Monday, Aug. 17, 1981
Lights, Camera, Decisive Action
By Hugh Sidey
The allure, and the power, of men of action has been the theme of history from Cicero to Cronkite. That theme is just as intriguing this August, as Ronald Reagan starts his California vacation leaving behind him a capital and a Government still quivering from eight months of his unique residence.
"The great end of life is not knowledge but action," wrote British Philosopher Thomas Huxley. There may not be a better summation of the 40th President, who slights the former but excels in the latter. The Tightness of Reagan and almost everything he has done is yet to be proved. But his presence is established, the force of his person for good or ill is now a fact of Washington life admitted by friend and foe. For him the presidency works remarkably well.
Reagan has broken a deadly spell that gripped the city for years, a condition described well by one bureaucrat as "the endless art of admiring the problems." The entrenched Government had become fearful of action, always alarmed by the thought of alienating supporters and by the possibility of failure. Reagan has so far not been intimidated by these specters. He was clearly not troubled by them last week, when he emerged from the Oval Office, strode grim-faced to the microphones in the Rose Garden and confronted the striking air controllers with an intensity not seen around those premises since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. There was a certain grave exhilaration in the moment for Reagan and his men. Seeking an end to the crisis, yes, but not another negotiation or study. Reagan seemed Trumanesque in his angry simplicity. History will judge his wisdom. But all his energy, and that of his Government, was gathered around him for a single purpose.
Washington is pondering these portents for the next phase of the Reagan presidency. "Reagan is an agent of change," insists Congressman Barber Conable of New York. "But he does not much like tinkering with the moving parts." Indeed, without that hard core of aides and Cabinet officers who surround him, Reagan would be helpless. But he must know that, because the Meeses and Bakers and Deavers and Stockmans and Gergens and Regans and Weinbergers are in place and in tune. The structure and function of this group are the bane of scholars who wrote that such personal Government would not work. It works for Reagan, who in meeting after meeting serves no other purpose than to push his reluctant Government to act.
Reagan's belief in what he is doing is real, and that faith spread to his people, says Counsellor Edwin Meese. Now, says Staff Director David Gergen, that belief has been forged into pride, as the Administration has succeeded with its initiatives. The process has not been smooth or faultless by a long shot. The Communist threat to El Salvador was overstated. The idea of cutting back Social Security benefits was premature and ill-considered. The immigration program consumed five Cabinet meetings with debate and bickering. But even skeptical aides see that Reagan never turned away from his demands for decisions and his insistence on action. When talk sprang up about compromise on budget cuts, he said no. When he was offered an enticing alternative to his tax plan, he redoubled his efforts for the original measure.
History shows that the Churchills, the Roosevelts, the Hitlers and the Stalins made almost as many mistakes as correct decisions in their designs, both good and evil. The call to action swept their people along. The polls show grave doubts among the American people about where Ronald Reagan is taking us. That uncertainty was expressed colorfully by Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker when he described Reaganomics as a "riverboat gamble." But there is an irresistible appeal to fall in behind a man when he promises adventure, even when one may not agree with him. Tennyson said it well. "I myself must mix with action, lest I wither by despair."
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