June 08, 2004, 8:42 a.m.
Personal Presidential Portrait
Memories of Ronald Reagan.

By Tony Snow

When it comes to Ronald Reagan, we are all pointillists, hoping to create a whole portrait from dots of experience. Consider four scenes from late in his public career:

Scene One: President George H. W. Bush is sitting in the presidential limousine after visiting the Reagan office in Los Angeles. "He's such a great guy," Bush says, smiling and shaking his head in wonderment. He describes a private meeting — just the two presidents and Bush's national-security adviser, Brent Scowcroft. Reagan broke the ice with a joke, leavened a conversation with a few stories, and afterward treated the entire entourage with self-effacing geniality. The 41st president seems pleasantly surprised that he was greeted as a friend, not a former minion. Reagan had gifts for many things. Self-importance was not one of them.

Scene Two: An envelope arrives from the Reagan office. It contains a marked-up copy of an op-ed piece for the New York Times. Reagan had rewritten the first line, the conclusion, and sentences that summarized the major arguments. He swapped out a handful of adjectives, too. Light editing: yet what began as a dry treatise on the balanced budget amendment has become a Reagan piece, with Reagan's voice. No man ever had more genius as an editor. If you read his public speeches, drafted by dozens of ghostwriters over three decades, you'll notice they sound the same — and unlike anything else.

Scene three: Reagan delivers his valedictory at the Republican convention in 1992. He is speaking late in the evening because Pat Buchanan got the primetime slot. The Lion of Dixon, straining at times to swat away the fog of forgetfulness and confusion, delivers the most beautiful speech of the year, a paean to the sweetness, poignancy and promise of American life. The address lays bare the secret ingredient of Reaganism: love — with all its unapologetic power, ardor, ferocity, and loyalty.

(This is Reagan's secret ingredient. No public figure so openly broadcast his devotion. Reagan understood that love, alloyed with faith, imparts unparalleled strength. Hardship only fed his ardor — from the night he dragged his drunken father out of the snow and into the warmth of the family home, to disappointments in Hollywood, to gunshots and cancer surgery during a presidency, to the final onslaught of Alzheimer's. Reagan accepted reversals as the will of a God who knew better. That is the essence of love: Even in the midst of raging storms, one dreams of sunlight.)

Reagan's late-night speech closes with a blown kiss: "And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city on a hill. Before I go, I would ask the person who has made my life's journey so meaningful, someone I have been so proud of through the years, to join me. Nancy...

"My fellow Americans, on behalf of both of us, goodbye, and God bless each and every one of you, and God bless this country we love."

Scene Four: One last note from the Reagan office, this one for the American people, dated November 5, 1994. It is written in his hand, and concludes: "When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

"Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you."

Four dots. How many more have we to portray the man?

— Tony Snow is host of The Tony Snow Show on Fox News Radio and Weekend Live on Fox News Channel. He was director of speechwriting for President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and 1992.

*   *   *

YOU’RE NOT A SUBSCRIBER TO NATIONAL REVIEW? Sign up right now! It’s easy: Subscribe to National Review here, or to the digital version of the magazine here. You can even order a subscription as a gift: print or digital!