Lyric discussion by riatch 

Cover art for Sweethearts lyrics by Camper Van Beethoven

I get that the bomber bears the name of a "Sweetheart" (think Enola Gay though that was a mother's name) . But why a mission over China? Did Reagan do a movie where he was a bomber pilot? I guess the analogy is that Reagan was a reckless leader in the 80's and he was smiling as we were about to "crash" due to his irresponsibility.