The image of President Reagan that was created by the press was that of a person detached, concrete in his thinking, and one who saw the world in a way that nobody else did. Stinkin' press...they were right!
The Reagan Diaries reveal a man who experiences the presidency much as Everyman experiences his own job: Mondays are dreaded, days are filled with too many meetings, weekends are anticipated. And after-hours time likewise--evenings spent with one's spouse watching TV or a movie. Some people think that is great (for a president). Personally, I don't. I'd prefer a president more involved, more nuanced in his thinking and more strategic in his planning
I have never understood the view of President Reagan as one of our great presidents. "He won the Cold War, he turned around the economy." The Cold War was won and the economy did turn around but don't a president's intentions count when handing out credit, or assigning blame? President Reagan didn't have a plan that said "We'll spend and spend and spend on defense and they'll realize they won't be able to keep up and they'll just give up and dismantle their evil empire." He didn't think "I bet if I keep to this Star Wars plan that'll be the straw that breaks the commies back." He was thinking that the Soviet Union would continue to exist and be a threat and the missile shield would protect the U.S. from a Soviet threat. So to say that he won the Cold War is like giving a drunk who stumbles off the cliffs of Acapulco a perfect 10 in the high dive. That wasn't planned.
"Reaganomics" was "supply-side" and virulently anti-Keynesian. So President Reagan spent the country out of recession with massively increased defense budgets. That's Keynesian-ism.
The image of President Reagan was also that he was perpetually sunny and deeply devoted to Nancy. Those are also accurate. On to the diary:
"I think we can...gradually take back the Caribbean which was becoming a 'Red' lake," January 28, 1981. That's what I would call concrete thinking, and there's more of it in regard to this region as events happen in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
"Intelligence reports say Castro is very worried about me. I'm very worried that we can't come up with something to justify his worrying," February 11. What a great line. On display here are two other Reagan traits--his humor and humility.
Watched a movie, "Nine to Five." Funny--but one scene made me mad," one in which Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lilli Tomlin smoked pot to relax. Ok, OK, pot-smoking is against the law and is not good for you. That's not what the president was thinking (see intentions above): "A truly funny scene if the 3 gals had played getting drunk but no they had to get stoned on pot. It was an endorsement of Pot smoking for any young person who sees the picture," February 14.
Pot smoking is against the law but that's the only difference between it and alcohol. Both get you impaired, young people should be scared away from both, in fact it's illegal for "young people" if you're just under age to drink. And during President Reagan's own lifetime all alcohol consumption was illegal. The laws were just unenforceable. As are those against marijuana. None of this entered the President's thinking.
Dinner at Camp David with Mr. and Mrs. "Tip" O'Neill, Edwin Meece, James Baker and "Susan & the Friedersdorf's": "It was a nice evening but maybe Tip & I told too many Irish stories." What a good, decent man he was. This is Public Occurrences.
PUBLIC OCCURRENCES
