The Triumph of Nancy Reagan

by Karen Tumulty

  Three weeks later… planned to defect: Reed, Reagan Enigma, 207–8.

  “Nerve endings very raw in California”: Compilation of Tom Reed journal entries shared with author.

  “Nancy tipped the balance… come aboard”: Reed, Reagan Enigma, 237.

  “They were all thinking that Nixon was going to survive… my stock went up at that point”: John Sears, telephone interview by author.

  “He looks you in the tie,” Ronnie said. “Why won’t he look at me?”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 153.

  “You find out”… nagging and all: Nancy Reynolds, interviewed by author, May 3, 2019.

  “We lost forty-eight to forty-nine… registered as Republicans”: Nancy Reagan, interview by Bonnie Angelo, Time, August 19, 1976, from Time internal files. Republican National Convention; Kemper Arena; Kansas City, Mo.; 1976; Vol II.

  She blamed Sears… everything was going fine: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 157–58.

  Eleven years later, there were 4,200… pro-Reagan registration drive: Washington Post wire service, “Once Lonely Republican Is Chairman for Reagan,” Morning Call (Allentown, PA) online, March 7, 1976, https://www.newspapers.com/image/275848364/?terms=carol%2Bmccain.

  “The two men most responsible… in Sacramento”: R. W. Apple Jr., “Ford, in Turnabout, Now Seems to Lead Reagan in Florida Vote,” New York Times online, March 8, 1976, https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/08/archives/ford-in-turnabout-now-seems-to-lead-reagan-in-florida-vote.html.

  “Ronnie has to get out… embarrass himself if he doesn’t”: Nofziger, Nofziger, 179–80.

  “a right-wing zealot… some pretty good”: ibid.

  She sent him and Ellis a leftover video: Jim Morrill, “How Nancy Reagan Helped Save Her Husband’s Career in NC,” Charlotte (NC) Observer online, March 8, 2016, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/campaign-tracker-blog/article64842197.html.

  “last ditch, desperation maneuver… difference for Mr. Reagan between victory and defeat”: Joseph Lelyveld, “Reagan’s Upset Victory in North Carolina Attributed to Impact of Last-Minute TV Speech,” New York Times online, March 29, 1976, https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/29/archives/reagans-upset-victory-in-north-carolina-attributed-to-impact-of.html.

  “Ronald Reagan, as of tonight, looms as a serious threat”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 161.

  “My basic premise… piss him off”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 60.

  “That damn Spencer’s behind this”: Michael K. Deaver, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 66.

  “It was quite awhile… for that one”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 161.

  “But to Spencer’s great satisfaction… Ford won primaries the same day”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 63.

  Edie called the senator from Arizona a “cocksucker”: Colacello, Ronnie & Nancy, 452.

  “a fucking horse’s ass”: Kelley, Nancy Reagan, 237.

  Nancy allowed… “colorful language”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 159.

  “Reagan really had the… whether he had the votes or not”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 63.

  “But that was ’68… distasteful and unfortunate”: Judy Klemesrud, “Wives in ’76 Campaign Find the Going Difficult,” New York Times online, April 12, 1976, https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/12/archives/wives-in-76-campaign-find-the-going-difficult-wives-in-the-76.html.

  “fell apart at the seams”: “The Wives: Contest of the Queens,” Time online, August 30, 1976, http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,918243,00.html.

  more vividly in her memory than any of the four races that Ronnie won: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 150.

  When I first went into politics”… “no money. No money”: Nancy Reagan, interview by Angelo, Time, August 18, 1976, from Time internal files; Republican National Convention; Kemper Arena; Kansas City, Mo.; 1976; Vol. II. portions of this quote appeared in the August 30, 1976, magazine.

  “Honey… I’ve never been prouder of you than I am now”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 163.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “To my surprise, Reagan… nomination from him”: Nofziger, Nofziger, 206.

  “I had never heard the word ballet cross his lips”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 145–46.

  “Individually and in groups… far behind in studying dance”: William F. Buckley Jr., “Thanksgiving at the Buckleys,” National Review online, November 26, 2008, https://www.nationalreview.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-buckleys-william-f-buckley-jr.

  “Frankly, I didn’t particularly like Doria then… Ron would wind up hurt”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 146–47.

  “Dear St. Valentine… ‘Someone’ ”: Nancy Reagan, I Love You, Ronnie, 129–30.

  “I’ve been very lucky.… for the first time”: Reagan Presidential Library, 1980, Presidential Campaign Papers, subseries B: Nancy Reagan Files, correspondence, 1978, A–Z, box 30.

  “everything seemed preordained… fall into place”: Nancy Reagan, I Love You, Ronnie, 128.

  “I don’t think… She was the one who believed in him”: Ed Rollins, telephone interview by author, January 26, 2018.

  “and bought a lot of friends… inevitability about a Reagan candidacy”: Nofziger, Nofziger, 222.

  (Federal Election Commission records… no donations to the Reagan effort): James V. Grimaldi, “Records Show Scant Reagan-Trump Ties,” Wall Street Journal online, September 15, 2015, https://www.wsj.com/articles/records-show-scant-reagan-trump-ties-1442359829.

  fifteen minutes to spare: Jason M. Breslow, “The Frontline Interview: Roger Stone,” Frontline online, last modified September 27, 2016, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-frontline-interview-roger-stone.

  close friends and political allies: Roger Stone, interview by Steve Scully, September 3, 2015, transcript, C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4549847/nancy-reagan-gave-roger-stone-index-cards-reagan-ny-friends-half-people-cards-dead.

  “They boiled down to one thing”… writing his column: Nofziger, Nofziger, 221.

  “under no circumstances… in his 1980 campaign”: Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter, 239.

  “She loved to gossip”… she did send him a book on astrology: Sears, author interview, January 14, 2019.

  “I’d pick them all off… dump the rest”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 91.

  “jump-off-the-cliff-with-the-flag-flying conservative”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 203.

  “Nobody is going to convince me… homosexual rights over parents’ rights”: Associated Press, “Briggs Accuses Foes of Scare Tactics,” Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel online, October 12, 1978, https://www.newspapers.com/image/63190984/?terms=reagan%2Bproposition%2B6%2Bhomosexual.

  “A lot of people she knew in the film business… and so she was very helpful”: Sears, author interview, January 14, 2019.

  “What the hell is going on here?”: Deaver, Behind the Scenes, 86–88.

  “Reagan never spoke warmly to Sears again… he had made a mistake”: Cannon, Governor Reagan, 449.

  “I don’t know… arrogant and aloof”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 172–73.

  “This time… staying until it’s over”: ibid.

  “I know what you’re going to do… going to go out there”: Peter Hannaford, interview, January 10, 2003, Presidential Oral Histories, Ronald Reagan Presidency, Miller Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/peter-hannaford-oral-history.

  “After the debate… badges”: Ronald Reagan, An American Life, loc. 3019 of 12608, Kindle.

  on display in her husband’s presidential library: Molloy recounts all of this here: “NH Primary Vault: Ronald Reagan’s Microphone Moment in 1980,” YouTube, 11:23, WMUR-TV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovnRIGgtxss.

  “When I finally got to bed… over a serious problem”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 173.

  “She reviewe
d for him… ‘Washington mercenaries,’ ” Deaver, Behind the Scenes, 88.

  “The campaign is in chaos… can’t think things through”: Reed, Reagan Enigma, 217.

  “pretty hopeless… join that maelstrom”: ibid., 218.

  just happened to have his phone number handy: Cannon, Governor Reagan,” 464–67; Reed, Reagan Enigma, 132–33.

  “It’s late… get some sleep”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 173–75.

  “we can still be friends”: ibid.

  “She was a very powerful woman… gave the country back its optimism”: Sears, author interview, January 14, 2019.

  CHAPTER TEN

  with “a cool correctness… deserved the change in our relationship”: John McCain with Mark Salter, Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick and the Heroes Who Inspired Him (New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002), 85–86.

  “John had met somebody young… not really a lot I could do about it”: Carol McCain, telephone interview by author, July 30, 2017.

  “It was a power play… no role in a Reagan administration”: Spencer Behind the Podium, 95.

  “wanted to run the White House… attended the funerals”: Nofziger, Nofziger, 242.

  “As George and I stood there… putting the party back together”: Ronald Reagan, An American Life, loc. 3066 of 12608, Kindle.

  “When her husband finally… who always smiles, didn’t”: Michael Kramer, “Inside the Room with George Bush,” New York online, July 28, 1980. https://books.google.com/books?id=0OUCAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=bush&f=false—p12.

  “Her face told it all… consoling her”: Bill Peterson, “The Republicans in Detroit,” Washington Post online, July 18, 1980, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/07/18/the-republicans-in-detroit/fc04f2b9-6fb2-4694-a10e-ecb908f20ab1/?utm_term=.72dd020e7702.

  “all the places… it’s brilliant!”: Mitchell Owens, “Inside John F. Kennedy’s House in Virginia,” Architectural Digest online, January 31, 2015, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/john-jacqueline-kennedy-virginia-house-plans-auction-article.

  a favorite of the Texas governor: Nofziger, Nofziger, 269.

  “Rosalynn Carter would never put words in her husband’s mouth in public”: Mike Feinsilber, Associated Press, “Three Wives: Strengths of Mates Is What the Presidential Candidates Have in Common,” Anniston (AL) Star, September 28, 1980, 11C.

  “She can sit perfectly still… over and over?”: Sally Quinn, “Nancy Reagan on the Road to the Realm,” Washington Post online, May 1, 1980, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/05/01/nancy-reagan-on-the-road-to-the-realm/65de8bc0-ec7f-426d-b18e-b892beee59a4.

  “It’s an old secret… the little touch of the bitch inside”: Julie Baumgold, “Ronald Reagan’s Total Woman,” New York online, July 28, 1980, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/03/read-new-yorks-nancy-reagan-story-from-1980.html.

  “She’s very complicated… easy for people to understand her”: McCain, author interview, July 30, 2017.

  “They just couldn’t identify with you… everything they were rebelling against”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 27.

  “Jim Baker had asked me… She was a great flirt”: George Will, telephone interview by author, March 31, 2017.

  “Ronnie never wears makeup”: Jon Meacham, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush (New York: Random House, 2016), 259.

  “a little color to his cheeks”: Deaver, Behind the Scenes, 98.

  “If you wanted a document to disappear… win a partial victory”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 203.

  “Oh, no, not Ed”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 100–101.

  “I had managed… the other not”: James A. Baker III, with Steve Fiffer, “Work Hard, Study… and Keep Out of Politics!” Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2006), 97.

  “Nobody in the campaign… why Baker was suddenly on the plane”: Spencer, Behind the Podium, 101.

  “Jim Baker is a gentleman… with that kind of person”: Will, author interview, March 31, 2017.

  “She was the one… more than anybody else”: Brian D. Sweany, “The Fixer,” Texas Monthly online, April 2015, https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-fixer.

  “Ronnie, Jim is leaving the plane… What in God’s name have we got going here?”: Richard Allen, interview, May 28, 2002, Presidential Oral Histories, Ronald Reagan Presidency, Miller Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/richard-allen-oral-history-assistant-president-national.

  “Reagan’s personal and political needs… honest broker between Baker and Meese”: Deaver, Behind the Scenes, 126.

  “The real troika, frankly… Nancy, Baker, and Deaver”: Clark, interview, August 17, 2003, Miller Center.

  “I couldn’t vote for my father… as cowardly as you can get”: Patti Davis, The Way I See It, 248.

  they heard the race being called for Ronnie: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 186.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “We want to avoid… get this place working again”: Elisabeth Bumiller, “The Reagans’ Hello Party,” Washington Post, November 19, 1980, E-1.

  “Are you sure this is serious?… I’m a Democrat”: ibid.

  “After four long years… eager to be wooed”: Lynn Rosellini, “Reagan Asks for a First Waltz and Wins Hearts in the Capital,” New York Times online, November 19, 1980, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/11/19/issue.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=LedeAsset®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article.

  “ ‘Just invite them and see’ ”: Colacello, “Ronnie and Nancy Part II,” Vanity Fair, August 1998, 176.

  “a photograph that may upset arch-conservatives”… “you should be unhappy with Ronald Reagan”: Katharine Graham, Personal History (New York: Vintage Books, 1997), 611–12.

  “enormously impressed… no matter how rough the sea gets”: Richard Nixon to Michael Deaver, February 11, 1981, Deaver, Michael K.: Files, Box OA 7618, February 1981, Reagan Presidential Library, www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/dcos/deaver/box-001/40-137-7065105-001-006-2016.pdf.

  “She loves young Ron and cried for days after he got married”: Garry Clifford, “Nancy’s Class Act,” People online, August 5, 1985, https://people.com/archive/nancys-class-act-vol-24-no-6.

  “Mrs. Reagan was sitting there.… before they have the job”: “Roy Stories: Cohn Speaks from Beyond the Grave,” New York, February 22, 1988, 43, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=reUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=%22nancy+reagan%22+william+simon+treasury+secretary&source=bl&ots=wxJvkQJRBk&sig=ACfU3U3ioqg8xZ4F0QcJYIiZdmYJv7EMRw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7q8yEyfPiAhWswFkKHcFpBlU4ChDoATAGegQIBhAB#v=onepage&q=%22nancy%20reagan%22%20william%20simon%20treasury%20secretary&f=false. Vetoing Simon was a fateful move, however, as it paved the way for Merrill Lynch chairman Donald Regan, who became Nancy’s greatest foe, to get the job—and a foothold in Ronnie’s administration. Cohn recounted the story, which he claimed to have heard from Simon.

  Not everyone was so taken with the spectacle: The gala would also be remembered for an unfortunate performance by Broadway star Ben Vereen—an African American—shuffling and singing in blackface.

  “When you’ve got to pay $2,000… that’s ostentatious”: Liz Smith, New York Daily News, January 21, 1981, 12, available at Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/485811520.

  “I think it’s outrageous… eaten up by inflation”: Leslie Bennetts, “With a New First Lady, a New Style,” New York Times online, January 21, 1981, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/21/us/y-reagan-with-a-new-first-lady-a-new-s.html.

  Thirty-two minutes: Morris, Dutch, 781.

  Where Ronnie’s predecessors… looks toward the rest of the country, spreading westward: The decision to move the venue had been made by Congress’s inaugural committee the previous year, t
hough it would often be attributed to Ronnie’s stage managers.

  “My strongest memory… friends all their lives”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 198.

  “It glows… restore harmony”: Morris, Dutch, 418.

  “Dear Jane… Sincerely, Ron”: Ronald Reagan to Jane Wyman, January 27, 1981; letter provided to the author by Dennis Revell.

  “It is generally agreed… everybody is positive are coming”: Reagan Library, Michael Deaver correspondence files, February 1981, Box 7618. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/digitallibrary/smof/dcos/deaver/box-001/40-137-7065105-001-004-2016.pdf].

  “This newspaper is quite sure… along on much less”: United Press International, “Nancy Gets Warning About Dangers of ‘Living Rich,’ ” San Francisco Examiner, March 20, 1981, A-19.

  “It better be fixed now before it becomes even worse”: WHORM subject files: PP005-01: 025433, Reagan Presidential Library.

  “They wanted to set up office space… important to her too”: Fred Fielding, interview by author, Washington, DC, February 7, 2019.

  “She was not in favor of them staying there… get in the way of a smoothly functioning White House”: Baker, author interview, January 4, 2017.

  “Looking back… do things differently if we had it to do over again”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 18.

  “My family comes first… and homey as possible”: “A Chat with Nancy Reagan,” Newsweek, March 9, 1981, 27.

  “a mistake that only added… who kept acquiring more and more expensive items”: Nancy Reagan with Novak, My Turn, 2.

  “Nancy Reagan got so involved… Monsieur Marc”: “Nancy Moves Around Town in Style,” New York Daily News, October 22, 1981, 11.

  The coverage also contrasted… federal support for the one she visited: Ken Auletta, “The Reagan Voluntarism in Search of Volunteers,” New York Daily News, October 25, 1981, 46.

  All of this would pass… until it did: Deaver, Behind the Scenes, 118.