Terrible Tony

PRESIDENT Reagan had not had a good first debate against Walter Mondale in 1984. Tony Coelho, the slashing House Democrat from California, wasn’t about to let that go. Reagan had “looked old and acted old,” he told the press. How old, exactly? “Well,” said Coelho, “he didn’t quite drool.”

The next day, under attack from his Republican colleagues on the House floor, Coelho explained himself, as only he could. “I rose to the defense of the president,” he protested. “I said he wasn’t drooling.”

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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PRESIDENT Reagan had not had a good first debate against Walter Mondale in 1984. Tony Coelho, the slashing House Democrat from California, wasn’t about to let that go. Reagan had “looked old and acted old,” he told the press. How old, exactly? “Well,” said Coelho, “he didn’t quite drool.”

The next day, under attack from his Republican colleagues on the House floor, Coelho explained himself, as only he could. “I rose to the defense of the president,” he protested. “I said he wasn’t drooling.”