Painting an intimate portrait of a man’s life is an extraordinary thing. Historians and biographers have written wonderful books about the men and women who have shaped our world. Peggy Noonan’s portrait of Ronald Reagan stands above them all.
Noonan
I’ve long enjoyed Noonan’s writing, thinking, and observations. Noonan outshines herself with “When Character Was King.” Her hallmark is get out of the way and illuminate the subject, which she does beautifully here.
The greatness of the book is that it tells the story of a honorable man who changed the world. Not his acts, but of his character. Not his politics, but his philosophy. Not his enemies, failures, or shortcomings, but how he turned those things into success.
Noonan’s skill is that she seems to have control over her ego. She can shine, no doubt, but she is also enough of a wallflower to see the panoramic view of the entire room. She’s been in the important rooms, with the important people, observing expressions and tones and attitudes, not of one person, but the collective. Noonan knows how the government works and how society responds, and more importantly the men and women who make it work and respond. She is skilled at reading between the lines, which is what makes this a fine book.
Four Takeaways
Of the many stories and observations Noonan tells, four takeaways stand out.
- 1) Reagan was a humble man from humble beginnings. This is most prominently seen in the way he treated people, but it shaped everything about his perspective. He had a simple ranch, not a glorious palace. After he was shot, he spilled water in the hospital room and was found cleaning it up, not calling for someone else to do it.
- 2) Reagan was a good, honest man. There are no reports of him being a jerk, mean, difficult. In one instance, Noonan finally thinks she found someone to say he was a jerk. A hostess reported he came in during his acting years and was upset the restaurant forgot to reserve him a table. He stormed out. Noonan asked the hostess if he ever met Mr. Reagan again, he responded, “I did. The next morning when he came to apologize.”
- 3) Reagan was funny and employed humor to his advantage. He was always armed with 1000 jokes, according to Noonan. They come out in his speeches, and sometimes they were leaked to the press as when he quipped about his doctors after the shooting, “I hope they’re all Republicans.” Most often, his jokes were to private audience, a person feeling down or an aside to lighten the moment.
- 4) The touch of God is apparent in Reagan’s life. Reading Reagan’s life story is like watching God at work. Many things just happened for him, which cannot be explained by “luck” – no one is that lucky. Even the difficulties in his life paved the way for strength when he needed it. As George H.W. Bush eulogized: “’The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm. Though he stumble, he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with his hand.’” And then this, too, from [Psalm] 37: “’There is a future for the man of peace.’”
Reagan was a man of God and devoted to serving God. God surely made his steps firm.
The True Reagan
Her account does not hide obvious, but rarely acknowledged truths. The families of great men, sacrifice and sometimes suffer. Emotional distance was born from necessity, a coping mechanism. And for men like Reagan, confidence comes from God, not success.
As she observes in the book, Reagan was a handsome man, but his face was not symmetrical which makes it hard for artist to capture him. Perhaps Noonan should pick up a brush because she, better than anyone, delivers a masterpiece of an epic man.
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