The Gipper would blog…

People always call out Ronald Reagan’s abilities as the “Great Communicator” as the source of his effectiveness in office. This is certainly one of the qualities that enabled him to accomplish the many things that he did, but I think what is more important was that Ronald Reagan knew unequivocally what it was that he stood for. Unlike most all other politicians, Reagan worked tirelessly to research, think, and record his thoughts on virtually all topics in the public eye, from world peace, to nuclear energy, to the economy, social security, as well as numerous personal stories.

The thing I like about blogging (so far) is that as the author you do it for yourself as much as you do for anyone else. Writing things down helps you think through issues and crystallize your thinking. The fact that someone out there (admittedly few) might read it makes you think that much more about what you're writing. Given the volume of written material by President Reagan that has been published since his passing, it is clear that a regular forum for expressing his ideas was something he appreciated. Which is why I hypothesize that if he were alive and active today, the Gipper would blog.

In 1975, and then again from 1976 until he ran for President a second time in 1979, Ronald Reagan wrote and presented a daily radio commentary on all of the topics I mentioned above and more (the first pause was to challenge Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination in 1975). Each commentary had a one sentence teaser, and was followed by a three minute monologue which Reagan would write out long hand on a legal pad.

Many of these commentaries are collected in the book Reagan, In his Own Hand; however, if you really want the best experience, I strongly suggest listening to the collection in audio form, which includes Reagan’s actual recordings, entitled Reagan, In his Own Voice. (They are the same thing, just one has the actual recordings. I own both…of course!)

Whether read or listened to, these commentaries are sheer gold. Critics of Reagan long chided him as a simple minded actor. Diplomat Clark Clifford famously quipped after meeting Reagan that he was, “an amiable dunce.” Since Clifford isn’t really notable for much else other than this comment, it goes a long way towards showing who was the lesser of the two men.

What astounds me is that through listening to these commentaries and reading his biweekly newspaper columns, Ronald Reagan told the American people exactly what it was he believed. It was estimated that through the radio show and the columns Reagan was able to reach close to 20 million Americans each week. Moreover, if you look at his administration you’ll see that this man took on a course to do exactly the things he stood up for in his writings.

When else in American history, or world history for that matter, has a leader written so profusely in his own hand exactly the things he stood for and then made them so widely known? Ronald Reagan shaped his beliefs over years and years of writing out his thoughts on paper, either in letters, for publication, or for personal use. He literally created his political self on paper and then changed the course of human history because he wrote down what he thought. These radio commentaries are a treasure trove of his thinking right up until he became the leader of the free world.

I’ll sign off using Reagan’s tagline (but with my name of course).

“This is Mike Ditson, thanks for listening.”