Ronald Reagan as a Historical

Ronald Reagan

As a historical figure, Ronald Reagan epitomizes the heart of leadership; why?

Ronald W. Reagan (1912-2004), has in a relatively short period since the end of his presidency, risen rapidly in the hypothetical ranking of U.S. Presidents and is now invariably penciled in among the greatest U.S. Presidents of all time in most people's book. Not a bad achievement for a former "not so great" Hollywood actor who, at 69, was the oldest person to have been elected as the U.S. President. Given the long list of his accomplishments as the 40th President of the United States, most of them attributable to his undeniable leadership qualities, no one would begrudge him his rightful place at the top. In this essay, I shall explore the question why, as a historical figure, Ronald Reagan epitomizes the heart of leadership.

What constitutes leadership qualities?" is not an easy question to answer, even after being the subject of countless discussions, analyses, books, seminars, and thesis conducted by scholars and lay persons alike. However, certain qualities of mind such as courage, confidence, vision, character, effective communication, and passion seem to have been common characteristics of most outstanding leaders in human history. Ronald Reagan had all of these qualities and more.

Consider courage for a start. The way in which Mr. Reagan behaved after being shot at close range in 1981 and even while having a bullet lodged in his chest inches from his heart amply demonstrated his physical courage. As he lay seriously injured in the hospital, his major concern was to reassure his family and the public that he was okay and throughout his ordeal he never lost his legendary sense of humor either. For example, when his concerned wife, Nancy first saw her wounded husband in the hospital, he reassured her by quipping, "Honey, I forgot to duck!" Just as the surgeons were preparing him for surgery, he still had the presence of mind to ask, tongue firmly in cheek: "I hope you're all Republicans." (Edwards 2004)

For the skeptic who may ask: "What has physical courage got to do with political leadership?" Reagan demonstrated courage in public life as well. He had the courage to swim against the tide when choosing to run with the pack was a far easier option. This was evident even before he held any public office. When Reagan was a Hollywood actor in the fifties and sixties and most of his colleagues were leaning to the left, he chose to become a conservative; and he had the courage of conviction to stick to his position despite the realization that his choice may adversely affect his career. (Noonan, 1998) When he took over as the U.S. President in 1981, the country was faced with a serious economic downturn as well as high inflation. The conventional wisdom at the time called for a tax increase; President Reagan once again refused to swim with the tide and instead pushed for tax cuts. It was not an easy decision to make but he stuck to his guns and within a year he was proved right: the tax reforms ignited an unprecedented period of economic growth and prosperity that continues to date in the United States (Edwards 2004). On the international front too, President Reagan displayed true grit -- a notable characteristic of great leadership. The most remarkable example of this was his brave decision to abandon the long-held U.S. foreign policy of containment and declaring the Soviet Union as an "evil empire." The courageous declaration set a series of events in motion that ultimately led to the collapse of Communism in Europe and the break-up of the Soviet Empire.

Most good leaders are confident and optimistic; extraordinary leaders have the unique ability to transfer their confidence and optimism to those around them. In the late 1970s, before Reagan won the Presidential election in 1980, America was suffering from a severe crisis of confidence. In a post-Vietnam era, the country had plunged into its worst economic chaos since the Great Depression; the interest rates had risen as high as 21%, and inflation had soared to 12.5%; oil shortages and unemployment rates nearing 10% had put a question mark against the viability of American capitalism (Meese 1999). Such was the air of pessimism pervading the Western world at the time that the U.S. President Jimmy Carter said: "the public was gripped by a malaise" (Ibid.) Margaret Thatcher, who remained the British Prime Minister during the entire two presidential terms of Mr. Reagan, recalls that when President Reagan entered the Oval office:

He] saw instinctively that pessimism itself was the disease and that the cure for pessimism is optimism. He set about restoring faith in the prospects of the American dream....infusing his own belief in America's economic future in the American people (Thatcher 2004).

Hence the most telling feature of Reagan's leadership quality was his ability to "infuse" his own boundless optimism in the American people. Just as the other great American President of the 20th century, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had told the people in his inaugural address that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and proceeded to take them out of the Great Depression, Reagan managed to restore his people's confidence and their faith in the American dream -- liberating their boundless energies to work for a better future.

Like other successful leaders, Reagan was a visionary. He had an unflinching belief in the superiority of democracy and capitalism over the totalitarian philosophy of Communism. Very early on in his Presidency, therefore, he had boldly predicted that "the march of freedom and democracy... will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history." (Edwards 2004) Coupled with his grand, long-term vision of the international scene to end the Cold War on a triumphant note, he also had an equally ambitious domestic vision of reducing the intrusiveness of the government and restoring the American concept of individual freedom originally foreseen by the Founding Fathers. Another typical characteristic of a visionary leader is that he does not bother with the nuts and bolts of attaining the goals. Accordingly, Reagan was a master of delegating authority and did not immerse himself in detail as did workaholic presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter before him. He even put a humorous twist on this habit of his by observing: "It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?" (Quoted by Jones, 2004)