Five Positive Statements About Ronald Reagan

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan. There are a slew of official celebrations going on this weekend, including a bunch of events at the nearby Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. I was not a fan of the President, to put it mildly. It amuses me to see Reagan’s complete canonization by Republicans since he left office and the crazy revisionist history that’s constantly spewed about the Reagan Years. I half-expected Reagan himself to step out of his grave to rebut some of the nauseating comments Sarah Palin made on Friday at the beginning of the centennial weekend. In the spirit of the day, I’m going to refrain from saying anything negative about the late President and instead will find five positive things to say about him. Here goes, off the top of my head and in no particular order:

1. He was a better actor than he is given credit for. Sure, he made the ridiculous “Bedtime for Bonzo” which practically became the symbol of his acting career when he was President. But he also made a bunch of excellent films, from his small but effective part in the Bette Davis classic, “Dark Victory” and his more well known turn as the Gipper in “Knute Rockne, All American” to the blistering period piece, “Kings Row,” and the terrifying Ku Klux Klan drama, “Storm Warning,” co-starring Doris Day and Ginger Rogers. To be honest, I also fully enjoyed his performances in lesser films such as “Million Dollar Baby,” “That Hagen Girl” (starring a 17-year-old Shirley Temple), and “She’s Working Her Way Through College,” co-starring Virginia Mayo as a burlesque dancer named Hot Garters Gertie. True, his one film with wife Nancy, “Hellcats of the Navy,” was an abomination, but one of his final films, “The Killers,” was riveting. That one was made just before he became governor of California and it’s chilling to see him, looking just like he looked in his political life, beating the crap of out Folger Coffee’s Mrs. Olson. Oy. 

2. His marriage to Nancy was the Real Deal. Say what you want about Reagan the Man, there is no doubt that his marriage to Nancy Reagan (unlike his stormy earlier marriage to Oscar winner Jane Wyman) was a true love match. Some would say dysfunctionally so. Sure, maybe it was a bit creepy that he called her “Mommy,” but the fact that they still sent each other love notes after 30 years of marriage and that they never seemed to take each other for granted was a refreshing spectacle in the White House when you consider all the blatant philandering that has gone on there before and since the Reagan presidency. I admired Nancy all the more following Reagan’s illness and death when she told the Republicans to go shove it with their short-sighted attitude about stem cell research. I remember crying when I saw Nancy at her husband’s funeral in an uncharacteristic public moment of emotion when she knelt down to his coffin and sobbed. I read some of the letters that Reagan wrote Nancy that she later published and was moved by their unflagging love for each other. They also produced two pretty cool kids, Patti and Ron, although it’s not hard to imagine how difficult those relationships were as they grew up.

3. He seemed to accept his illness with dignity. I thought Reagan’s letter to the American people following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis was very moving and authentic. Unlike the speeches of his Presidency, I believed he wrote those simple words himself when he could have just as easily refrained from public comment. “I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who have been afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease…I only wish there were some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience…I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life.” Ron Reagan’s new book about his dad reveals that he was already showing signs of the disease during his presidency, especially his second term. No, duh.

4. He really was an excellent communicator. It's now a Republican cliche but say what you want about the content of his speeches, the man knew how to talk. As I said in my previous post about the Challenger disaster, his response to that tragedy was spot-on and I believed every emotion that he conveyed during his speech. Clinton was like that, too, but the Bushes, especially George W., couldn’t sound sincere if they were reading a knock-knock joke. I’m not even saying that this is the most valuable a skill a President could have (maybe it’s just that Reagan and Clinton were much better actors than the Bushes) but there's no question Ronald Reagan was able to inspire people with his words. His sense of humor helped, too. Who can forgot how endearing he seemed following the assassination attempt in 1981 when he was making jokes from his hospital gurney? And while his “Evil Empire” talk used to make me wince, his Berlin speech was pretty memorable (“Mr, Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”). For now we’ll leave out his foreign affairs moves that were less well received such as the Bitburg debacle.

5. He looked great in a tuxedo. Sorry, I had to come up with five positives, and this is all I could think of. But it’s true, let’s face it. He was a handsome guy in great shape for his age and he looked very much at home in fancy duds. Ron and Nancy flitting about the world in very formal attire sort of defines the 1980s, don't you think, especially after the down-home Carter years. It was definitely a decade of excess. I wonder if the Obamas are still using Nancy Reagan's insanely expensive White House china.

I realize this list will sound very superficial to true Reagan lovers. Forgive me, but I can’t bring myself to include any of his actual policies or views.

Happy Birthday, Ronnie! Oh, and Go Packers! Let's win one for the Gipper!

Comments

[Sue Katz]

You're more generous than I could possibly be. Makes me like you even more, Danny, but as for Reagan.... no way. (Go Steelers!)

[Heather]

Peggy Noonan wrote a book called When Character was King. You may learn something from it. Reagan was a man who loved our country. He came from such very humble beginnings(drunken father, his mother had to take in laundry to make ends meet, he had to work his way through school)to be the leader of our country. He helped to bring about the end of Communism and end the Cold War.

[Mike Cohen]

I think he was one of our worst presidents. Most of our current mess can be traced back to his policies. He made personality & image more important than substance, which led to George W. Bush & Sarah Palin.

[Cynthia Reich]

The posts preceding mine show what a diverse readership you have. I could not come up with any good things to say about RR, but you were very creative in your choices. BTW, were you rooting for the Steelers because the Packers beat your beloved Chicago team?

[Cynthia Reich]

What I meant to say was "the team from your beloved Chicago." You're not really a football fan, are you?

[Gordon]

Dear Danny,
I was always moved by Reagan's positive can-do attitude. When he said that everything would be just fine, he made me (and most people) believe it. Whether or not he was acting, we'll never know. But, it was good for the country.
Thanks,
Gordon

[Jeff]

Nicely done Danny. It can be hard to separate the politics from the person but I think you hit the nail on the head with this post.

[Sheila Linderman]

Hi, Danny,
Congratulations on painting RR as a mensch. Too bad that menschiness (menschiosity?) is not the only qualification for President of the United States. It's inevitable that everyone would be talking about all of his virtues on the 100th anniversary of his birth, but let's not forget what seems to be unmentionable amongst his disciples: how many times he raised taxes, deregulation, and Iran Contra (to name a few items). Reaganomics? Phooey!

[Kirk]

Reagan HELPED bring about the end of the Cold War because he recognized Gorbechev was a true reformer. Most of the Right at the time (including some in his own administration) failed to recognize that.

[Judy]

You are a real mensch. I like those 5 reasons. Most of the time, I disliked him. However, I loved listening to Ron on the radio(Air America), and miss him.

[DebbieW]

I'll give you 'King's Row', a fine movie and a fine performance. As for that man...his enduring legacy to this country is that he made selfishness and greed, which used to be thought shameful into what is now considered patriotic by his followers.
In my house there is only one argument: I blame Reagan and my husband blames Nixon.

[Stephen]

How nice of you to find something nice to say about this man. You must be a very lovely person.
http://nopoboho.blogspot.com/2011/02/did-earth-move-for-you-nancy.html

[Dave]

I seem to remember that RR had the State of the Union address scheduled for the evening of the Challenger disaster.

When asked if the white house would postpone it news outlets were told no, it would go on as scheduled, which I thought was a bad idea. After it was apparent how affected the country was the days events, the decision was then made to put off the State of the Union for a week.

I don't know that this means anything, other than sometimes even the best people at handling PR and image can misguage public opinion.