Reagan Letters Released; Bush Releases Sample Too

Former President may finally shed reputation as a "face guy"

This week saw the release of carefully selected letters written by Ronald Reagan during his tenure as President of the United States. The letters, many of which convey coherent, if not intelligent, thoughts are causing some to reevaluate the former president in a more positive light.

For many, President Reagan has long been considered a leader whose substance never matched up to his charisma. The letters, however, have some of his critics rethinking whether those impressions are accurate.

One letter, for example, written to a poor constituent in Iowa, explained in great detail how the President's economic plan, which involved huge tax breaks for the wealthy, would actually benefit the less fortunate. Reagan explained to the welfare mother, "when rich people are happy, everyone's happy."

The letters also show the compassionate side of conservatism, so often talked about but rarely seen. One such letter written to a family member of one of the 241 soldiers who died in an undermanned peacekeeping effort in Beirut thanked the family for sacrificing their "only begotten son" and concluded by assuring them that their son had "won one for the gipper."

The letters are presented as originally written by President Reagan with certain editorial corrections. Punctuation has been added in some places, and misspelled or misused words have been corrected. It seems the former President was fond of using the words "there," "they're," and "their" interchangeably. In a few cases, subjects or objects have been added to sentences lacking them, and in four cases, entire thoughts were added to "flesh out" what the President Reagan "really meant to say."

The success of the Reagan letters has prompted some in the current Bush White House to consider releasing some of President Bush's own letters. One such letter was recently released to a test group to determine the reaction a broad release of President Bush's musings would receive from the general public.

The letter, signed simply "W," appears to be written with a magic marker and seeks advice from the President's father on the conflict with Iraq and reveals much about the depth of the President's knowledge of international relations. According to one leading handwriting analyst, James McIlhany, President Bush's handwriting style also reveals much about the leader of the free world.

"His choice of what appears to be a black Marks-A-Lot shows decisiveness," said McIlhany, "while the way he makes the 'W' at the end of the letter, with sharp points instead of curves, indicates that he has strong principles."

The mostly positive response from the test group means we will likely see more of President Bush's letters released in the near future.

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