common sense and recognition of our own ability. Together we can forge a new beginning for America.
So far, so good. In the Washington Post the next day, Lou Cannon, a career-long Reagan-watcher, reported:“Last night, he was carefully conciliatory toward the opposition party, which still controls the U.S. House, as he has been most of the time since taking office.” When it came to the opposition party’s own response, Tip for the moment was as smooth as any diplomat. Asked by the New York Times his opinion of Reagan’s maiden effort, Tip gave a thumbs-up.“He comes across beautifully,” he said. “He’s running high right now.”
The day after this televised speech was Reagan’s seventieth birthday.Included in a White House celebration to which a small group had been invited, Tip took a thoughtful gift, the flag that had flown from the Capitol on Inauguration Day.
Not long after this brief drop-in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Tip enjoyed another, to him unaccustomed, one. The occasion was that dinner party to which he’d been invited and was to bring Millie, his wife of forty years.Among the others on hand that evening in the White House private living quarters were Jim and Susan Baker, and also chief Hill liaison Max Friedersdorf and his wife. As soonas both the host and his guest of honor had put in their requests for “strong drinks”—this was Friedersdorf’s observation—the two political leaders began swapping Irish stories.“Maybe Tip & I told too many,” Reagan admitted later in his diary.
Parts of Tip’s history fascinated his host. Like just about every other politician he’d met, the new president wanted the inside story on James Michael Curley, the legendary Boston mayor immortalized in the bestseller The Last Hurrah . Reagan, a fan of the 1958 movie version starring his pal Spencer Tracy, craved all the juicy details. Once Tip began launching into his colorful tales of the old days, listeners would be spellbound.“There are times when real life throws up characters who are more fantastic than any that are found in books,” he liked to say. “When the good Lord made James Michael Curley, He broke the mold.”
That night, however, it was a two-way street. For Ronald Reagan cast an equal spell over the Massachusetts congressman, as Tip would freely admit. The Irish anecdotes and jokes—Reagan was always well stocked with new ones—enhanced the sense of camaraderie as he kept the group well entertained.“He’s a terrific storyteller, he’s witty, and he’s got an excellent sense of humor,” pronounced the Speaker afterward.It had, according to Friedersdorf, been the president’s own decision to invite the O’Neills to be his and Nancy’s first White House guests. That fact was of no little significance given the battle lines now being drawn.
The next morning Tip let the press know what an “enjoyable evening” he’d spent with the Reagans.“We didn’t discuss politics.” Nonetheless, it was obvious he didn’t want anyone to think that one pleasant get-together might ever affect his principles. “We are not just going to let them tear asunder the government programs we have created,” he said. “In the last thirty years middle America has been built up. When I was young there was rich and poor, and thatwas all. . . . My priority is to see that some people don’t suffer for the good of others.”
That afternoon the Speaker’s schedule called for his return to the White House to attend a meeting about U.S.-Soviet trade policy. It was apparent both men still were feeling the goodwill of the previous evening. The topic now under discussion was the grain embargo put in place by Jimmy Carter the year before in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But getting tough with the Soviets wound up punishing farmers here at home more than it harmed the Soviet Union, which simply went wheat-shopping elsewhere. Responding to the anger of the suffering midwestern
So far, so good. In the Washington Post the next day, Lou Cannon, a career-long Reagan-watcher, reported:“Last night, he was carefully conciliatory toward the opposition party, which still controls the U.S. House, as he has been most of the time since taking office.” When it came to the opposition party’s own response, Tip for the moment was as smooth as any diplomat. Asked by the New York Times his opinion of Reagan’s maiden effort, Tip gave a thumbs-up.“He comes across beautifully,” he said. “He’s running high right now.”
The day after this televised speech was Reagan’s seventieth birthday.Included in a White House celebration to which a small group had been invited, Tip took a thoughtful gift, the flag that had flown from the Capitol on Inauguration Day.
Not long after this brief drop-in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Tip enjoyed another, to him unaccustomed, one. The occasion was that dinner party to which he’d been invited and was to bring Millie, his wife of forty years.Among the others on hand that evening in the White House private living quarters were Jim and Susan Baker, and also chief Hill liaison Max Friedersdorf and his wife. As soonas both the host and his guest of honor had put in their requests for “strong drinks”—this was Friedersdorf’s observation—the two political leaders began swapping Irish stories.“Maybe Tip & I told too many,” Reagan admitted later in his diary.
Parts of Tip’s history fascinated his host. Like just about every other politician he’d met, the new president wanted the inside story on James Michael Curley, the legendary Boston mayor immortalized in the bestseller The Last Hurrah . Reagan, a fan of the 1958 movie version starring his pal Spencer Tracy, craved all the juicy details. Once Tip began launching into his colorful tales of the old days, listeners would be spellbound.“There are times when real life throws up characters who are more fantastic than any that are found in books,” he liked to say. “When the good Lord made James Michael Curley, He broke the mold.”
That night, however, it was a two-way street. For Ronald Reagan cast an equal spell over the Massachusetts congressman, as Tip would freely admit. The Irish anecdotes and jokes—Reagan was always well stocked with new ones—enhanced the sense of camaraderie as he kept the group well entertained.“He’s a terrific storyteller, he’s witty, and he’s got an excellent sense of humor,” pronounced the Speaker afterward.It had, according to Friedersdorf, been the president’s own decision to invite the O’Neills to be his and Nancy’s first White House guests. That fact was of no little significance given the battle lines now being drawn.
The next morning Tip let the press know what an “enjoyable evening” he’d spent with the Reagans.“We didn’t discuss politics.” Nonetheless, it was obvious he didn’t want anyone to think that one pleasant get-together might ever affect his principles. “We are not just going to let them tear asunder the government programs we have created,” he said. “In the last thirty years middle America has been built up. When I was young there was rich and poor, and thatwas all. . . . My priority is to see that some people don’t suffer for the good of others.”
That afternoon the Speaker’s schedule called for his return to the White House to attend a meeting about U.S.-Soviet trade policy. It was apparent both men still were feeling the goodwill of the previous evening. The topic now under discussion was the grain embargo put in place by Jimmy Carter the year before in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But getting tough with the Soviets wound up punishing farmers here at home more than it harmed the Soviet Union, which simply went wheat-shopping elsewhere. Responding to the anger of the suffering midwestern
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