Words To Live By: President Reagan's Humor

"Ronald Reagan's sense of humor," wrote presidential biographer Lou Cannon, "was a key to his character…and his willingness to poke fun at himself was a vital component of his popularity."

Since April is National Humor Month, today we are taking a look at how President Reagan used humor to ease a crowd or to make a point and to have fun while doing it.

President Reagan never ceased to poke fun of his own age. He joked he was as old as Moses, that he knew some of our founding fathers, and that every birthday was an anniversary celebration of his 39th birthday. As he once quipped:

"And I know a lot of you have been having some fun with my advancing years. You even tied my recent surgery to my age. Well, I got to be honest with you. I had that same operation when I was young, and it felt so good I wanted to have it done again before I was too old."

In his memoirs, President Reagan wrote that his time in Hollywood, and specifically his time touring the country for General Electric, became an "apprenticeship for someone who'd someday enter public life." But that didn't stop him from poking fun of his Hollywood-side, either. In 1985, at an All-Star tribute, he joked: "You know, when I first started in my present job, I'd sometimes put together in my mind my own dream Cabinet -- you know, John Wayne as Secretary of State -- [laughter] -- Clint Eastwood at Defense -- [laughter] -- Jack Benny as Secretary of Treasury -- [laughter] -- Groucho Marx at Education." [laughter]

While we know that he quipped, kidded, and bantered in nearly every White House meeting, he also used humor to express very fundamental ideas. For example, in the 1980 campaign, when seeking to find the right metaphor to illustrate our nation's current economic crisis, Ronald Reagan himself drafted this line: "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

And the jokes didn't stop on Pennsylvania Avenue. A few weeks after the inauguration, President Reagan delivered remarks at the Annual Salute to Congress. Not a particular fan of this body of government, the newly christened President none-the-less graciously accepted the invitation and, during remarks, joked, "I can define 'middle-aged. That's when you're faced with two temptations and choose the one that'll get you home at 9 o'clock."

"This reminds me of a story" was a famous line President Reagan used in many of his speeches to lead into a joke. He could tie any event into a fun, light-hearted story. During remarks at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in 1983, he said, "You know, on the way over, I remembered something that happened a long time ago when teachers could talk about things like religion in the classroom. And a very lovely teacher was talking to her class of young boys, and she asked, "How many of you would like to go to heaven?" And all the hands instantly shot into the air at once, except one, and she was astounded. And she said, "Charlie, you mean you don't want to go to heaven?" He said, "Sure, I want to go to heaven, but not with that bunch."

Even in the face of adversity, President Reagan was able to use humor to put people at ease.

During the 1981 assassination attempt on his life, with an assassin's bullet just millimeters from his heart, President Reagan used his unique God-given skill to convey calm and assurance to those desperately working to save his life when he looked at his doctors just prior to surgery and joked, "I hope you are all Republicans." And, of course, to his beloved wife, Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck." While recovering post-surgery he even wrote a note to one his nurses, saying, "If I had this much attention in Hollywood, I would have stayed there!"

After recovering both at the hospital and at the White House, Ronald Reagan made his first public address at the 1981 State of the Union. "The society we heard from is made up of millions of compassionate Americans and their children, from college age to kindergarten. As a matter of fact, as evidence of that, I have a letter with me. The letter came from Peter Sweeney. He's in the second grade in the Riverside School in Rockville Centre, and he said, "I hope you get well quick or you might have to make a speech in your pajamas." He added a postscript. "P.S. If you have to make a speech in your pajamas, I warned you."

Reagan could clearly tell a good joke and recount an amusing anecdote. However, more importantly, it showed that he understood the value of restraint and that he could disagree without questioning the character of his political opponents. A lighthearted response had greater impact than a strident or bitter denunciation of an adversary. Ronald Reagan sought and achieved political victories without indulging in the politics of personal destruction. He did not see his rivals as enemies but as components of a free political system in which debate and disagreements are inevitable.

#Laugh #AprilFools #Humor #RonaldReagan