Posted on 06/20/2004 6:00:24 PM PDT by Theodore R.
Ronald Reagan Fooled Us Christopher Ruddy Monday, June 21, 2004
When Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5, 2004, he fooled us once again. Typical of Ronald Reagan, he didn’t do it by trickery or deception, just by being himself as others misunderstood or underestimated him. So, just how did he fool us in his passing?
Well, consider how long he hung around. Remember, it was 1994 when Reagan first gave notice of his Alzheimer’s in an open letter to the American people. Almost from that day, the establishment began writing his obituary. I can remember some five years ago meeting Michael Reagan for lunch at one of his favorite restaurants in Los Angeles.
As we sat down to eat, I gently raised the issue of his father’s health. “Mike, I just heard that a conservative magazine has given out notice to some famous folks asking for comments about your father. They say his passing is likely soon.”
Mike Reagan didn’t blink an eye: “That’s news to me. I just saw Dad and Nancy in Bel Air [at their home] this weekend and Dad was swimming laps in his pool.”
Swimming laps! I was astounded.
Michael explained his father had swum all his life and was just on automatic.
Since that lunch over five years ago, there would be occasional stories that President Reagan’s passing was imminent – and obviously most of these turned out to be false – as Michael would scoff at them through the years.
So, there he goes again: Reagan fooling us.
Even in the laudatory eulogizing of Reagan, we were fooled.
In the days after his death, the media focused on Reagan’s sunny disposition, his optimism, his Hollywood appeal, his charm, his great communication skills as the key determinants of his success.
But that was hardly the case. There have been other men – and women – who have been better looking, better talkers and perhaps smarter, who never made the same impact Reagan has.
Fittingly, Reagan explained his success in his last Oval Address to the nation on Jan. 11, 1989.
In his address, Reagan expressed surprise that he had won the nickname "The Great Communicator."
“But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference. It was the content,” Reagan humbly explained.
“I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation – from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in principles that have guided us for two centuries.”
There it was in black and white.
But somehow, many of us would rather be fooled – certainly the major media would have it that way – and not believe that Ronald Wilson Reagan was a great man for the reason he said: the conservative vision for America he expressed and exemplified.
Truth to tell, Reagan did not always reveal the real Reagan, another reason so many were fooled about him.
In recent years, I visited Dr. Martin Anderson, one of Reagan’s closest aides, dating back to his days as governor of California in the 1970s. Dr. Anderson told me bluntly: “Reagan fooled us. We were all fooled.”
It was a remarkable revelation from a man who had been so close to Reagan and had already written extensively about him.
What sparked Anderson’s recent revelations about Reagan were thousands of new documents that were just unearthed at the Reagan Library – including Reagan’s personal papers before he became president.
These papers – letters, op-ed articles and radio commentaries – were all written in Reagan’s own hand. They showed that Reagan was a terrific writer (he almost never made a grammatical error), erudite and exhaustive in his search for truth.
But the documents also showed that “Reagan worked all the time,” Anderson said.
It was clearly an impression that Reagan did not like to give to others, Anderson said.
Dr. Anderson, a brilliant economist in his own right, says he had always thought Reagan was bright. But now he had to conclude the man was closer to being a genius.
Dr. Anderson discovered that Reagan had taught himself to read at the age of 5 and began reading daily newspapers at that age.
How could we have been fooled for so long about Reagan’s genius? Reagan kept his intellect a secret, Anderson surmises, because he learned at an early age that the smartest kid in class is often the least popular.
The degree that Ronald Reagan fooled us for so long has been demonstrated in two books Anderson has co-edited with his wife, Annelise, and Kiron Skinner.
Their first tome was “Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America,” which was followed by last year’s “Reagan: A Life in Letters.” A third book, “The Path To Victory: The Shaping Of Ronald Reagan's Vision: Selected Writings” is slated for release this fall.
These new scholarly discoveries laid the groundwork for the media’s general positive attitude of Ronald Reagan after his passing. It is difficult to deny such an overwhelming body of evidence that buttressed Ronald Reagan’s public record of achievement – even if we were fooled by the Gipper.
Dubya's great, but RWR was a once in a lifetime leader.
There have been many personable and charming presidents that have slipped into obscurity and been forgotten, but Ronald Reagan never will be. He was not just a great communicator, but a great leader.
Great column. Thanks. I saw Kiron Skinner, co-author of these books, on C-SPAN the morning of Reagan's funeral services.
She was outstanding. An academic herself, intelligent and knowledgable & articulate about world affairs, she was in awe of the great man's accomplishments.
"Dubya's great, but RWR was a once in a lifetime leader."
I fully agree about President Reagan.
With respect to President Bush, I believe we are only beginning to see the true outlines, the full magnitude of what is going on, and I believe that as much as we owe GW now, his true greatness lies ahead.
Bump!
Yeah, Donkey...Reagen is the greatest...but Dubaya will Do, Donkey...Dubaya will do!
I have noticed as time passes he gets bigger and bigger.
His greatness grows not because of legend or blind loyalty of followers, but because he truly was great in word and deed.
I don't know of any President who has been faced with as many challenges as George W. Bush. Just think about how many things he has faced, and is facing, while being attacked and sabotaged by the very people who should be helping. FDR had all the people behind him so his job was easier. Only GOP Presidents have to contend with sabotuers.
I agree.
The way we see Reagan now wasn't the way we saw him then.
Reagan is no doubt the best president since Lincoln if not Washington.
But we shouldn't rush to judgement on Bush.
A lot depends on how much he is able to redeem our judicial branch with new judges.
I was always convinced that Reagan was a genius, and this article only confirms it. He was smart enough not to admit to being an intellectual.
BTW, if you can allow a father to brag on Father's Day, my five-year old is a leftie like Reagan and has been teaching himself to read (he's also picking up some Spanish). We've had several docs that wanted us to have him take I.Q. tests but we've refused. As if we need a government test to tell us what we already know. We just keep the "experts" away from our child, and he'll turn out alright.
Heck, Bill Clinton was personable and charming. What does that say?
And Bush has character. But character alone doesn't make one great.
Reagan had personality and charm, but more than that he had character and more than that, he had a "great vision and ideology" as you say.
A lot depends on how much he is able to redeem our judicial branch with new judges.
Agreed. In fact, despite what some purport, I believe this issue is more important than the war on terror, because if America is to fall, it will be from within. If the activist judiciary has it's way, then it will matter little if America is conquered from without, because there won't be anything left resembling a Constitutional Republic worth defending.
What will make Reagan even greater over time is that he was on the right side of history on almost every issue. While many consider FDR to be great because he created comfort for many within his time, his creations are being greatly transformed or have gone away over time, and that will continue.
Everyone learns to read on his own.
Very true, little fruitfly, very true.
BTTT
Yep, Ronald Reagan fooled us. The American left, the European nations, China, the CIA, most economists all agreed that the powerhouse of the Soviet Unions' command economy was so pragmatic that it was here to stay, and we had better figure out how to co-habitate the planet with it or be swept into the dustbin of history, but, darn it, Ronald Reagan fooled us.
LOL!
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