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Stacks of 3x5 note cards filled with ready quips and zingers. Turns out the Gipper had a secret comedic weapon. Buried inside a box of his desk's contents was a stack of index cards, of the president's famous one-liners -- his best jokes, written on both sides. As unassuming as these look, they were political dynamite -- a war chest of jokes.
Many he wrote himself; others he borrowed:. And I do the same thing. The first thing I do is I make a joke about the way I look, the very first thing. Reagan's sunny disposition -- his ability to joke about pretty much anything -- long predated his career in politics, says his daughter, Patti Davis. She says it was a lifelong coping mechanism. I don't wanna feel the unpredictability here.
At home, Davis also saw another side of her father's humor: For instance, though the Iran-Contra affair is mentioned many, many times, you won't be able to piece together what actually happened by reading the diary entries. Perhaps Reagan was not a deep or introspective thinker, or perhaps he just knew that his diaries would become public at some point, and didn't want to get too personal. Here are some of my observations from the diary: He had a modest ego.
Even the "Tear Down This Wall" speech in Berlin in is somewhat downplayed, though he did mention that the speech was warmly received. He had little respect for the press and believed they manipulated situations and chose what news to present; there are quite a few negative comments about Sam Donaldson in particular. He had a contentious relationship with Tip O'Neill. His devotion to Nancy was legendary and he mentioned her absence with longing every time she had to be away from him.
Still, his use of humor was often strategic. Lists with This Book. Charles Clary rated it really liked it Jan 17, We will not see the likes of him again. President Reagan has a diary entry for every day of his eight-year presidency.
He was proud of her work on the "Just Say No" campaign. He hobnobbed with the rich and famous, particularly Hollywood types.
He loved to watch movies, even the oldies but goodies. He didn't care for R rated or smutty movies though. He didn't use swear words. He writes d--n and h--l in his diary, and never a mention of the F word at all. He was sensitive and touched by many of the people that he met with hardships, frequently commenting that he "puddled up".
He made friends with some of the most important global figures of the day - Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Mother Theresa. His main form of recreation was horseback riding and cutting down trees. He was inordinately proud of his physical condition, always reporting that he got a good report from his many physical exams. In Chapter 4 he wrote "I'm so healthy I had a hard time not acting smug. He was photographed thousands of times while in office; "photo op" is probably the most commonly recurring appointment on his calendar He never did learn how to spell Gadaffi leader of Libya ; Quadhafy, Quadafy, Kadhafy, Qaddafi, Quadaffi, Quadafi were some of his attempts.
He made history for 8 years, and strolling through his diary is a great reminder of the world changing events of the 's. On his last night in office he wrote "Tomorrow I stop being President. However, reading his diaries motivates me to look for a biography to fill in where his diary leaves off. I've read Reagan's autobiography and Reagan: The Life, but it all started when I saw a paperback copy of The Reagan Diaries in the bargain bin at a book store.
The Reagan Diaries aren't something you read through from start to finish, but I pick it up often and just read a few pages. When it was time to devise his acceptance address for the Republican National Convention , Reagan designed his speech around three value-laden institutions and two core values: Once Reagan was finished, the nation had a firm grasp of who Reagan was and where he wanted to lead. You can persuade through reason, but you motivate through emotion.
By doing what Ronald Reagan did best: Even during his days as a radio sports announcer and spokesperson for General Electric , Ronald Reagan always loaded his speeches with stories that illustrated his values.
He was never the focal point of the stories. Instead, he told stories that exemplified his values while elevating the importance of others and their contributions. This leadership trait was summarized in the placard on his desk: Reagan believed that sincere emotion was the spark that ignites the fuse of action. Many leaders feel uncomfortable infusing emotion into their communications , but ignoring this element is a mistake. To be sure, leaders can go overboard in their use of emotion by banging the drum of values too forcefully.
The Humor of Ronald Reagan: Quips, Jokes and Anecdotes From the Great Communicator - Kindle edition by Malcolm Kushner. Download it once and read it. "The Humor of Ronald Reagan: Quips, Jokes and Anecdotes From the Great Communicator" combines the wit, warmth and wisdom of one America's most.