I spent last Saturday morning with my father in Virginia. The occasion was the graduation of my remarkable seventeen year old brother Samuel from home education. Through an unusual twist of providence, I woke that morning thinking about Ronald Reagan. I had heard nothing about the announcement of the potential demise of the president. That morning I turned to my mother and father and asked: “Dad, Mom, President Reagan will not be around much longer, how should we remember him?”

Thus began a glorious conversation filled with rich insights from a man who interacted with President Reagan on several key occasions, who had helped to coordinate the famous 1980 rally in Dallas which inaugurated Reagan’s romance and broad acceptance with the Religious Right (that night Reagan not only denounced evolution, but he declared: “You can’t endorse me, but I endorse you!” and electrified the audience), and who would in the second term of Reagan’s presidential administration raise noteworthy concerns about the direction of the policies of the White House.

That morning Dad gave me the best book on Reagan as a gift. Hours later I got on a plane with my two sons and spent the next five hours devouring the book. When I landed in San Antonio I was stunned to learn of the President’s death. Since then I have been on the phone repeatedly with Dad taking copious notes of Dads recollections of interactions with the President. I hope to share some of these with the readers of Doug’s Blog. Before releasing my tribute to the President (Ronald Reagan and the Meaning of D Day)my father reminded: “Don’t be too hard on him. Honor the President at his death.”

These words are typical of my father and were gratefully received, though easy to execute in the case of this imperfect, but remarkable President.