0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page i THE REAGAN I KNEW 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page ii Also by William F. Buckley Jr. God and Man at Yale(1951) * High Jinx(1986) McCarthy and His Enemies, Racing through Paradise(1987) co-authoredwith L. Brent Bozell Jr. * Mongoose, R.I.P.(1988) (1954) Keeping the Tablets, co-edited with Up from Liberalism(1959) Charles R. Kesler (1988) The Committee and Its Critics (ed.) On the Firing Line(1989) (1962) Gratitude(1990) Rumbles Left and Right(1963) * Tucker’s Last Stand(1990) The Unmaking of a Mayor(1966) Windfall(1992) The Jeweler’s Eye(1968) In Search of Anti-Semitism(1992) Odyssey of a Friend, by Whittaker Chambers, introduction Happy Days Were Here Again, and notes by WFB (1969) edited by Patricia Bozell (1993) The Governor Listeth(1970) * A Very Private Plot(1994) Did You Ever See a Dream Walking? * The Blackford Oakes Reader (ed.) (1970) (1995) Cruising Speed(1971) * Brothers No More (1995) Inveighing We Will Go(1972) Buckley: The Right Word,edited by Samuel S. Vaughan (1996) Four Reforms (1973) The Lexicon(1996) United Nations Journal(1974) Nearer, My God(1997) Execution Eve(1975) * The Redhunter(1999) * Saving the Queen(1976) Let Us Talk of Many Things(2000) Airborne (1976) * Spytime(2000) * Stained Glass(1978) * Elvis in the Morning(2001) A Hymnal(1978) * Nuremberg(2002) * Who’s on First(1980) * Getting It Right(2003) * Marco Polo, If You Can(1982) The Fall of the Berlin Wall (2004) Atlantic High(1982) Miles Gone By(2004) Overdrive(1983) * Last Call for Blackford Oakes * The Story of Henri Tod(1984) (2005) * See You Later Alligator (1985) * The Rake (2007) * The Temptation of Wilfred Cancel Your Own Goddam Malachey(1985) Subscription (2007) Right Reason, edited by Richard Flying High: Remembering Barry Brookhiser (1985) Goldwater(2008) * FICTION 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page iii The Reagan I Knew WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page iv Copyright © 2008 by the Estate of William F. Buckley Jr. Published by Basic Books A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information and inquiries, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. Designed by Timm Bryson Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buckley, William F. (William Frank), 1925–2008. The Reagan I knew / William F. Buckley, Jr. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-465-00926-8 (alk. paper) 1. Reagan, Ronald. 2. Reagan, Ronald—Friends and associates. 3. Presidents—United States—Biography. 4. Buckley, William F. (William Frank), 1925 2008. I. Title. E877.B83 2008 973.927092—dc22 [B] 2008032557 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page v To my grandchildren, Caitlin Gregg Buckley and William Conor Buckley 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page vi This page intentionally left blank 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page vii CONTENTS Foreword xi Introduction xvii Prologue 1 ONE First Meeting 3 Correspondence, 1965–1966 9 TWO Visiting the Reagans in California 17 THREE Is It Possible to Be a Good Governor? 21 FOUR Capote and the Reagans 27 Correspondence, 1967 33 FIVE Is Reagan Running? 39 - vii- 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page viii CONTENTS Correspondence, 1968–1969 45 SIX Nixon to China 51 Correspondence, 1972–1976 55 SEVEN Reagan vs. Ford 69 EIGHT Schweiker for Veep? 73 NINE Thanksgiving at the Buckleys’ 77 Correspondence, 1976–1977 81 TEN Firing Lineand the Panama Canal 89 Correspondence, 1977 95 ELEVEN Firing Line: The Debate 99 Correspondence, 1978 113 TWELVE Reagan Anticipates His Presidency 115 THIRTEEN National Review’s 25th 127 - viii- 0465009268-Buckley.qxd:0465008360-Buckley.qxd 9/8/08 1:28 PM Page ix CONTENTS FOURTEEN New Beginnings 133 Correspondence, 1980–1981 137 FIFTEEN Stockman and the Budget 147 A Self-Interrogation on the 151 SIXTEEN Size of Government Correspondence, 1981–1985 157 SEVENTEEN National Review’s 30th 177 EIGHTEEN On Nuclear Strategy in Honolulu 185 Correspondence, 1986–1990 191 NINETEEN Final Meeting 219 Correspondence, 1990–2005 227 Coda 239 Appendix: Selected Columns 243 Index 267 - ix-