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Sarah Chai
Author's Bio
Anne Edwards was born on August 20, 1927, in Portchester, New York. She attended UCLA from 1943 to 1946 and Southern Methodist University from 1947 to 1948. Edwards worked as a child performer, a junior writer for MGM in 1944, a freelance film writer in Hollywood from 1950 to 1954, a freelance film and television writer in England and Europe from 1954 to 1972, and, of course, an author of many fictional works and biographies. Edwards is a former president of the Authors Guild and a sought-after speaker. Currently, she and her husband live in Beverly Hills, California.
A Twisted Love Story
"Dearest Mommie Poo...I love you Mommie and I already miss you more and more and mucher than that...I love you Poppa."1 At first glance, this may seem like a sappy love note from a lovesick teenage boy to his equally sappy girlfriend. However, it is not what it seems--this is a love letter from President Ronald Reagan to his wife Nancy Reagan. In Anne Edwards's The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage, Edwards describes the powerful relationship between Ronald and Nancy Reagan and how it encouraged Reagan as he led America from 1981 to 1989.
Edwards's biography begins with Nancy Reagan's search for the perfect husband and her fulfillment in Reagan. Then, Edwards flashes back to Reagan's childhood, gradually moving forward and ending with his death in 2004. In elementary school, Reagan was greatly influenced by his mother Nelle Reagan and her strong Christian beliefs; she taught him to peacefully protest rather than engage in violence. In high school, this value shaped his actions as he successfully led a nonviolent strike on campus to get the school president to resign. This caused him to experience "a new, exhilarating feeling that filled him with a developing sense of power [and] so connected with an audience that he [was] able to sway their emotions into a mass reaction."2 Since that moment, Reagan recognized his charismatic speech-giving abilities and longed for a higher position. Reagan's early jobs included being a radio show host, a sports broadcaster, an actor, and eventually, president of the Screen Actor's Guild. It was through this last job that he met Nancy Davis. On March 4, 1952, Reagan and Nancy married each other in a small ceremony consisting of only five people. The two were very much in love and very happy--Nancy Reagan because she had found a man who lived up to her stepfather's expectations and Reagan because he had found someone to replace his divorced wife Jane Wyman. However, conflict in the family was inevitable; the Reagans' children Patti and Ron experienced conflict with Wyman's children Maureen and Michael, while all four children could not seem to please the strict, harsh Nancy Reagan. Ultimately, Reagan's love for his wife caused him to "remain on her side whatever the cost, and it would be high: their children's emotional well-being."3 His love for her took precedence over his love for his own children.
In 1967, Reagan was elected governor of California--but not without a tough campaign team and the avid encouragement of Nancy Reagan. Although Reagan had been a part of Hollywood during his acting days, there were "many walking wounded actors who...had been betrayed by Reagan" during the McCarthy trials. 4 This Hollywood division represented the larger division between northern and southern California. However, because of his charisma and his wife's encouragement, Reagan won the election. After his term as governor ended, the Reagans bought Rancho del Cielo, which quickly became Reagan's second love. Reagan's joy at the ranch was evident as he "walked in long strides, yards ahead of Nancy, crossing the verdant meadow to the humble house."5 The couple enjoyed horse-back riding, re-building fences and docks, and sitting by the fireplace in their cabin. A few years later, Reagan was asked to run as the Republican presidential candidate for the 1974 election. Reagan lost the election to Gerald Ford; however, he ran again in 1980 and defeated Jimmy Carter to become the 40th president of the United States.
Although Reagan already had some political experience under his belt, his job as president of the United States would entail much more responsibility than his former post as governor of California. He would need to deal with issues he had never dealt with before, such as the nuclear-arms race, population control, and third world problems. Nancy Reagan also had her own problems as First Lady; she "would be constantly in the eye of the press, which would feel compelled to take a stand and explain her to their readers."6 Nancy Reagan knew she would need to present a picture-perfect image of herself not only for her own sake but also for Reagan's, foreshadowing the prevalence of the press in the couple's lives during Reagan's presidency. The Reagans' first negative encounter with the press centered around the many pre-Inauguration parties just before Inauguration Day; they were condemned for the "lavish consumption [during parties] at a time when unemployment was at an almost forty-year high of 7.5 percent."7 In fact, Nancy Reagan's status was "elevated [to] Queen Bee" for her excessive spending and high-class tastes.8 However, Nancy Reagan had a busy schedule trying to give speeches, attend meetings, host luncheons, and support Reagan. Reagan, as well, worked endlessly, and "no one on his staff seems to have ever seen him take a nap during working hours ¨Ceven on long flights."9 His dedication and diligence appealed to Americans. However, the main factor that led to his landslide victory in the presidential election of 1984 was an assassination attempt by a mentally-ill man named John Hinckley. Reagan's true character shined through when he remained optimistic throughout his stay in the hospital.
As Reagan's popularity soared in 1984, Nancy Reagan's plummeted. To enhance her public image, Nancy Reagan's publicists suggested a "Just Say No to Drugs" campaign, which successfully boosted her reputation. Meanwhile, Reagan dealt with other issues. Although the spread of AIDS, the scandalous Iran-Contra affair, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger tainted Reagan's presidency, he effectively solved other problems. Reagan advocated the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, implemented the Strategic Defense Initiative program, and initiated peace talks with Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev. However, within the family, tensions built quickly; Reagan's now-adult children continued to experience conflicts with each other and with Nancy Reagan. In fact, when Nancy Reagan was hospitalized, daughter Patti Reagan learned only through a news report. Patti Reagan's autobiography The Way I See It and stepson Michael Reagan's comments in Redbook magazine depicted Ronald and Nancy Reagan as heartless parents. Nancy Reagan, enraged, was deeply hurt and "saw the children as being more to blame than their parents, who had paid for their care and education."10 Whether the accusations were true or false, they certainly revealed Nancy Reagan's stubbornness and refusal to be wrong. However, to Reagan, Nancy Reagan was an extremely faithful, loving spouse. She proved her loyalty when Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after his presidency ended. Nancy Reagan supported Reagan, making it her job to "maintain for him his dignity, to preserve in the minds of the people of the world an image of him conveying strength and purpose."11 This she did, providing him with love and care until his death on June 5, 2005. Until his death, Reagan and Nancy Reagan shared an inseparable bond; there are no accounts of them ever flirting with others. Through this biography, Edwards not only records their love for each other but also shows how Reagan's relationship with his wife took precedence over everything else in his life.
Edwards presents two sides of Reagan and Nancy Reagan's love story; one side evokes happy sighs from hopeless romantics, while the other reveals a dysfunctional family. She shows that while Reagan and Nancy Reagan truly loved one another, their love blinded them to the needs of their children. Because of Nancy Reagan's hold on her husband, she was able to sway his opinions and control many of his decisions. However, Edwards asserts that Nancy Reagan had a positive influence on her husband; after all, America flourished under his presidency. In essence, Edwards argues, Reagan and Nancy Reagan's love destroyed their family but benefited America. Born in 1927, just 16 years Reagan's junior, Edwards was alive during Reagan's lifetime. During this time, especially during his presidency, the press swarmed around the lives of the First Couple. America was watching the model couple on the television, on the radio, and in the newspapers; Edwards was no exception. She had been exposed to the highly publicized conflicts between Reagan and his children. Furthermore, she read various autobiographies of the Reagans: Ronald Reagan's Where's the Rest of Me?, Nancy Reagan's My Turn and I Love You, Reagan, Maureen Reagan's First Father, First Daughter, Patti Reagan's The Way I See It, and Michael Reagan's On the Outside Looking In. The last two painted unflattering pictures of Reagan and Nancy Reagan, depicting them as child-abusers and heartless parents. However, Nancy Reagan seemed to be the true villain; according to the auto-biographies, while Reagan acted heartlessly out of ignorance, Nancy Reagan did so out of selfishness. Michael Reagan's comments in Redbook magazine also undermined Nancy Reagan's credibility. Because Edwards lived in a time period when the subjects of her books were still alive, it is inevitable that she was influenced by the press and by the common perceptions of them--especially perceptions of Nancy Reagan as a wicked stepmother and a spoiled snob. Her bias is evident in the many times she alludes to "the press, who were already referring to her in the tabloids as Queen Nancy."12 Edwards was also alive during the Iran-Contra scandal and the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic; this may have lowered her opinion of Reagan. She observed his successful peace talks with Gorbachev, his stirring speech after the explosion of the Challenger, and his charismatic attitude during his assassination; these probably appealed to her. Therefore, her biography reveals both these attitudes; she refers to him both as a charismatic, clever leader and an oblivious, weak lover.
In 2003, Publishers Weekly offered a critical review on Edward's book. The magazine praises Edwards for her "engaging yet honest look" at the Reagans' achievements and also "the darker, grimmer side of their life."13 This "grimmer side" refers to the dysfunction of the family due to the couple's exclusive love. The reviewer applauds Edwards's skill in juxtaposing loving and tortuous emotions within a family. Overall, the review looks upon the Reagans in a favorable light--Reagan as a loving man who cared deeply about his wife and Nancy Reagan as a concerned wife who had her husband's best interests at heart.
Booklist's Ilene Cooper offered a less favorable view of Edwards's book. Although Cooper does praise Edwards as a "veteran celebrity biographer" who effectively depicts the Reagans' love, Cooper is convinced that the book teaches very little historically: it "won't deliver much new information to anyone who has read previous books about the Reagans," and contains only general, well-know facts.14 Cooper acknowledges Edwards's "considerable research [and] personal interviews" but wonders why "Edwards curiously avoids making connections."15 Cooper evidently feels that Edwards could have offered more of her own insight in the writing of the biography. All in all, Cooper feels that the book is only "a serviceable job at best."16
Most biographers simply relay the facts of an individual's life without adequately depicting their passions and emotions; however, Edwards creates a love story that captures the hearts of even the most stolid people. Hopeless romantics will find themselves hooked to Reagan and Nancy Reagan's love story. It could so easily be transformed into a movie or a soap opera that it does not seem like a "biography" at all. The fact that this fairy-tale relationship took place in the life of an American president further serves to grab the reader because Reagan is such a famous personality. His family life blatantly opposed the view of a perfect, all-American family, while the scandal appeals to this modern-day society of tabloids and gossip. Edwards uses descriptive language to show emotions. For example, her description of Camp David as being "nestled...in the rolling Catoctin Mountains, a part of the Blue Ridge range, and hidden by thick forests of century-old trees of magnificent variety" reveals Reagan's sense of calm and tranquility at Camp David. 17 Edwards uses a modern style of writing; she seems to be more of a story-teller than a writer and speaks to the reader in everyday, easy-to-understand language. However, Edwards becomes very repetitive. For example, she repeats the fact that Reagan often told his children "You're wrong. Nancy is right," in an effort to keep Nancy Reagan happy and on his side, even when she was the true offender. 18 Edwards also includes multiple references to Nancy Reagan's reputation as a "wicked witch" and a "queen bee" who spent lavishly. Although Edwards's book is enjoyable because it reflects modern movie plots, it seems predictable at times.
Edwards addresses many of Reagan's successes during his presidency, acknowledging his contributions to America. One of Reagan's main successes was the peace talk with Gorbachev, which was "a first between an American president and a Soviet leader that spawned some hope for the future."19 Reagan also contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall, proclaiming in a speech to "open this gate [and] tear down this wall!"20 Because of Reagan, America experienced better relations with Russia and was able to deal with problems with Russia more successfully. Reagan also helped the Republican Party maintain its dignity after President Nixon's Watergate scandal. Months after the scandal took place, Reagan publicly stated that "Nixon had deceived the country and Congress about the Watergate cover-up [but should] not be prosecuted...The punishment of resignation certainly is more than adequate for a crime."21 By acknowledging Nixon's wrongdoing, Reagan showed the American people his clear sense of moral values; by urging no prosecution, he showed his fair sense of judgment. However, Reagan also knew that to slander Nixon would be slandering the Republican Party, and he wanted to be sure the Republican Party had no taint upon its name. Edwards also praises Nancy Reagan, stating numerous times that America owes Nancy Reagan for prodding and pushing Reagan into the great politician he became. Edwards asserts that Nancy Reagan's opinions influenced many of Reagan's decisions and that one could only be in Reagan's favor if he or she was in Nancy Reagan's favor. While Reagan made his own marks in American history, Nancy Reagan did as well; she was, Edwards argues, the first First Lady in 40 years who made such a huge impact on the president of the United States.
Although Reagan certainly impacted America, it is difficult to analyze how large an impression he will leave on America in the future. Of course Edwards would consider his decisions momentous, but that may just be because he was president during her lifetime. It is interesting to wonder whether Reagan will be a George Washington or a Chester Garfield in 50 years, but his contributions lean towards the latter. Every president makes contributions, and Reagan did his part; however, he simply did not have the popularity or the events to make him as memorable as Washington or Lincoln. Furthermore, Nancy Reagan's influence seems to have undermined the significance of his decisions. Even before Reagan was inaugurated, Nancy Reagan showed her "direct influence on White House affairs...when Reagan discussed with her the possible choices for his cabinet"; Reagan only accepted people whom Nancy Reagan trusted and liked. 22 Although Edwards claims that Nancy Reagan merely supported her husband, her large influence on him suggests that she did more than merely support the president.
A love story for all ages, Edwards shows how love can blind even the most famous people and model individuals. Reagan and Nancy Reagan's love caused them to encourage and support one another, but in the process of doing so, they forgot about their own children. In this way, their love became twisted and contorted. Nancy Reagan's love made Reagan a better president by encouraging him--but although Reagan loved his "Mommie Poo," she may have harmed him by exerting too much influence over him.
Endnotes
1. Edwards, Anne. The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2003, 54.
2. Edwards, Anne 29.
3. Edwards, Anne 74.
4. Edwards, Anne 90.
5. Edwards, Anne 128.
6. Edwards, Anne 161.
7. Edwards, Anne 169.
8. Edwards, Anne 187.
9. Edwards, Anne 189.
10. Edwards, Anne 191.
11. Edwards, Anne 358.
12. Edwards, Anne 187.
13. Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc., 2003.
14. Cooper, Ilene. Booklist. America Library Corporation.
15. Cooper, Ilene.
16. Cooper, Ilene.
17. Edwards, Anne 255.
18. Edwards, Anne 73.
19. Edwards, Anne 317.
20. Edwards, Anne 324.
21. Edwards, Anne 127.
22. Edwards, Anne 192.
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