Reagan Memories

There are of course floods of Reagan profiles, reminiscences, etc., being published this week. I noticed with a smirk this morning that the Washington Post must have been concerned about the positive coverage they were giving Reagan, since today they have a slew of "There were problems with his presidency" articles, including a bitter column by their new reliable lefty Harold Myerson. (When did he show up, btw? It must have happened while I was abroad.)

Here are the ones I've like the best, either because of the writing, perceptions, but usually because of the inside observations they bring to the piece. There was a quirky essay by Michael Beran which compares Reagan to the protagonist of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim. Kenneth Adelman describes being Reagan's Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. The best part is the following anecdote:

The first epiphany came early in his administration, when we gathered in a formal National Security Council meeting in the Cabinet Room. Secretary of State Alexander Haig opened by lamenting that the Law of the Sea Treaty was something we didn't like but had to accept, since it had emerged over the previous decade through a 150-nation negotiation. Mr. Haig then proceeded to recite 13 or so options for modifying the treaty--some with several suboptions.

Such detail, to put it mildly, was not the president's strong suit. He looked increasingly puzzled and finally interrupted. "Uh, Al," he asked quietly, "isn't this what the whole thing was all about?"

"Huh?" The secretary of state couldn't fathom what the president meant. None of us could. So Mr. Haig asked him.

Well, Mr. Reagan shrugged, wasn't not going along with something that is "really stupid" just because 150 nations had done so what the whole thing was all about--our running, our winning, our governing? A stunned Mr. Haig folded up his briefing book and promised to find out how to stop the treaty altogether.

But probably the best of all the memories comes in an essay by another arms control negotiator, Max Kampelman, who gives illuminating glimpses into just how Reagan operated. Fascinating stuff.

And here's something else that shows Reagan's legacy; arms control negotiators just aren't as important as they were. They have less to do.