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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
The Reagan Legacy
Aired February 06, 2002 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight: a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: "The Reagan Legacy." On his 91st birthday, the former president's popularity continues to grow. And so does his influence -- from the fight against totalitarianism...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are the focus of evil in the modern world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: ... to the fight against terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: From taxes...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: Go ahead, make my day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: To morality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the life of our nation and always have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Did Ronald Reagan set the tone for our times? I will speak live with his former secretary of state, George Shultz, and with Ed Rollins, a top adviser in the Reagan White House, as we look at "The Reagan Legacy."
Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Washington. Welcome to our special report.
Former President Ronald Reagan is today 91 years old, becoming the longest living president in American history. But even as he and his family struggle with his Alzheimer's disease, his legacy continues to grow, especially during this Bush administration.
Ronald Reagan has had a major impact on the political culture of this country and on the way Americans feel about themselves. And in squaring off against the evil empire, he helped to change the course of history.
Joining me now, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, in the political walk of fame, Ronald Reagan leaves huge footprints. Despite two terms of Bill Clinton and two presidents named George Bush, you can argue the Reagan agenda still rules the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Ronald Reagan followed four failed presidents in a row: Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter. People were beginning to wonder: Is America still governable? President Reagan answered that question loud and clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
SCHNEIDER: Don't let anyone tell you that the American spirit has been vanquished. We have seen it triumph too often to stop believing in it now.
REAGAN: Join me in this symbolic act of faith.
SCHNEIDER: Reagan was the inspiration for a whole generation of leaders: George Bush, George W. Bush, John McCain, Reaganites all. Rudy Giuliani and Colin Powell got their start in the Reagan administration.
REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: I can say a lot of members that are serving both in the House and the Senate, if not the president of the United States, owe their positions to Ronald Reagan's legacy.
REAGAN: I, Ronald Reagan, do solemnly swear...
SCHNEIDER: For Republicans, 1980 was the year one. And they still follow the Reagan gospel -- on taxes, for instance.
REAGAN: And I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day.
SCHNEIDER: The word was handed down from father...
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Read my lips, no new taxes.
SCHNEIDER: ... to son.
G.W. BUSH: Not over my dead body will they raise your taxes.
SCHNEIDER: Even Democrats were forced to fall into line.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The era of big government is over.
SCHNEIDER: Reagan brought religious voters into politics, telling a prayer breakfast at the 1984 Republican Convention religion and politics are necessarily related. Religion is now part of the political language for Republicans.
BUSH: I believe in grace because I have seen it and peace because I have felt it and forgiveness because I needed it.
SCHNEIDER: In world affairs, Ronald Reagan took a nation still traumatized by Vietnam and created a new confidence and assertiveness. The U.S. would face down the forces of evil in the Cold War.
REAGAN: To ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply calls the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.
SCHNEIDER: In the Persian Gulf.
G.H.W. BUSH: The world has said this aggression would not stand. And it will not stand.
(APPLAUSE)
SCHNEIDER: And in the struggle against terrorism.
G.W. BUSH: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Reagan could sometimes say harsh and divisive things, but his manner was reassuring. Americans knew he wasn't going to start a war or throw old people out in the snow. Ronald Reagan remains the political model for Republicans. He was the original compassionate conservative.
BLITZER: You know, Bill, earlier today I spoke with Ronald Reagan's son, Michael Reagan. And he suggested that President Bush is more like Ronald Reagan as president than former President Bush, his father, himself.
SCHNEIDER: His father had lot of troubles with conservatives. But you know what? Conservatives have no complaints about this President Bush. He is with them on taxes, on social issues, on the war on terrorism. And Democrats find this President Bush far more threatening than they did Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan would often talk a harsh line, but would compromise.
This President Bush often talks a soft line, bipartisanship and compassion, but his policies are very tough. So Democrats find this President Bush a lot harder to deal with.
BLITZER: OK, Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
And whether it was calling on Mr. Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall," or seeking to counter revolutionaries in Latin America, Ronald Reagan took an active view of this country's role in the world.
Joining me now from San Francisco is his secretary of state, George Shultz, a distinguished public servant who is now a distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us.
Would Ronald Reagan have handled the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks any differently than President Bush has?
GEORGE SHULTZ, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Oh, I think President Bush hit the nail right on the head in the way he approached it.
And Ronald Reagan would have reacted the same way. I think, if Ronald Reagan had been in office for the past five or six years, you would have seen a much more assertive reaction to some of the terrorist acts that we experienced than the ones that we had. And maybe we wouldn't have had 9/11.
BLITZER: Well, why do you say that? Because, as you know, there were several terrorist actions against the United States during the Reagan administration: 1983, for example, the bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters outside Beirut; the Achille Lauro; the TWA hijacking. What leads you to say that he might have reacted differently had he stayed in office?
SHULTZ: Well, we did have a strong reaction when we had incontrovertible proof of Libya's complicity in bombing a disco.
But I think this was a building thing. And there were lots of arguments during that time about how strenuously we should go after terrorism. In the case of the New York and Pentagon attacks, of course we had great clarity. And it was here on our country. And so it was possible to rally people in a different way than it was possible before.
BLITZER: As you well know, Mr. Secretary, there have been plenty of commentators who have made the point that those responsible for the Marine bombing, the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, they have never been held accountable.
SHULTZ: That's because we really couldn't identify them clearly.
But, at the same time, I think it's about time that we are doing the things that we are doing. And I believe that President Bush, in saying repeatedly that this is a war on terrorism and it's going to be a long war. It isn't just about the Taliban or Osama bin Laden. It's a much longer effort. And I believe it's important to persevere, as he gives every indication of doing.
BLITZER: How did Ronald Reagan, during a crisis situation, handle the situation in terms of delegating responsibility? The impression was that he used to delegate extensive responsibility and sort of stay above the fray of divided counsel that he often use to receive.
SHULTZ: Well, he made the key policy decisions. And he left it to the people who were directly involved to carry them out. I remember, for example, when he decided on the operation in Granada, he put that in motion. And then people asked him if he wanted to have constant reports and give guidance and so forth. And he said: "No, I don't. We have military leaders and that's what their profession is. So I have given them the orders and it's up to them to figure out the right tactical way to go about it."
BLITZER: A lot of people have been pointing to President Bush's comment in his State of the Union about an axis of evil, referring to Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and making the comparison to the evil empire.
I remember the 1983 speech in Orlando when President Reagan spoke of an evil empire. Remind our viewers how he came up with that phrase.
SHULTZ: Well, that was in a speech to a religious group, as I remember. And people were talking about moral equivalence of the Soviet Union and the United States. And he was contending with that very vigorously. And he then went on to say, the Soviet Union -- I forget the exact words, but -- were an evil empire. There was a great hue and cry at the time.
And I can remember once my colleague, Paul Nitze, was testifying before a Senate committee. And he was being worked over. "How you can work for a president who would use a phrase like that?" And when the senators got through piling on, Paul said to them, "Senator, have you considered the possibility that the statement might be accurate?" And that sort of ended the discussion.
At the same time here, I hear various people criticizing President Bush for naming Iran, for instance, or other countries. But the fact of the matter is that Iran has been involved in terrorist activities for a long time. So you might as well say so.
BLITZER: And the president today -- President Bush today also cited another comparison, another similarity between his administration and the administration of Ronald Reagan in talking about the increase in defense spending.
I want you to listen to what President Bush said in New York earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) G.W. BUSH: I have submitted a budget that recognizes that Afghanistan is only the first theater on the war against terror. We significantly increase the budget for national defense. After all, it is our No. 1 priority. It is the largest increase since the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose 91st birthday we celebrate today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Is there a similarity right now between the extensive increases in defense spending proposed by President Bush and what Ronald Reagan did during the '80s?
SHULTZ: Well, there is a similarity in the firm recognition that we must start with strength. If you don't have strength, you are not going to get anywhere.
And Ronald Reagan believed very much in strength as part of diplomacy. And I certainly shared that view firmly. Actually, I think the country has been living off of the Reagan buildup almost ever since. And it's long past time that we gave strong attention to our defense capabilities. And, of course, we have the added need now to have a homeland defense.
BLITZER: You mentioned earlier Iran, one of the states that President Bush cited as an axis of evil, Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Iran also, of course, we all remember, played an important role during the tail end of the Reagan administration, the Iran-Contra scandal, the investigations.
Remind our viewers, why did President Reagan decide to sell arms to Iran?
SHULTZ: I believe it was because he was so frustrated and concerned about the American hostages being held in Beirut. And it weighed on him. Here he is, the president of the United States, and here are these Americans being held and tortured, and he couldn't seem to do anything about it.
And, so, when people came to him -- I opposed this all the way through -- but people came to him and said, "Mr. President, if we sell some arms to Iran, that can have an impact on the relationship between the United States and Iran. And, by the way, it will also get our hostages out." That's what got his attention. And so, in a sense, they kind on worked on a point in his character that led him to do something that I thought was unwise.
But, nevertheless, that was the reason. It was an honorable reason, but it wasn't a good idea.
BLITZER: It was the emotional impact of trying to free those American hostages that he finally succumbed to, is that right?
SHULTZ: That's right.
BLITZER: Secretary Shultz, always good to speak with you. Thanks so much. I know you would you like to wish the president a happy birthday on this 91st birthday of his, as do I. And we'll continue this conversation on another occasion.
SHULTZ: With great respect and admiration.
BLITZER: As all of us have.
Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, for joining us.
And when come back, I'll discuss Ronald Reagan's impact on America with Ed Rollins. He was a top adviser during the Reagan years.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN: You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: That was president Reagan 38 years ago in 1964 speaking on behalf of the then Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
Welcome back to our special report: "The Reagan Legacy." He cut taxes and he cut the size the government, while building up the nation's spirits.
Joining me now from New York to discuss Ronald Reagan's impact is the Republican political strategist Ed Rollins. He was director of political affairs during the Reagan White House.
Ed, thanks for joining us.
As you take a look back on Ronald Reagan's legacy, what stands out most in your mind?
ED ROLLINS, FORMER REAGAN ADVISER: Well, he made the presidency work again, as you said in your preliminary part of the show.
We had four presidencies that were either voted out of office or driven from office. And the country wasn't quite sure that any man could do the job. He came into office when our military was demoralized. We had staggering tax rates. Our economy was on the verge of a deep recession, which we went in in 1982.
And yet he passed the biggest defense buildup of that time, because we were at a very serious point where we had soldiers and sailors on welfare. We had ships that couldn't sail and planes that couldn't fly. He cut taxes. He reset the priorities of the government. And he really had a very active first two years, in particular, when he didn't control the Senate. We had the Senate, but, obviously, the Democrats had large margins in the House. And he was able to put a coalition together to pass his legislation.
BLITZER: You know, a lot of people have made the point that his style was almost like a love affair with the American public, going out to the ranch, addressing the American public, sometimes casually, sometimes formally. Is there a pattern there? Has President Bush, the current President Bush, gone to the Reagan playbook, if you will, to try to emulate some of that?
ROLLINS: I think both men were comfortable in their own skin. And I think President Bush is much younger. But I think he sort of feels he has a place in destiny now. He didn't ask for September 11, but if this was put on his watch, he certainly is going to move forward.
I think President Reagan always felt -- he didn't spend his life as many politicians that I have worked with, always wanting to be president or always wanting to be governor. He just -- sort of it happened. And, obviously, he ran for the office, but he sort of felt that it was a place of destiny and that he was going to do as good a job as he could for the American public.
He was never worried about his image. He was never worried about his history -- quite the contrary. He was someone that said: "Listen, we came here to do a job. I so deeply believe in the American public" -- he so believed in the wealth that this nation had in its people that I think that's what connected. He wanted to inspire them. And he clearly did.
BLITZER: When I spoke the other day with the Peggy Noonan, the speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, she said that one of his great strengths was in his earlier career. He was an actor and he could use those skills so effectively as president. How did that translate with you?
ROLLINS: Well, he certainly -- I think he had -- he had an ability to write his own speeches. Peggy was one of five or six speechwriters, and a very good one, but Ronald Reagan himself knew what he wanted to say.
Long before he became president, he used to write most of his own stuff. And he would always edit his own stuff and made it better. He had a great sense of what connected with people. He had a great sense of the body politic. He wasn't a political president, in the sense that he didn't look at polls. He didn't know who the state chairmen were of states, although he treated them like they were his best friends. But he always knew where the body politic was.
He watched television. He read magazines. He always had a sense of where the country was. He used to always have me put a little group together when we would travel around the country. And it would be nurses and teachers and what have you. And it wasn't publicized. These people would come in -- and they were real people -- and he would ask them about their lives and what was going on.
And then, when he would get in the Cabinet Room and someone would say something about health care, he would say, "Well, last week I was talking to a nurse and she said this," or "I was talking to a teacher." He always wanted to stay in touch. And I think, more important than his acting days were probably his General Electric days, where he traveled the country, visited plants of General Electric when he was a spokesperson, and had this connection with people. And he could relate their concerns and obviously communicate what they felt in their heart and soul so effectively.
BLITZER: Before I let you go, today marks the 50th anniversary of the ascension to the throne of Queen Elizabeth. He had a special relationship with the queen, indeed with Britain, with England, didn't he?
ROLLINS: A great relationship and certainly a great ally, as they are today. And he and Margaret Thatcher, both on the world stage at the same time, made a very, very significant difference. I think it's a different place today because of his leadership and certainly hers.
BLITZER: OK, Ed Rollins, thank you for remembering. Thanks for reflecting on the Reagan legacy with us.
ROLLINS: Thank you.
Happy birthday, Mr. President. And Mrs. Reagan, you are in our prayers with our love.
BLITZER: Thank you. I am sure that -- I hope that at least Nancy Reagan is watching right now.
Thank you very much, Ed Rollins.
And, at 91 years old, Ronald Reagan is the longest living U.S. president. He does suffer, though, from Alzheimer's disease and no longer appears in public. A short time ago, I spoke with his son Michael and asked him about what makes up a typical day for the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: It's just not a good day. Some days are better. He sleeps a long time. He has nurses and people up there able to help Nancy get through the day. But it's not a day where he goes out and plays golf. It's a day where every day gets a little shorter for him. And every day the world gets a little smaller for him. And he is 91 years old. So he is also having to handle that at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And, remember, I want to hear from you. Please go to my Web page at CNN.com/Wolf. Click on the designation for comments to me and my producers. And we will read them and try to answer as many of them as we possibly can.
And when we come back: England celebrates an important day for the queen. And as we check the top stories, we'll check out that as well.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Topping today's "News Alert": U.S. officials tell CNN an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the CIA recently fired a Hellfire missile at a group of people in Afghanistan. Officials say the group is believed to have included a prominent al Qaeda leader. There is no identification of the man by U.S. officials, but they say he was being protected by a large number of people. It's believed the man was killed in the attack.
A federal judge rejected a motion today to release John Walker Lindh on bond. In court, prosecutors called Walker Lindh a committed terrorist trained by other al Qaeda leaders. The defense attorney complained about remarks that the attorney general, John Ashcroft, has made about Walker Lindh, saying they could hurt efforts to get a fair trial.
The 50 years of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on the throne were recognized today with a 62-gun solute. Today, the queen visited cancer patients at a hospital near her royal estate in Norfolk. Elizabeth II became queen in 1952 at the age of 25 when her father, King George VI, died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, 1952)
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I declare before you all that, my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family, to which we all belong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And this note: CNN's Richard Quest looks at the life and times of the queen "LIVE FROM BUCKINGHAM PALACE" tonight, 8:00 Eastern. That's at the top of the hour.
And that's all the time we have tonight. Please join me again tomorrow twice at both 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
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