about him that are entirely inaccurate and we are told to not counter them out of "respect", I view it as an underhanded way of pushing a particular view or agenda and an attempt to supress the truth. It is just like the Camelot mythology that was pushed after Kennedy was assasinated.
In my own personal experience, when someone dies, one remembers the person and usually remembers them as they were...good or bad (or good and bad). Pretending that they were only good is not respectful to them either as it would be a lie. And if you did not like the person when they were alive, it is unlikely they will change your mind by dying.
Since I did not even personally know the guy, about the only feeling I get is that it reminds me that I was in high school during his first term and college during his second...and that fills me with dread because Poison was a popular band at the time..which is dreadful.