Reagan as Pundit

IT has been said that history is too important to be left to historians, and proof of this remark is given by the fact that the most significant work done on Ronald Reagan has come not from historians, but from two economists and a political scientist, Martin and Annelise Anderson, and Kiron Skinner. The trio’s publication in 2001 of Reagan in His Own Hand, a collection of Reagan’s handwritten radio addresses and speeches, marked a watershed in the public’s knowledge and estimation of Reagan. It proved that Reagan was no mere creature of speechwriters and handlers, as his detractors had long alleged, but was in fact the prime mover of his public career.

Skinner and the Andersons followed up last year with a collection of Reagan’s personal letters (he may have written as many as 10,000), and now complete the cycle with a fresh batch of Reagan’s handwritten radio commentaries from the last half of the 1970s, which reflect Reagan working out his views on the full spectrum of domestic and foreign issues. Thanks to the Andersons and Skinner, the slur that Reagan was lazy, uninformed, and ignorant of the details of federal policy should have been consigned once and for all to the ash heap of history.

About the Author

Steven F. Hayward

Steven F. Hayward is the Edward Gaylord Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.

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IT has been said that history is too important to be left to historians, and proof of this remark is given by the fact that the most significant work done on Ronald Reagan has come not from historians, but from two economists and a political scientist, Martin and Annelise Anderson, and Kiron Skinner. The trio’s publication in 2001 of Reagan in His Own Hand, a collection of Reagan’s handwritten radio addresses and speeches, marked a watershed in the public’s knowledge and estimation of Reagan. It proved that Reagan was no mere creature of speechwriters and handlers, as his detractors had long alleged, but was in fact the prime mover of his public career.

Skinner and the Andersons followed up last year with a collection of Reagan’s personal letters (he may have written as many as 10,000), and now complete the cycle with a fresh batch of Reagan’s handwritten radio commentaries from the last half of the 1970s, which reflect Reagan working out his views on the full spectrum of domestic and foreign issues. Thanks to the Andersons and Skinner, the slur that Reagan was lazy, uninformed, and ignorant of the details of federal policy should have been consigned once and for all to the ash heap of history.