The Ronald Reagan Diaries

Today I finished The Reagan Diaries, a compilation of Ronald Reagan's diaries from his eight years in office, edited by Douglas Brinkley. Reagan is the first political figure I remember, and I remember him well, even though I was very young when he began his first term. Here are a few unexpected things I discovered in his diaries:

Reagan hated war: Although he is often portrayed as a warmonger as a result of his hard statements against communism, his diary reveals a true fear of the potential of war with the USSR and a genuine desire to do everything in his power to avoid it. However, for better or worse, he believed the best defense against Russian aggression (whether real or imagined) was a solid nuclear arsenal, in spite of what he seemed to understand was the obvious consequence if a war ever started: MAD.

Reagan was a persuader: He genuinely believed--whether dealing with Sam Donaldson, Jesse Jackson, Mikhail Gorbachev, House Speaker Tip O'Neill or his own self-described liberal children Ron and Patti--that all he needed to do was get in a room with them and he could make them understand his position. It apparently hurt him when he was accused of being a racist, warmonger or anti-environmentalist, and he would often make personal calls and set up meetings with opponents to hash out differences in a constructive manner.

He had compassion. He frequently describes his deep emotion at meeting with sick children, wounded soldiers or people who had lost family members in disasters or war. Often his efforts in promoting freedom overseas were inextricably intertwined with his frustration at the way individual people were being treated under dictatorships or in other oppressive societies. He also seemed to care for people's souls. In one interesting account, he expressed deep concern for Nancy's unbelieving father who was on his deathbed and noted that he was looking for an opportunity to ask him about his eternal condition.

He loved freedom. Like a thread throughout the entire book, Reagan's core obsession was extending freedom around the world. It was something he believed in--sometimes with a childlike naivete: Not only did he believe in it, but he assumed that it was a shared value of humanity. It informed every interaction he had with communist leaders and it animated his foreign and domestic policy.