A few days before the state funeral for Ronald Reagan, some of his old aides were talking up an idea they thought would show just the right spirit: They proposed that at noon on June 11, as services began at Washington National Cathedral, the flags then at half-mast across America and the world be dramatically raised again. This would symbolize the new beginning President Reagan gave our country, and that optimism for which we should all remember him. It was a case of carrying the good cheer one step too far, though, and happily nothing came of this little inspiration. This was a day for accepting the end of things, and with full honors saying goodbye to, as the opening prayer put it, “our brother Ronald.”
Settling in at the cathedral, I had a fine view of the five American presidents seated up front—our brothers Jerry, Jimmy, George, Bill, and George W.—and it was touching, throughout the service, to see them singing along with the hymns and praying for one of their own. In the spirit of the day, I found myself admiring former President Carter in particular, this good Christian man who at 79 still teaches Sunday school, and who, I suppose, was doing his works of charity long before anyone outside of Plains ever heard of him. Some pleasantries with Al Gore, by chance seated directly in front of Karl Rove, confirmed my impression of a serious man who still lives under a serious burden—although on this day, as on the day he conceded in December 2000, he carried it with a dignity that deserves our respect. You could see Bill Clinton’s good side, too, in the slightly boyish, deferen-
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