“The man who has the job”: Cannon, Governor Reagan, p. 149.
that July night in 1980: Reagan Speech, Republican National Convention, July 17, 1980.
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE RISE OF TIP O’NEILL
“All politics is local”: Tip credited his father for the famous motto. Author John A. Farrell said it was a familiar phrase in Massachusetts during the younger O’Neill’s upbringing. However, there’s been speculation tying the motto to Finley Peter Dunne’s “Mr. Dooley.” His biographer Edward J. Bander has said this is not the case.
When he was tapped: Author interview with Tom Foley.
His father, Thomas: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 35.
He was only nine months old: Ibid., p. 49
Young O’Neill remembered: Ibid.
O’Neill found warmth: Ibid., p. 42.
Tip’s own lifelong moniker: Ibid., p. 13.
Here’s Tip’s own version: MOH, pp. 6–7.
A year later: Farrell, p. 51.
spoke out forcefully for workplace: https://www.osha.gov/oas/trianglefactoryfireaccount.html.
Unlike his brother William: Farrell, p. 35
While he was still a senior: Ibid., p. 64.
Two maxims he heard: Ibid., p. 65.
According to Thomas Sr.: Ibid.
what Tip should have done: Ibid.
The second lesson: MOH, p. 26.
“Tom, let me tell you something”: Ibid.
In 1934 Tip was given: MOH, p. 3.
A year after she’d gone to work: Jean Edward Smith, FDR (New York: Random House, 2007), p. xv.
Now, Tip, thanks to: MOH, p. 3.
Tip felt honor-bound: Farrell, p. 80.
“Tom was never much of a”: People, August 18, 1980.
In 1941, Tip married: Farrell, p. 83.
He’d timed the wedding to occur: Farrell, p. 84.
Resuming their honeymoon: Ibid.
“Through the chairs”: Hedrick Smith interview with Tip O’Neill.
“worked your way up through the vineyards”: MOH, p. 73.
A wild card suddenly appeared: Ibid.
“I had never lived very much”: Miller Center, Presidential Recordings Program, JFK, dictabelt 39.
He, like Tip, was: MOH, p. 73.
“By the time I met Jack Kennedy”: Ibid.
“dirtiest campaign you ever saw”: MOH, p. 84.
Tip soon became: Farrell, p. 144.
To make up for his regular: Farrell, p. 146.
rooming with another freshman: Farrell, p. 140.
“Incidentally, I’m absolutely convinced”: MOH, p. 147.
“I never want to see”: Jimmy Breslin, How The Good Guys Finally Won (New York: The Viking Press, 1975), p. 68.
“Some fellas like women”: Farrell, p. 496.
The only problem with him: MOH, p. 157.
One week he passed on word: Ibid., p. 158.
O’Neill, agreeing that this was fair: Ibid.
However, with his stance: MOH, pp. 189–206, Farrell, pp. 217–26.
“Take the gavel”: New York Times, February 6, 2000.
Grabbing the microphone: Farrell, p. 287.
Putting down the future: Ibid., p. 290.
“You haven’t got an enemy”: Ibid., p. 322.
It had all begun: Ibid., pp. 346–47.
On August 8, 1974: Ibid., p. 380.
“Jerry, isn’t this”: MOH, pp. 266–67.
“Although I thought the pardon”: MOH, p. 268.
Two years later: Farrell, p. 408.
I was in the room: Author interview with Tom Foley.
CHAPTER NINE: HERO
“The happy ending is our national belief”: Mary McCarthy.
“Well I expect that smiling”: TPO, April 7, 1981.
“Tip was in Pago Pago”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 555.
“I’m having more luck”: RR, April 22, 1981.
“Because of the attempted”: TPO, April 28, 1981.
“The warmth of your words”: Reagan speech to joint session of Congress, April 28, 1981.
“This is only the first skirmish”: TPO, May 1, 1981.
“I was overjoyed to see”: TPO, Remarks on the President’s Speech, April 28, 1981.
“It is unfortunate in the”: Ibid.
“I have been saying all”: TPO, April 29, 1981.
“We stroked and we stroked”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 551.
recalls getting an urgent: Author conversation with Hedrick Smith.
“Tenderhearted and sentimental”: Reagan, My Father at 100, p. 9.
“More meetings with”: RR, May 6, 1981.
“to have someone explain”: TPO, May 1, 1981.
“This was the big day”: RR, May 7, 1981.
“I’m getting the shit”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 558.
“I’m not talking”: TPO, May 13, 1981.
CHAPTER TEN: FIGHTING SEASON
“Courage for some sudden act”: Anthony Eden on Winston Churchill.
“At that moment”: Time, May 18, 1981.
“I’ve always suspected”: Reagan speech at Notre Dame, May 17, 1981.
“Now, today I hear”: Ibid.
“For too long government”: Ibid.
“I’m opposed to the”: ABC, Issues and Answers, June 7, 1981.
“his lifestyle”: Ibid.
“Consequently, he doesn’t”: Ibid.
Steven V. Roberts: New York Times, June 9, 1981.
“Tip O’Neill says you don’t”: Presidential press conference, June 16, 1981.
“Tip O’Neill has said”: Ibid.
“And I know very much”: Ibid.
“Let it go, Tom”: This was his longtime friend and senior aide, Leo Diehl.
He’d had his political heroes: Farrell, p. 80.
“I would never accuse a president”: Ibid., p. 574.
“Well, I’d have to say”: Washington Post, June 17, 1981.
Reagan phoned the Speaker: Farrell, p. 574.
“Old buddy,” the Speaker replied: Ibid.
“Politiburo of the Welfare State”: HS, Power Game, p. 522.
“Hogarthian embodiment of the superstate”: David Stockman, The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed (New York: Public Affairs, 2013), p. 129.
The president, out of patience: Farrell, p. 559.
“Did you ever hear of the separation of powers?”: Ibid.
“I was a Democrat myself”: HS, Power Game, p. 515.
That night, in his diary: RR, June 18, 1981.
“Tip O’Neill is getting rough”: RR, June 23, 1981.
In an extraordinary step: Farrell, p. 560; Associated Press, June 26, 1981.
But Reagan’s big victory: Farrell, pp. 559–60.
It meant that three million seniors: United Press International, June 25, 1981.
On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan: RR, July 7, 1981.
“the best thing he’d done since he was inaugurated”: TPO, July 8, 1981.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: BATTLEFIELD PROMOTION
“I still believe that”: Ted Sorensen, Counselor (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), p. 531.
“House Speaker Thomas”: Washington Post, July 9, 1981.
here’s how Tip: HS interview with O’Neill, Library of Congress, pp. 69–70.
“The interesting factor”: HS interview with O’Neill, Library of Congress, p. 15.
“Six-thirty a”: RR, July 22, 1981.
“This on top of the budget”: Ibid., July 29, 1981.
“Is Tip O’Neill ready”: New York Times Magazine, August 16, 1981.
“What I had to get used”: MOH, p. 351.
David Rogers, an astute: Boston Globe, July 31, 1981.
“I sure as hell hope”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 561.
CHAPTER TWELVE: TURNING
“Learned the Air Controllers”: RR, August 2, 1981.
“The strike was called”: Ibid., August 3, 1981.
Future Federal Reserve: The Reagan Legacy, Remarks of
Alan Greenspan, Ronald Reagan Library, April 9, 2003.
“If these numbers were out”: Richard Darman, Who’s in Control? Polar Politics and the Sensible Center (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), p. 94.
“I’m withdrawing Soc. Security”: RR, September 23, 1981.
“I’m encouraged that between us”: Ibid., August 5, 1981.
“It’s hard to describe”: Ibid., October 6, 1981.
“We haven’t obstructed”: TPO, August 4, 1981.
“They got their cuts”: Ibid., September 9, 1981.
Look what they get for it: Ibid., October 1, 1981.
Jakie Bloom was: MOH, p. 312.
“The Education of”: Atlantic, December 1, 1981.
“If true”: RR, November 11, 1981.
“Dave, in his heart”: TPO, November 12, 1981.
“I think he’s going to remain”: Washington Post, November 8, 1981.
“Tip, if I had a”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 621.
“Reagan,” Deaver said: Ibid.
“Tip was an old-fashioned pol”: Reagan, An American Life, p. 250.
His son Ron believed: Author conversation with Ron Reagan.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SUMMIT
“Welcome, Mr. President”: Chris Matthews, Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game (New York: Summit Books, 1988), p. 37.
“I wonder if I’ll ever get”: RR, January 26, 1982.
“I’ve made a mil. speeches”: Ibid.
“There has been some talk”: TPO, January 28, 1982.
“Met with bi-partisan”: RR, February 8, 1982.
“There is unrest among”: Ibid., February 11, 1982.
“Tomorrow we begin”: CJM.
“President hit hard”: Ibid.
“I was the lone voice”: TPO, January 25, 1982.
“He thought that Baker was”: Author conversation with Rosemary O’Neill.
“I think we should not”: CJM.
“I called Tip O’Neill”: RR, April 20, 1982.
“I’m slipping badly”: Ibid., April 2, 1982.
Reagan began making: Ibid., April 3, 1982.
“Toby Moffett”: CJM.
“After 45 years in”: Washington Post, April 22, 1982.
“The D’s are playing games”: RR, April 26, 1982.
“I’ve read that crap”: Reeves, President Reagan, p. 121.
“You can get me to”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 588.
“I wasn’t any more”: TPO, April 29, 1982.
Within days after our: New York Times, April 29, 1982.
For Mike Deaver: Author conversation with Carolyn Deaver.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: PARTNERS
“The future of this economy is now in the hands of Tip O’Neill”: Reeves, President Reagan, p. 122.
“I don’t think he”: TPO, May 25, 1982.
“We would go in and want”: Author interview with Max Friedersdorf.
“It may be easier”: United Press International, May 4, 1982.
“an aging prizefighter”: Wall Street Journal, June 18, 1982.
“When I see him”: United Press International, June 27, 1982.
“World’s Record Apple Pie”: New York Times, July 2, 1982.
“It’s time for the doubters to eat humble pie”: Ibid.
“As the Senator spoke”: Ibid.
“people’s crusade”: Washington Post, July 20, 1982.
“It’s like the saloon keeper”: Associated Press, July 20, 1982.
“sneak attack”: New York Times, July 20, 1982.
“Wake up, Mr. President!”: United Press International, August 4, 1982.
“More than 200 members”: Associated Press, August 4, 1982.
“Every time I ask”: TPO, August 13, 1982.
“tax bill”: RR, June 22, July 19, August 2, and August 4, 1982.
“I want him to use that smiling countenance”: TPO, July 29, 1982.
“Senator Dole has shown”: Ibid., August 3, 1982.
“The Republicans are not for”: Ibid., July 28, 1982.
“Met with Jack Kemp”: RR, August 4, 1982.
“There is a rumor”: Ibid., August 10, 1982.
“Some of the people”: TPO, August 17, 1982.
“The tax bill will not repeal”: Ibid., August 18, 1982.
“Congress cannot with one vote”: Ibid., August 18, 1982.
“Interesting photo opportunity”: RR, August 18, 1982.
“Nancy wasn’t alone”: Ibid., August 19, 1982.
“Did you hear that the Irish”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 589.
“bipartisanship can be fun”: Washington Post, August 24, 1982.
“It happened last Thursday”: Ibid.
“You are here because of Reagan”: Ibid.
“If he could put aside”: Ibid.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TIP AT THE TOP
twelve seats: TPO, statement from November 2, and attached Democratic Policy Committee one-sheet from October 26, 1982.
“political tactic”: Ibid., September 9, 1982.
“The president would rather”: Ibid.
“The politics of the veto”: Ibid., Letter from Democratic Leadership, September 8, 1982.
“prize bull”: New York Times, September 10, 1982.
“billion-dollar ballot box bailout bill”: Ibid., September 17, 1982.
“Voters across America”: Reagan Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters Following the House of Representatives Vote on the Proposed Constitutional Amendment for a Balanced Federal Budget, October 1, 1982.
“stonewalling”: Ibid.
“boosted the stock”: Washington Post, October 2, 1982.
“Somebody told me”: Reagan Remarks, Rally for Texas Republican Candidates in Irving, Texas, October 11, 1982.
“In Washington, the nine heavenly bodies”: United Press International, October 29, 1982.
“Your heart would die for them”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 594.
“tell them that Tip O’Neill”: Ibid.
Franklin Roosevelt: Reagan Radio Address to the Nation on the Economy, October 16, 1982.
“fear”: Reagan Radio Address to the Nation on Economic and Budget Issues, October 23, 1982.
“Democrats took the offensive”: Washington Post, October 24, 1982.
REAGAN AND O’NEILL EXCHANGE CHARGES: New York Times, October 24, 1982.
“Not long ago”: Associated Press, October 29, 1982.
GOP fund-raising letter: TPO Press Collection.
“big, fat and out of control”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 595.
pin a repeal o’neill campaign button: Washington Post, November 4, 1982.
“I wouldn’t know him from a cord of wood”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 595.
“For a while there”: Interview with Robert Mrazek, originally for Hardball book.
“We don’t want anyone to eat crow”: TPO, November 3, 1982.
“They are an odd couple”: New York Times, November 28, 1982.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: DEAL
“If we are truly”: U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1982.
“The old-age trust fund”: Washington Post, November 7, 1982.
“Administration sources have suggested”: Ibid., January 3, 1983.
Back in December: TPO, December 7, 1982.
“Reagan’s Faithful Allies”: New York Times, January 3, 1983.
“Are we going to let this commission die”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 601.
“He didn’t make a move that”: Conversation with Jack Lew.
“the same old political football”: New York Times, January 6, 1983.
“I’m not going to make choices”: Ibid., January 16, 1983.
“Reagan’s wariness of Social Security”: Ibid.
“We weren’t going to put our head”: Jack Beatty, ed., Pols: Great Writers on American Politicians from Bryan to Reagan (New York: Public Affairs, 2004), p. 445.
“It is my understanding”: Reagan statement on receiving
the recommendations of the National Commission on Social Security Reform, January 15, 1983.
“acceptable to the president”: TPO, January 15, 1983.
“S.S. team came by”: RR, January 15, 1983.
“It was very helpful to have”: New York Times, January 19, 2010.
“More than any other event”: Robert Ball, “Restoring Financial Stability to Social Security,” www.ssa.gov/history/50rb.html.
“all together”: RR, January 17, 1983.
“we in government”: Reagan Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union, January 25, 1983.
“And here all the time”: Ibid.
“But you understand”: Reagan Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters on Domestic and Foreign Policy Issues, February 4, 1983.
“Oh, you’ve sold out”: Ibid.
“He spoke of creating jobs”: TPO, January 26, 1983.
“I will probably kick myself”: Washington Post, January 27, 1983.
“On the same day”: Newsweek, February 7, 1983.
“Well, I said”: Ibid.
“God damn it, Tip”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, pp. 599–600.
“Tip & I”: RR, January 31, 1983.
“the toughest going-over”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, pp. 599–600.
“just two Irishmen plotting”: Time, February 21, 1983.
“Whether this means a ray of hope”: TPO, January 31, 1983.
“We stand ready”: Ibid., February 8, 1983.
“I understand he’s getting married”: Ibid., February 10, 1983.
“When I met with President Reagan”: Ibid.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: LEBANON AND GRENADA
“What I am”: Reagan address to British Parliament, June 8, 1982.
It had actually been: Arthur Vandenberg speech to the Senate, January 10, 1945.
“Why are we there?”: Farrell, Tip O’Neill, p. 612.
Two days later: Cannon, President Reagan, p. 356.
“If he asks my views”: TPO, July 13, 1982.
As Tip O’Neill put it: Ibid., September 12, 1983.
“That country is coming apart”: Author witnessed Rep. Foley’s remark.
“If it were for six months”: TPO, September 20, 1983.
“I believe the president”: Washington Post, September 29, 1983.
It was Democratic congressman: Ibid.
“He was grateful”: TPO, September 29, 1983.
“I was doing my duty”: Ibid.
“The important thing”: New York Times, October 13, 1983.
“I’ve OK’d an outright”: RR, October 21, 1983.
On Sunday: Ibid., Saturday, October 22–Sunday, October 23.
Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked Page 36