Did Michael Jackson Know Too Much?

With the passing of the legendary dancing singer Michael Jackson, truly we are a nation challenged. But now that the tears have dried, and we are back to the crushing grind of everyday political life, it is time to ask the hard questions. Did Micheal Jackson, friend of presidents and other powerful people, simply know too much?

No musical performer before or since has had such access to the White House, with the exception of maybe Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson. From the twin triumphant terms of the Reagan Presidency to the first Bush Administration, it seemed as if Michael Jackson was always there, always in the political limelight.

And, as history as shown so many times, it is nearly impossible to be in proximity of such power without learning some of the secrets behind this charade we call democracy, or communism, or theocracy, or whatever a particular country may practice, in terms of governing style.

When another American legend, the film director Steven Spielberg, screened his powerful blockbuster feature "The Extra-Terrestrial" to Ronald Reagan, it led to a stunning (if unverified) disclosure. Reagan reportedly said to the young movie genius: "Not a half-dozen people in this room know how true this story is."

While we do not have absolute proof that Ronald Reagan shared our alien secrets with Steven Spielberg, the official biography of Reagan -- Dutch, by Edmund Morris -- has this to say about the bizarre and frightening episode:

The President saw E.T., The Extraterrestrial at a private showing in the White House and paid the picture its finest tribute. The President had visited planetariums as a child. When the two hours and forty minutes of camera reporting at last were over, he rose from his chair and wiped his eyes. "It is," he said, "like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true."

One can only imagine what "The Gipper" told Michael Jackson over the course of their many meetings and private correspondence.

And what might the elder George H.W. Bush have whispered to the King of Pop, during America's most dangerous era? It is easy to forget the turmoil of 1989-1993 today, because it was so long ago, but a few hours on Wikipedia can bring back terrible memories, such as the U.S. War against Panama and the Collapse of Communism and the troubling reunification of Germany. With all of these scandals, there were secrets... the kind of secrets it must have been all too tempting to share with musical genius who sang "Ben," a love song to a rat.