On the anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth, many memorialize and analyze the different aspects of his life and presidency.
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One of the more important aspects, that may not pass the test of time, is Reagan’s friendship with National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. In 1980, columnist George Will solidified the public’s perception of the their connection with his quip about the rise of conservatism.
“Before there was Ronald Reagan there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry, there was National Review, and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind.”
Before and since Will’s fabled connection, Buckley and Reagan have been intertwined. Their place on the proverbial conservative Mt. Rushmore not withstanding, the two were close friends, and closer confidants.
One of the last things Buckley was working on when he died was a book about his friendship with President Reagan. Buckley’s, “The Reagan I Knew,” was released several months after his death, and memorialized the close professional and private friendship the two men shared. The text explores the deep understanding and respect the two men had for each other, and chronicles their decades long friendship.
Following his death, former First-Lady Nancy Reagan spoke of their friendship.
“Ronnie valued Bill’s counsel throughout his political life and after Ronnie died, Bill and Pat were there for me in so many ways.”
In his 1989 book “On the Firing Line,” Buckley looks back upon this friendship, and the interview’s he conducted with Reagan. While the former California governor had appeared on Firing Line before, his 1980 interview forecast what would come of his presidency. Rather than wax poetic on their friendship or about Reagan’s opposing candidates, Buckley made the unconventional choice to interview Reagan as if he were already in office.
Reagan was unaware of this plan and was surprised when Buckley introduced his intentions for the segment on air. Almost every question was meant to be answered, not in the mindset of a candidate with hopes, but a president with reality and responsibility breathing down his neck. The interview hits upon the talking points of the campaign, while also digging deeper into hypothetical presidential scenarios. One of Buckley’s first questions involves a hypothetical riot in Detroit. If a race riot broke out, and Reagan was president — what would he do?
“Well, I would be inclined to say that that was a problem for the local authorities in Detroit, unless those local authorities were unable to control the situation and had called on the federal government for martial help. And maybe one of the things that’s been happening too much is the federal government has been interfering where they haven’t been invited in,” Reagan told his friend and host.
With one question, Buckley had given his friend the chance to display some of the fundamentals of his campaign and presidency — give me small government. This notion, exhibited in one answer, has tapped into the rallying cry of conservatives for decades.
As we remember the birth of one and continue to mourn the loss of both, let’s make sure that friendships such as this are still possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-UmT-KPh00