Panel Remembers Reagan's Legacy Fondly

Those who had been closest to President Reagan glowingly praised his pragmatic political outlook and persistent sense of humor at the Institute of Politics last night where a panel gathered to celebrate President Reagan’s legacy in the year that would have been his 100th birthday.

Moderated by Mark Halperin, a senior political analyst at MSNBC, the panel included Lou Cannon, a former White House correspondent, Ken Duberstein, President Reagan’s Chief of Staff from 1988 to 1989, Kennedy School Professor Roger B. Porter, the director of the White House Office of Policy Development during the Reagan administration, and Sheila Tate, Nancy Reagan’s press secretary from 1981 to 1985.

All the panelists—each of whom had a personal connection to the former president—agreed that much of Reagan’s political success could be derived from his pragmatic attitude, which helped him turn his ideas into policies.

Duberstein quoted President George H.W. Bush in calling Reagan the “ultimate pragmatist” who realized that the only way to success was to approach progress in “bite sized pieces.”

“He knew why he wanted to become president,” Duberstein said. “He knew what he would do when he became president and he knew how he wanted to get that done.”

Porter added that this pragmatic approach was particularly important to Reagan, who had to work with a Democratic legislature both as governor of California and during his time as President.

“I never got the impression that he thought a lot about the political calculations of how [his actions] might affect him electorally, but he thought a lot about how I am going to get [his policies] accomplished,” Porter said.

Cannon said that another of Reagan’s greatest strengths was his ability to identify with the American people. When asked on the eve of Reagan’s presidential election what the American people saw in him, Cannon said Reagan responded by saying that he saw himself as one of the people—a feeling he said he could never separate himself from.

“The greatness of Reagan was that America was inside of him,” said Cannon.

Looking behind the scenes of the administration, Tate elaborated on the role that the former First Lady Nancy Reagan played in caring for her husband. According to Tate, she worked diligently to maximize Reagan’s potential, whether by monitoring his schedule to prevent it from becoming overwhelming or by helping him navigate his political relationships.

“Ronald Reagan trusted everybody and Nancy was the verifier,” Duberstein said. “He was always better when she was in the equation.”

Although the event provided the audience with personal insights into the Reagan presidency, Can Soylu ’14 said that he wished that the event had provided a slightly more critical approach to the events of Reagan’s political career.

—Staff writer Monica M. Dodge can be reached at mdodge@college.harvard.edu.