In Defense of Political Philosophy

In politics and political management, where colorful figures notoriously abound, Nofziger makes most of his rivals pale to an insipid grey in comparison. Bald on top, he has a fringe of hair at first reminiscent of a monkish tonsure—an impression promptly belied, however, by that villainous mustache and beard. His necktie is not usually loosened; it is always loosened. There are, moreover, good friends of Nofziger’s who claim, implausibly, never to have seen him with a jacket on. (Another, who recently had that rare privilege, almost failed to recognize him.) His dimensions are on the Tony Galen- to order, and a cigar completes the picture: this is the politician’s politician. In comparison, the late Mayor Daley of Chicago looked positively suave.

Nofziger is too important a figure in recent political history, however, to be summed up by a physical description or pegged simply as a politician’s press secretary—even Ronald Reagan’s press secretary. Early in his association with Reagan, Nofziger became one of his key political advisors—in a sense, even his tutor. “Back there when Reagan first became governor,” Nofziger chuckles today, “I had to rid him of four basic misconceptions: that right will always triumph in the end; that there is such a thing as a presidential draft; that the cavalry will arrive at the last minute and save the day; and that God cares who is President of the United States.”

In politics and political management, where colorful figures notoriously abound, Nofziger makes most of his rivals pale to an insipid grey in comparison. Bald on top, he has a fringe of hair at first reminiscent of a monkish tonsure—an impression promptly belied, however, by that villainous mustache and beard. His necktie is not usually loosened; it is always loosened. There are, moreover, good friends of Nofziger’s who claim, implausibly, never to have seen him with a jacket on. (Another, who recently had that rare privilege, almost failed to recognize him.) His dimensions are on the Tony Galen- to order, and a cigar completes the picture: this is the politician’s politician. In comparison, the late Mayor Daley of Chicago looked positively suave.

Nofziger is too important a figure in recent political history, however, to be summed up by a physical description or pegged simply as a politician’s press secretary—even Ronald Reagan’s press secretary. Early in his association with Reagan, Nofziger became one of his key political advisors—in a sense, even his tutor. “Back there when Reagan first became governor,” Nofziger chuckles today, “I had to rid him of four basic misconceptions: that right will always triumph in the end; that there is such a thing as a presidential draft; that the cavalry will arrive at the last minute and save the day; and that God cares who is President of the United States.”