Last Act

by Craig Shirley

  Carter drew people like him—they were called the “Georgia Mafia”—and the same held true for Reagan. He was principled and kind and had a large worldview so he brought in (for the most part) men and women who thought in the same fashion, such as Ed Meese and George Shultz and Jim Baker and Fred Ryan and others. This held true for the Reagan White House speechwriters for the most part. Behind the scenes, they fought and argued and formed cliques and knocked one another over the years. Some basked in the glory of having written speeches for Reagan while others, lower key, moved on with their lives.

  Landon Parvin was there with Reagan as was Ben Elliott, Tony Dolan, Peter Robinson, Mari Maseng Will, Peggy Noonan, Clark Judge, Dana Rohrabacher, Josh Gilder, John Podhoretz, and others. Ken Khachigian and Peter Hannaford held special status as two of Reagan’s favorite speechwriters from the 1980 campaign, but Hannaford also went back with Reagan even farther to the early 1970s in Sacramento. Dolan was the only one who’d been with Reagan in the White House all eight years and on the 1980 campaign as well.

  Reagan sent Dolan a note on the last day of the administration recognizing his sturdy longevity. “Tony, you were keeper of the flame . . .” Dolan was a terrific writer and had won a Pulitzer uncovering homegrown corruption for a local newspaper in Connecticut. He was also very well connected politically. Bill Buckley was his mentor, as was CIA chief Bill Casey. Casey had hired him only after surrendering to a flood of telegrams Buckley kept sending him, telling him to hire Tony.52

  He was also close to Jim Baker via his brother Terry Dolan but also to Don Rumsfeld. Dolan had written the Evil Empire speech and each, like Judge, could point with pride to a singular or series of Reagan speeches they helped write. For Judge, it was the sequence of “Iron Triangle” remarks by Reagan at the end of 1988, taking on the media, K Street lobbyists, and Capitol Hill. For Robinson it was the Berlin Wall speech. Parvin worked with Reagan on a book of the Gipper’s speeches. Peggy Noonan, of course, drafted the brief but powerful Challenger remarks. They all took pride in their work and the man for whom they worked. It truly was the greatest collection of speechwriters in White House history.

  A column several days later by Noonan in the Wall Street Journal was warm and liquescent about the week while also harshly alluding to several of her colleagues who had gathered during the funeral. The article caused cold comment among the Reagan wordsmith brethren. One she referred to as “The Hack” and said he had a “greasy political style” and another as “haircut boy” and yet a third as “a malignant leprechaun.”53

  As far as the rest of the speechwriters, they were conservatives, and they were keepers of the flame, and many like Parvin and Elliott were restrained. A compulsive man of letters himself, Reagan identified with the speechwriters more than with any other department in his White House.

  Ironically, few of Reagan’s speechwriters had actually been political or policy writers before going to work for him. Nearly all said their time with Reagan was the most important and most enjoyable and most fun they’d ever had. When Reagan walked between the old Executive Office Building and the White House on West Executive Drive, the speechwriters and the secretaries would often go out on the balcony and cheer him on: Reagan ate it up.54

  Another dinner and drinks gathering occurred that week at Sam & Harry’s and included a small group of conservatives who worked on the 1976 Reagan campaign, including former Pennsylvania senator Richard Schweiker and his wife Claire. Schweiker had audaciously agreed to go on the ticket with Reagan three weeks before the convention in Kansas City even though Reagan was behind in the delegate count. He was not a conservative at the time but his voting record moved to the Right dramatically afterward. In taking the courageous gamble, Schweiker endeared himself to all Reaganites for all time.

  Also spotted there at the “wakish” event were Kenny Klinge, Frank and Becki Donatelli, Roger Stone, Judge Loren Smith, David Bufkin, Phil Alexander, Maiselle Shortley, Tony Dolan, Judge Bill Clark, Helene von Damm, Charlie Black, Paul and Kathy Russo, Dale and Jewell Duval, Neal Peden, Peter Monk, David Keene, Don Totten, and others, and a good if low-key time was had by all as they meandered down memory lane. Bufkin, who’d worked on fund-raising for Reagan, said, “The mood was definitely Irish ’wakish’—even celebratory—rather than the Protestant funeral gloom. It was kinda like a reassurance Reagan’s greatness couldn’t be taken from him now. The Left could not erase his success from history. We the insiders loved him . . . but now it was confirmed America loved him too.”55

  Reagan’s manager from 1976 and 1980, John Sears, was invited repeatedly but he demurred. Many were not on the “A-List” of Washington hosts but all were on the “A-List” of courageous revolutionaries, and their Reagan credentials were impeccable. Working for Reagan against the incumbent Ford in 1975 and 1976 meant one was putting his or her career in GOP politics in jeopardy. These were the über-Reaganites, first among equals.

  Curiously, most worked in the 1980 campaign, as well, but only a few made it into high-powered or high-profile positions in the Reagan administration. Most were serious about their conservatism and seriously dedicated to Reagan, but few were good self-promoters, unlike some others who arrived late and left early to cash in on their short stay with Reagan. But like Schweiker, the stalwarts, too, had gambled and won. The beloved Franklyn—“Lyn” to all—Nofziger was there as the leader of the pack. Of the group, he went back to 1966 with Reagan. Nofziger was an original in every way imaginable. He was the last of the old-style political operatives, a cigar-chomping and gin-drinking war hero. To many, Lyn was something special.

  Nancy Reagan had been struggling to hold it together all week. It had now been six days since her husband’s death and one blurry emotional roller coaster. She had one more long day to get through that would start early on Friday morning in Washington and end Friday night three thousand miles away in California. Her health had been generally good, though she’d broken some ribs a couple of years earlier.

  Thursday was a less hectic day than the rest of the week. She and Patti and Ron were staying at the Blair House, which again attested to the kindness of President Bush. The house was usually off limits to all but visiting heads of state. Mike Reagan did not stay there, choosing instead to use a nearby hotel that the funeral staff had arranged for him.56 Pam Ahearn, Rick Ahearn’s wife, was handling many advance duties for the week including working the Blair House, which given the egos and VIPs and security, required someone with a lot of patience and fortitude.

  There was a reception at Blair House—one more event for which Nancy Reagan had to summon the strength to present a brave front. President Bush and Laura Bush dropped by, as did Condoleezza Rice. Former president George H. W. Bush was there. Gorbachev attended and the old Russian and Nancy embraced. He wrote in the condolence book, “I convey my deep feelings of condolence to dear Nancy and the whole family.” Also present were George Shultz and Howard Baker and Margaret Thatcher and a small gathering of other world power brokers. Thatcher wrote, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”57

  Brian Mulroney and his wife, Mila, stopped by, too, and wrote, “For Ron with affection, admiration and respect. The Gipper always came through!”58 The festive spirit of the Mulroney entry was a testament to how many saw the funeral as a time to celebrate Reagan. It also typified an Irish funeral.

  Most of the members of the Supreme Court stopped by as well, and each—John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer—made long and heartfelt entries into the condolence book. Rehnquist said he’d admired Reagan since the time he’d seen him play “George Gipp in the movie.” All except Scalia—the product of Catholic education—had lousy penmanship.59

  Rick Ahearn, dog tired after elongated days and nights with one more to endure, was relieved to find a corner and hav
e a couple of drinks to help unwind.60 For the Reaganites, it was old home week. Everybody who’d worked in the campaigns or the White House or the bureaucracy was in Washington, and there were plenty of get-togethers. Most had done their crying in 1994 when the Alzheimer’s had been revealed and then again on Saturday when Reagan’s death was announced. Ed Meese and Bill Clark were seen, as was Jim Baker, Ken Duberstein, Howard Baker, and Mike Deaver. There were Reagan’s two “body men,” Dave Fischer and Jim Kuhn. There were receptions in Georgetown hosted by influencers for Reagan, and there were lots of cocktail receptions and dinner parties and campaign reunions.

  The Mayflower Hotel was the unofficial headquarters for the Reagan funeral team where the phones were answered “Office of Ronald Reagan.” At midnight, a large group of Reaganites was drinking and milling about the bar when they broke into “Happy Birthday” to Joanne Drake. She recalled how years earlier Reagan had sneaked up on her at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and sang “Happy Birthday.”61 Earlier Mrs. Reagan, even with so much on her mind, still remembered Joanne’s birthday and arranged for a party for her at Blair House.62

  Little escaped Nancy’s attention as her dedication to detail had been legendary. In the middle of it all she had someone on her staff call Lou Cannon to find out why he hadn’t yet RSVP’d for the sunset service at the Library. Cannon, of course, attended but only found out later his invitation had been sent to the L.A. bureau of the Post, which no one there bothered to tell him.63

  On Thursday those invited to the Friday funeral at the National Cathedral began to line up at the Mayflower Hotel to pick up their invitation, which was mantled with a black border. No one doubted for a moment that Mrs. Reagan—who in her years had seen it all, including the near murder of her husband—would hold up. She knew she had to do so not just for herself or for the memory of Ronnie, but for the American people.

  Earlier, she’d told a story of Reagan in his years of struggling with Alzheimer’s. He had gone out for a walk one day when he saw some roses growing in front of a house. He bent over to pluck one when the Secret Service agent gently told the president it was not his house. Reagan, “stricken,” protested, “But I want to give it to my lady.”64

  Book piracy on the Internet was becoming a real problem as people were downloading entire volumes and printing them off, all without paying a retailer or publisher for the book itself. Certainly not the author.

  Scientists were openly speculating that the twelve-thousand-year run of a gradually warming Earth had reached its conclusion, and that a new Ice Age could be in the offing. Some of the research included digging down into the Antarctic and reaching ice that was three-quarters of a million years old.65

  Father’s Day was just days away, and the newspapers featured ads for golf clubs and tennis rackets and outdoor grills. There were also plenty of helpful “how to” articles and columns chock full of suggestions for chores for Dad around the house on his own day, from plumbing to cleaning grills to painting concrete.

  The Bush administration announced its endorsement of a plan by the United Nations to “end Iraq occupation.”66

  Clear Channel Communications had to pay a fine of almost two million dollars to the FCC because of the public comments by the erudite and sophisticated Howard Stern, aka Mr. Manners.67

  The Direct Marketing Association announced that it was calling on its members to abide by a moratorium to refrain from sending e-mails or making phone calls on Friday, the national day of mourning for Reagan.68 It may have been the first time someone used “OMG” in an e-mail.

  In a show of petty mean-spiritedness, the AFL-CIO announced it would not close on Friday, the national day of mourning.69 The first president to carry a membership card in a labor union—indeed, the first president to be the president of a labor union—would not be honored by the AFL-CIO. The organization had strayed a long way from the days of George Meany, who had admired Reagan’s anti-communism and pro–working class views.

  Gary Bauer, a veteran of the first Reagan administration, got off a good line on Reagan’s passing when he said, “He took a party of accountants and added some heart and soul.” Several days earlier, a website sponsored by the Young America’s Foundation sprung up with the website named rememberronaldreagan.com, and people began posting their thoughts and recollections.70

  Others were springing forth with their reminiscences. A young Capitol Hill intern Kristen Hudak, twenty-one years old, stood outside the White House in the rain, crying, saying the reason she’d gotten involved in politics was because of Reagan.71

  It was duly noted three years earlier on October 11, 2001, and again this week that Reagan was the longest living former president, surpassing John Adams.72 Billy Graham had issued a preliminary statement on the passing of Reagan but then followed up saying, “Ronald Reagan was one of my closest personal friends for many years.”73

  Other lesser-known figures were talking about Reagan and telling stories, many of which could not be read without weeping. In his dotage, Reagan had become a Saturday fixture at the Los Angeles Country Club where there were always elderly men looking for a “fourth” for their threesome. Chase Morsey was a member and had many happy—and sad—memories of playing golf with Reagan. At first, there were plenty of jokes and the general frivolity of a group of retired men, still with boyish mischievousness, happy to play nine. Jokes were welcomed but politics were not, which suited Reagan just fine. Stu Spencer said the same about his days playing golf with Reagan. He said the Gipper would try to tell a joke, “get halfway through it and just couldn’t finish it.”

  Later, after the announcement of the Alzheimer’s, Reagan continued to play golf each Saturday but often said little or nothing to the other men. Reagan kept going, though, in part because he clearly liked golf and because the doctors encouraged physical activity.

  Steve Colo, who’d become the head of his Secret Service detail, recalled how whenever they went somewhere Reagan wanted to stop and help. If they saw a homeless man, Reagan wanted to stop and give him money. Once they saw a man fixing a flat tire and Reagan wanted to stop and help him, but Colo gently told Reagan that he, Colo, would provide the assistance, but the former president of the United States could not.74

  Colo—like most agents—was tall and handsome in a rugged way, the archetypical agent. He grew close to the Reagans, and was briefed by doctors on Reagan’s Alzheimer’s. Mrs. Reagan would ask Colo to make sure her husband did not have too much dessert at lunch. Colo at the ranch had to gently take chain saws away. At the ranch the eighty-two-year-old man still cut brush, still hauled it away, and still drove the old red beat-up jeep around the property, even though it lacked power steering.75

  At one point Colo had to take away a pistol that Reagan had kept in his briefcase for years—“I’ve been carrying this gun since I got shot,” he told a surprised Colo. Colo later told Nancy Reagan that he’d confiscated the gun from the president and she exclaimed, “Oh, thank God.”76

  Once, Reagan and Colo had a brief conversation about the assassination attempt by John Hinckley and after saying he hoped Hinckley got help, Reagan exclaimed, “But you know, it hurt like [heck]!”77

  Other stories tinged with sadness began making the rounds about Reagan’s declining years. John Barletta told of how he’d drive Reagan to the Los Angeles Country Club and Reagan asked several times where it was they were going. Colo also related how it was he who tearfully told Reagan he could no longer go horseback riding.78 Barletta also told Reagan, and it was possible they both informed Reagan given his state. Barletta, loyal, longtime horseback rider, also showed a temper. As Reagan sunk into his own personal world, he would sometimes repeat himself, asking the agents where they were going. At one point, an exasperated Barletta snapped at Reagan, “Now what?”79

  It was in Hou
ston where Reagan gave his last speech to the Republican National Convention. He’d been to every one since 1960 when he was part of “Democrats for Nixon.” This Houston speech was one of his finest, and the Astrodome was filled with teary and crying delegates and guests. Two friends stood on the floor applauding, surprised to find they were both weepy. One asked the other, with a tinge of sarcasm, “What are you crying about?” and his friend replied, without sarcasm, “I think he’s going back to California and we’re never going to see him again.”80

  Previously, in late 1989 he returned to Washington for the unveiling of his official portrait (which he and Nancy did not like; it was later touched up); he testified for more than seven hours in the Iran-Contra trials, and in 1993 he returned again to Washington to receive the Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Bush. In May 1993, Reagan gave the commencement remarks at the graduation ceremonies at the Citadel in South Carolina, where twenty-five hundred cadets stood and saluted Reagan as he saluted them, recalled Fred Ryan.81 He spoke in moving terms but also joshed them. “Yes, it’s true that my alma mater—Eureka College—awarded me an honorary degree 25 years after my graduation. That only aggravated a sense of guilt I’d nursed for 25 years.”82

  His last official speech was at a birthday party for him in Washington, in February 1994, hosted by Haley Barbour and the Republican National Committee. Some noted his performance was not up to par but Barbour defended Reagan, saying the teleprompter operator had screwed up.83 Still, his letter to Margaret Thatcher—who had attended and spoken at his birthday dinner, was bright and solicitous. The last handwritten letter he sent was at the end of the year to Barbour, right after he and Newt Gingrich guided the GOP to a historic takeover of Congress. A victory that was built on a campaign rooted in Reagan’s themes of less government and more freedom.