There's a clear innocence--it's not too strong a word--about President Reagan's personality. He refers to Mrs. Reagan as "Mommy." He is absolutely devoted to her. He hopes maybe he can make Castro be our friend. Mommy, jeez. With every meeting with a foreign head of state he thinks a "real friendship" has been started.
The only mention of the assassination attempt was of a gift from a group that been delayed "by the interruption." He doesn't dwell on the negative. Things don't haunt him. His personality is so solidly positive and sunny that not even a bullet in the chest can affect it.
"I believe a real friendship exists between the P.M. [Thatcher] her family and us...," February 27, 1981
"Our wedding anniversary. 29 years of more happiness than any man could rightly deserve." March 4.
On trip to Canada, "Nancy and I were in separate rooms--1st time in our marriage," March 10. That is truly remarkable.
"Went to Parliament hill to meet P.M. Trudeau. Discovered I liked him." March 10.
"Somehow the Star Spangled Banner when you hear it in another country [the foreign country was Canada, now] brings a tear to the eye. As we turned to leave the band played Auld Lang Syne--then we were really undone." March 11.
On the crowd reception after he made a speech: "I keep thinking this can't continue and yet their warmth & affection seems so genuine. I get a lump in my throat. I pray constantly that I won't let them down." March 13. Sincere, earnest, innocent.
At Cancun summit: "...1st session devoted to speeches by each of 22 delegates. I know everyone was waiting for mine--possibly with chip on shoulder. We fooled them--it was well received." October 22.
At Cancun after one on one meetings with presidents of Algeria and Tanzania: "I believe any hostility toward U.S. is gone." October 23.
"An N.S.C. meeting re Cuba. My own thought is that we should create a plan to urge Cuba & yes Castro to come back into the orbit of the Western Hemisphere...We could start a campaign to persuade him & the disenchanted Cubans to send the Russians home..." January 15, 1982.
"On Cuba we're sending Gen. Walters in to open talks with Castro. It's just possible we could talk him into moving back in to this hemisphere." January 16.
Gen. Walters returns and briefs the president: "He says Castro really sounds like he'd like to make up." March 9. "Make up," like kids who have had a scrap. Like there are no fundamental differences. We just had a bad day together. Or two bad decades. It's hard to square this innocence, indeed insouciance, with his uncompromising stance toward Castro, and the Soviet Union. This is Public Occurrences.
PUBLIC OCCURRENCES
