put-down got into public circulation. After saying his guest had been taken aback by what he’d said, he added for good measure,“It won’t be the last time he’s surprised.”
At the White House, Tip’s chest-thumping didn’t go down well. Even though the Speaker was the acknowledged Washington veteran of the two, he’d overstepped, the Reagan people felt, by rushing to emphasize his senior status in the pecking order.
Yet the Democrat’s needling didn’t mean the end to Reagan’s campaign to win him over. Reagan was shrewder and more cunning than that. Soon after the inauguration, the O’Neills received an invitation to have dinner at the White House with the Reagans two weeks later. “Boy, am I in trouble,” Tip laughed. “How am I going to fight with this guy?”
By January’s end, the Reagan team was presented with a fifty-five-page plan of action. Prepared by pollster Richard Wirthlin and David Gergen, it came to be known simply as “The Black Book.” It was intended as the administration’s road map for the first hundred days, addressing the national mood as well as outlining action:“The first fundamental economic objective of the Reagan presidency must be to restore a sense of stability and confidence, to demonstrate that there is a steady hand at the helm.” With this mission statement in hand, the president’s staff understood exactly where they needed to position their man—not just as the anti-Carter but also as a serious leader fully ready to guide the ship of state.“The second fundamental economic objective of the Reagan presidency must be to convey a sense of hope, that there is a lightat the end of the tunnel.” As Jim Baker had already decided, the number-one priority was to be the economy: cutting taxes, cutting social programs. The implications for such proposals were serious and far-reaching.
It would fall to Tip O’Neill to play Horatius at the bridge.
For his part, Tip refused to believe in the reality of what others accepted as a populist-driven Reagan mandate; to him, the Democratic wipeout in November had been a repudiation of Carter pure and simple. In his opinion the GOP campaign promises were“so clearly preposterous” that any thinking person must reject them. Their inadequacy boiled down to a simple equation:“Surely everybody could see that you couldn’t balance the budget, cut taxes, and increase defense spending all at the same time.” But whether Tip’s idea of the math’s logic worked or not, Reagan was indeed planning a radical assault on the old liberal order.
In early February, the new president went on TV. No longer the candidate packed with promises, he was now the tough steward, explaining to the country the price of achieving the goals he had set. Like every president before him he was making the inevitable pivot from critic to manager.
I’m speaking to you tonight to give you a report on the state of the nation’s economy. I regret to say that we’re in the worst economic mess since the Great Depression.
Now, we’ve just had two years of back-to-back double-digit inflation—13.3 percent in 1979, 12.4 percent in 1980. The last time this happened was in World War I.
In 1960 mortgage interest rates averaged around six percent. They’re two-and-a-half times as high now, 15.4 percent.
Let me try to put this in personal terms. Here is a dollar such as you earned, spent or saved in 1960. And here is a quarter,a dime and a penny—thirty-six cents. That’s what this 1960 dollar is worth today.
To the Congress of the United States, I extend my hand in cooperation, and I believe we can go forward in a bipartisan manner. I’ve found a real willingness to cooperate on the part of Democrats and members of my own party.
We can leave our children with an un-repayable massive debt and a shattered economy, or we can leave them liberty in a land where every individual has the opportunity to be whatever God intended us to be. All it takes is a little
At the White House, Tip’s chest-thumping didn’t go down well. Even though the Speaker was the acknowledged Washington veteran of the two, he’d overstepped, the Reagan people felt, by rushing to emphasize his senior status in the pecking order.
Yet the Democrat’s needling didn’t mean the end to Reagan’s campaign to win him over. Reagan was shrewder and more cunning than that. Soon after the inauguration, the O’Neills received an invitation to have dinner at the White House with the Reagans two weeks later. “Boy, am I in trouble,” Tip laughed. “How am I going to fight with this guy?”
By January’s end, the Reagan team was presented with a fifty-five-page plan of action. Prepared by pollster Richard Wirthlin and David Gergen, it came to be known simply as “The Black Book.” It was intended as the administration’s road map for the first hundred days, addressing the national mood as well as outlining action:“The first fundamental economic objective of the Reagan presidency must be to restore a sense of stability and confidence, to demonstrate that there is a steady hand at the helm.” With this mission statement in hand, the president’s staff understood exactly where they needed to position their man—not just as the anti-Carter but also as a serious leader fully ready to guide the ship of state.“The second fundamental economic objective of the Reagan presidency must be to convey a sense of hope, that there is a lightat the end of the tunnel.” As Jim Baker had already decided, the number-one priority was to be the economy: cutting taxes, cutting social programs. The implications for such proposals were serious and far-reaching.
It would fall to Tip O’Neill to play Horatius at the bridge.
For his part, Tip refused to believe in the reality of what others accepted as a populist-driven Reagan mandate; to him, the Democratic wipeout in November had been a repudiation of Carter pure and simple. In his opinion the GOP campaign promises were“so clearly preposterous” that any thinking person must reject them. Their inadequacy boiled down to a simple equation:“Surely everybody could see that you couldn’t balance the budget, cut taxes, and increase defense spending all at the same time.” But whether Tip’s idea of the math’s logic worked or not, Reagan was indeed planning a radical assault on the old liberal order.
In early February, the new president went on TV. No longer the candidate packed with promises, he was now the tough steward, explaining to the country the price of achieving the goals he had set. Like every president before him he was making the inevitable pivot from critic to manager.
I’m speaking to you tonight to give you a report on the state of the nation’s economy. I regret to say that we’re in the worst economic mess since the Great Depression.
Now, we’ve just had two years of back-to-back double-digit inflation—13.3 percent in 1979, 12.4 percent in 1980. The last time this happened was in World War I.
In 1960 mortgage interest rates averaged around six percent. They’re two-and-a-half times as high now, 15.4 percent.
Let me try to put this in personal terms. Here is a dollar such as you earned, spent or saved in 1960. And here is a quarter,a dime and a penny—thirty-six cents. That’s what this 1960 dollar is worth today.
To the Congress of the United States, I extend my hand in cooperation, and I believe we can go forward in a bipartisan manner. I’ve found a real willingness to cooperate on the part of Democrats and members of my own party.
We can leave our children with an un-repayable massive debt and a shattered economy, or we can leave them liberty in a land where every individual has the opportunity to be whatever God intended us to be. All it takes is a little
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