RONALD REAGAN… THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP

RONALD REAGAN…

THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP

by

Bryan Alan Baumgart

Presented to the Faculty of

The College of Professional Studies

In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

For the Degree of Master of Arts in Leadership

Bellevue University

January 25, 2013

Submitted to: Scott Roth

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 2

Abstract

Leadership styles and traits serve as assets and liabilities to leaders throughout

history. President Ronald Reagan presided over many developments during his

presidency, three of which include tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics,

the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. This thesis paper examines

just how President Reagan developed his personal leadership styles and traits and

how they served as the catalyst for his success and failures during these three

major developments.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION 5

Introduction to the Project 5

Thesis Statement 5

Subject Overview 6

Project Description 11

Nature of the Project 11

Scope of the Project 12

Goals/Purpose of the Project 12

Significance of the Project 12

Plan for Chapter 2: Literature Review 13

Research Questions 13

Definition of Terms 14

Assumptions 14

Limitations 14

Summary 15

II. LITERATURE REVIEW 16

Introduction 16

Summary 34

III. METHODOLOGY 35

Introduction 35

Description of Methodology 35

Sample and Population 38

Internal and External Validity 40


Reliability 42

Researcher Bias 43

Data Collection 44

Data Analysis 45

Pilot Testing 46

Summary 48

IV. DATA ANALYSIS 50

Introduction 50

Summary 71

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, & RECOMMENDATIONS 73

Introduction 73

Summary 73

Conclusions 73

Recommendations 74

Final Summary 74

REFERENCES 75


CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the Project

This is a study of President Ronald Reagan’s leadership style and traits,

how he developed them, and how they influenced three major developments

during his presidency. The three major developments addressed in this study

include tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and

the end of the Cold War. Important to this study are the major events in Reagan’s

life that led to the development of his specific leadership styles and traits that he

employed during his presidency. Reagan’s success and failures in regard to these

three major developments were influenced by his hands-off yet transformational

leadership style.

Reagan was not only a man of vision, but a man who could effectively

communicate that vision to everyone. He successfully painted a picture of

America as “the shining city upon a hill”, an example of exceptionalism for other

countries seeking liberty and freedom. He brought hope to America in a time of

economic struggle and fears stoked by a war of ideals and nuclear armament.

Reagan brought Americans together and motivated them to support his vision,

including a Congress in which his own party did not control.

Thesis Statement

An analysis of President Ronald Reagan’s leadership traits and style

illustrate their correlation to Reagan’s life events and to the outcomes of three

major developments during his presidency: tax and spending cuts known as

Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War.


Subject Overview

Ronald Reagan possessed personal traits that shaped his leadership style

during his presidency. He was a great communicator with strong interpersonal

skills, negotiating skills, and the ability to motivate others. He also possessed a

core set of values that he held to steadfastly and used to drive his vision, to which

he expected subordinates to adhere. Reagan was also very private and avoided

conflict whenever possible. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.) These traits led to a

transformational, yet highly hands off approach to leadership in which Reagan

would develop a vision, delegate tasks, and motivate subordinates, yet trust them

to follow through with his vision. According to a study by Jim Riley, Professor of

Political Science at Regis University in Denver, Colorado:

Reagan favored delegating responsibilities, protecting his personal time, and avoiding

staff dissension. Reagan evinced little interest in the day-to-day tasks of the presidency

and was more than willing to let his staff manage White House operations.

On the other hand, Reagan's own beliefs clearly guided his policy agenda, and he was

renowned for his communication skills, particularly his ability to simplify complex

political debates. Reagan may not have composed the detailed script of his

administration, but his values and his premises, no matter how vaguely articulated, were

at the core of its policies. (Jim Riley, n.d.)

Where did these traits come from? The son of an alcoholic father, Reagan

grew up viewing his father’s alcoholism as a disease. As with many children of

alcoholics, Reagan developed personal traits including a sunny disposition, but

discomfort with conflict, distance in personal relationships, and a tendency to put

a rosy gloss on harsh realities. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

From high school through college Reagan participated in drama and after

college signed a contract with Warner Brothers, performing in fifty-three films.


Reagan eventually served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, leading it in

collective bargaining negotiations. Reagan underwent a political conversion from

liberalism to conservatism when his acting career began to wind down and he

accepted a job as a public spokesman for the General Electric Company. (Fred

Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

Reagan most admired President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his

communication abilities, particularly his ability to reach the public and uplift them

in trying times. Reagan honed his communication and bargaining skills as an

actor and union leader. As far as emotional qualities, Reagan's leadership

suffered from a discomfort with face-to-face disagreement that limited his ability

to profit from vigorous debate with his advisers; however, he showed no sign of

closed-minded passions. Despite having been the son of an alcoholic, Reagan

projected a sense of self-assurance and was confident in his own perceptions,

feeling free to ignore his conservative base when he felt it furthered his vision.

Reagan's convictions provided a beacon for his administration and others in the

political community. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

What exactly did President Reagan do or possess that led to success in his

presidency? He possessed great character and succeeded in painting a vision that

he effectively communicated to his followers. Reagan led by example and

motivated followers by creating a participatory culture rather than

micromanaging. He adhered closely to his core values but maintained an open

mind to different interpretations, views, and possibilities. He managed his ego,

admitted mistakes, and changed course when necessary. He used humor

effectively, maintained a sense of servant ship, and led a balanced life. (Francios

Basili, 2004) The traits mentioned above are necessary to effective leadership


according to various texts on leadership including books by John Wooden, Ken

Blanchard, Michael Useem, Daniel Goleman, and Peter Norhouse.

Specific actions undertaken by Reagan through his leadership include his

1981 Economic Recovery Act and his Tax Reform Act in which he reduced taxes,

simplified the tax code, deregulated industry, tightened the money supply, and

reduced spending (with the exception of defense spending). The cuts in tax and

spending along with deregulation became known as Reaganomics and succeeded

in an economic recovery which included cutting rising inflation and

unemployment. (Roberts, 2011, n.p.)

How did Reagan’s leadership play a role in this accomplishment? Reagan

himself was crucial for his program's success. He was a masterful public

enunciator of his program. He even turned the March 1981 attempt on his life to

political advantage, marking the end of his convalescence with a stirring defense

of his legislative proposals before a joint session of Congress. He was also

consistently prepared to make his communication skills available for tactical

purposes, winning the votes of swing legislators by stimulating voters to contact

them before key roll calls. The upshot of such efforts was the passage of the pair

of measures that reduced the next year's domestic spending by $35.2 billion,

while slashing taxes by 25 percent over the next three years. Whatever their

substantive merits, Reagan's 1981 economic enactments were a political

accomplishment of the highest order. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

To deal with the spread of communism Reagan dramatically increased

defense spending while moving away from an ineffective policy of communist

containment authored by American diplomat, George Kennan. Reagan instead


employed a policy of checking and reversing the spread of communism through

active support of non-communist governments while undermining and supporting

the overthrow of communist governments. This policy became known as the

Reagan Doctrine and eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and along with

it, communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR and the end of the Cold War.

(Roberts, 2011, n.p.)

According to a speech delivered by Andrew Roberts at Hillsdale College

(2011):

Reagan believed that low taxes, a minimal state, a reduction in bureaucratic regulation,

and a commitment to free market economics would lead to a dramatic expansion of the

American economy. This would enable America to pay for a defense build-up so large

that the Soviets would have to declare surrender in the Cold War. That surrender began

on September 12, 1989, when a non-Communist government took office in Poland.

Within two months, on the night of November 9, the people of East and West Berlin tore

down the wall that had separated them for over a quarter of a century. Beneath his folksy

charm and anecdotes was a steely will and a determination to re-establish the moral

superiority of democracy over totalitarianism, of the individual over the state, of freedom

of speech over censorship, of faith over government-mandated atheism, and of free

enterprise over the command economy. As the leader of the free world, he saw it as his

responsibility to defend, extend, and above all proselytize for democracy and human

dignity. The Reagan Doctrine, by contrast, marked a turn away from the doctrine of

containment, adhered to by every president since Harry Truman. Reagan bravely declared

that communism’s global march would not merely be checked but reversed. Under the

Reagan Doctrine, non-Communist governments would be supported actively, and

Communist governments, wherever they were not firmly established, would be

undermined and if possible overthrown. (Andrew Roberts, 2011)

How did Reagan’s leadership play a role in this accomplishment? Reagan

played a critical part in the dramatic improvement in relations between the United


States and the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1989. Spurred by an abhorrence of

nuclear weapons that was not widely known at the time, Reagan concluded that it

would be possible for the United States to find a modus vivendi with Gorbachev's

Soviet Union. His efforts were advanced by his ingratiating manner and skill as a

negotiator. They also were furthered by his confidence in his own views, which

were unshaken by the insistence of many of his aides that the Soviet Union had

not changed its spots. Reagan's conciliatory policies toward the Soviet Union

enabled Gorbachev to forge ahead in his domestic and international initiatives. If

Reagan had stuck to his hard-line policies in 1985 and 1986," Gorbachev would

have been accused by the rest of the Politburo of giving everything away to a

fellow who does not want to negotiate. We would have been forced to tighten our

belts and spend even more on defense." (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

One of the most infamous developments during Reagan’s presidency is the

Iran-contra affair of 1986, in which it was discovered that two top officials in the

administration (Vice Admiral John Poindexter, one of Reagan’s six national

security advisers and Lt. Colonel Oliver North, staff member for the National

Security Council) had been engaged in the covert sale of arms to the revolutionary

regime of Iran in hopes of persuading Iran to intervene with a group of Islamic

militants who were holding a number of Americans hostage in Lebanon. It also

emerged that North and Poindexter had secretly diverted the profits from the arms

sales and used them to provide aid to the guerrillas who were seeking to

overthrow the left-leaning government of Nicaragua. In so doing they ignored

legislation barring the nation's intelligence agencies from aiding the Central

American rebels. They also contravened two major policies of the president they

served, violating the precept that one never negotiates with terrorists and abetting


a regime the Reagan administration was seeking to isolate. The Iran-contra

revelations broke in November 1986. At that point, Reagan was very popular--his

approval level had exceeded 60 percent in the previous fifteen successive Gallup

soundings. The following month, it plunged to 47 percent, remaining in that

anemic range for most of the next year. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.)

How did Reagan’s leadership style play a role in the scandal? Reagan’s

hands off approach and inattention to particulars left him at the mercy of his

subordinates. When it came to the inner workings of his presidency, Reagan was

the antithesis of a hands-on leader. Reagan's openness to delegation was a source

of weakness, as well as strength. His practice was to make decisions on the basis

of the options his aides presented to him, neither questioning the choices given to

them nor seeking to shape them. When those aides were competent and

responsible, matters tended to go well. But when they were deficient, the results

could be disastrous. In the instance of the Iran-contra scandal, Reagan allowed

his Treasury Secretary, Donald Regan to swap places with his Chief of Staff,

James Baker. Donald Regan was an ex-marine, a hard-driving former CEO of

Merrill Lynch, and a practitioner of top-down management. He restructured the

White House along hierarchical lines, putting himself in charge of all matters

relating to the president. In focusing on the top of the White House pyramid,

however, Regan was insufficiently attentive its base. (Fred Greenstein, 2000,

n.p.)

Project Description

Nature of the Project

This case study focuses on the leadership traits and styles of President

Ronald Reagan, how he developed his personal leadership traits and styles, and


the impact they had on three major developments during his presidency: tax and

spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the

Cold War. The information involved in this case study will be collected from

credible sources that provide insight into Reagan’s early years, the development

of his leadership traits and styles employed by Reagan during his presidency, and

the effect those leadership traits and styles had on three major developments

during his presidency.

Scope of the Project

This case study examines the background of President Ronald Reagan

from his childhood through his Presidency. The study will examine the events

that led to the development of Reagan’s personal leadership traits and

characteristics that he employed throughout his Presidency and the effect that

those personal leadership traits and characteristics had on three major

developments during his presidency: tax and spending cuts known as


Goals/Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this study is to define how President Ronald Reagan’s

personal leadership traits and styles affected the outcome of three major events

during his presidency: tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-

contra affair, and the end of the Cold War.

Significance of the Project

President Ronald Reagan is widely viewed as one of the most effective

presidents and leaders in United States history. He was underestimated, yet his

accomplishments during his presidency were superlative. President Reagan will

also be remembered for failures during his presidency. This case study examines

Reagan’s personal leadership traits and styles, how they were developed, and the


effect, both positive and negative, they had on significant events during his

presidency. To date, no such study has been conducted in regard to the

development and effect of Reagan’s personal leadership traits and style on these

major developments during his presidency.

Plan for Chapter 2: Literature Review

The literature review for this case study targets a variety of primary and

secondary sources of various tenors, including bibliographical and historical

references on President Reagan’s childhood and events that helped develop his

personal leadership traits and style. The study will also target political and

historical references on the leadership traits and styles employed by Reagan

during his presidency and the effects they had on three major developments


contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. This case study explores relevant

information from books, periodicals and websites.

Research Questions

The research questions to be addressed in this study are:

1. What are the significant events in Reagan’s childhood that led to the

development of his personal leadership traits and styles?

2. What are the significant events throughout Reagan’s life that shaped

his personal values and beliefs?

3. What are the personal leadership traits exemplified by Reagan during

his presidency?

4. What are the leadership styles employed by Reagan during his

presidency?

5. How did those leadership traits and styles affect the following three


major developments during Reagan’s presidency: tax and spending

cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the

Cold War?

Definition of Terms

Laffer Curve. Invented by Arthur Laffer, this curve shows the relationship

between tax rates and tax revenue collected by governments; suggesting that, as

taxes increase from low levels, tax revenue collected by the government also

increases. It also shows that tax rates increasing after a certain point would cause

people not to work as hard or not at all, thereby reducing tax revenue.

(Investopedia, 2003).

Modus vivendi. A Latin phrase meaning, “a working arrangement between

conflicting interests or a practical compromise. (thefreedictionary.com, 2003)

Assumptions

In conducting this case study on the personal leadership traits and styles of

President Ronald Reagan and the effect those leadership traits and styles had on

the following three major developments during his presidency: tax and spending

cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War,

the assumption is that no such study has been conducted to the effect of Reagan’s

personal leadership traits and styles on these major developments during his

presidency. The information collected for this case study will be analyzed and

reviewed in order to conclude what led to the development of the Reagan’s

personal leadership traits and styles and how those leadership traits and styles

affected three of the major developments during his presidency.

Limitations

This case study was narrowed in scope to one United States President and

three major developments during his presidency. This case study utilizes credible


sources which will provide documented evidence of Reagan’s leadership traits

and styles, and expert opinions and observations on how those leadership traits

and styles affected three of the major developments during his presidency: tax and


Cold War. Lastly, this study was limited to public documentation and published

information, therefore any and all highly secured and confidential information

which could be significant for this type of research will be absent.

Summary

President Ronald Reagan is one of the most effective and accomplished

presidents and leaders in United States history. This case study examines

Reagan’s personal leadership traits and style, how they were developed, and the

effect, both positive and negative, that they had on three major developments


contra affair, and the end of the Cold War.


CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This Literature Review examines the life and presidency of President

Ronald Reagan, his leadership style and traits, how he developed them, and how

they influenced three major developments during his presidency. The three major

developments addressed in this study include tax and spending cuts known as

Reaganomics, the Iran-Contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. The Literature

Review also examines the major events in Reagan’s life that led to the

development of his specific leadership styles and traits that he employed during

his presidency. Reagan’s success and failures with regard to these three major

developments were influenced by his hands-off yet transformational leadership

style.

Reagan’s Leadership Traits and Style

Francios Basili, President of Communication Ideas refers to Reagan as a

cheerful and invigorating presence. Basili points to Reagan’s eulogy provided by

Lady Margaret Thatcher, “He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to

restore the strength of the free world and to free the slaves of Communism.”

(Basili, 2004, n.p.).

Basili believes Reagan exhibited leadership traits such as strong character,

providing a great vision, possessing exceptional communication skills and the

ability to clearly communicate his vision to motivate followers. He also believed

Reagan was an eternal optimist and his actions were consistent with his vision. He

did what he said he would. Reagan wasn’t one for micromanaging, favoring a

participatory culture instead. Basili also believed Reagan was very open-minded


but stuck to his core values. He could admit mistakes, change his course of action

and move on. He also had a good sense of humor and possessed humility and a

servant attitude. He was respectful of others regardless of rank, title, position or

any other social status, and he led a balanced life and maintained his priorities

(Basili, 2004, n.p.).

Robert E. Gilbert, author of an article titled, “Ronald Reagan's Presidency:

The Impact of an Alcoholic Parent” from the October 2008 issue of Political

Psychology points to several other aspects of Reagan's behavior as an adult that

can be attributed to his unhappy relationship with his father and to his having

grown up in the household of an alcoholic:

“Ronald had difficulty in establishing relationships, delegated a major portion of his

responsibilities to subordinates, was staunchly and unreasonably loyal to them, lived

occasionally in a world of unreality, chose to marry women with compulsive

personalities, and constantly sought approval and affirmation. In these respects, his

behavior was typical of other adult children of alcoholics (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).”

Fred Greenstein, author of The Presidential Difference: Leadership Styles

from FDR to Clinton writes in agreement:

Reagan emerged from childhood with a sunny disposition as well as a number of traits

that are common in children of alcoholics, including discomfort with conflict, distance in

personal relationships, and a tendency to put a rosy gloss on harsh realities. Perhaps

because of the attraction of fantasy to those who have had painful formative experiences,

Reagan developed an early ambition for the arts which played a large role in his future

(Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.).

The Early Years & Effects of an Alcoholic Father

In a 2011 article published by the Miller Center, a nonpartisan institute

that seeks to expand understanding of the presidency, policy, and political history


reveals that Ronald had a difficult childhood, faced with the struggles of growing

up the son of an alcoholic father and being uprooted frequently through his early

years, he looked to his mother for strength and she role-modeled the values that

would become a part of Ronald’s character (“Miller Center,” 2011, n.p.).

In his article, Gilbert writes on the impact Ronald’s father’s alcoholism

played in the development of Ronald’s personality and the effects it played

throughout his life:

As president of the United States, Ronald Reagan clearly demonstrated these marks of

growing up in an alcoholic home. He was aloof and distant, was often a disengaged

leader, showed inordinate loyalty to associates even when such loyalty became

problematic, was prone to live in a world of make-believe, married compulsive women,

and craved approval and applause. Each of these behavioral characteristics was part of

the psychological legacy left to this president by his long-dead alcoholic father. Some of

them damaged his presidency greatly; others, however, may well have assisted it (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765).

Ronald viewed his father as a weak man. He could not help but notice that

while Jack stressed that every individual must stand on his own two feet, he

himself was often unable to stand at all. And when the politically liberal Jack told

his sons that all men are created equal, and that it is man's own ambition that

determines what happens to him for the rest of his life, young Ronald could not

help but realize that by his own teaching, his father was branding himself a failure

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Jack’s alcoholism wasn’t the only cause for a strained relationship with his

father and difficulty during his childhood. Other than being an alcoholic, Jack’s

religion was another cause of struggle for Ronald. Jack Reagan was a Roman


Catholic, but Catholicism was uncommon in the heavily Protestant section of

Illinois where the Reagans lived. Ronald claimed to have engaged in fistfights

over his father's religion (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Gilbert points out that though Ronald’s father Jack played mostly a

negative role in Reagan’s childhood, he did manage to instill the importance of

tolerance and compassion. Ronald Reagan remembered his father as being

fiercely opposed to racial and religious intolerance (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

The Impact of Ronald’s Mother on His Development

The support of his mother was critical in the development of Ronald’s

leadership traits exhibited during his presidency. Through the support of his

mother, Ronald likely was able to avoid many of the negative developmental

impacts that befall children of alcoholics. He excelled with communication and

verbal skills and was able to avoid depression. He exhibited confidence and a

love for structure. (Fred Greenstein, 2000, n.p.).

Gilbert points out that Nelle played a positive role in Ronald’s life. She

was the stabilizing force in the family who held it together in difficult times.

Ronald viewed his mother as wise, and his feelings toward her were clearly

positive (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Reagan's daughter agreed that “with her

kindness, generosity of spirit, energy and good works, Nelle had a greater

influence on him than Jack” (Reagan, 1990, p. 65).

It’s no surprise that Ronald embraced his mother Nelle as he did.

According to At Health Inc., a leading provider of mental health information and

services for mental health practitioners and those they serve, “Children who cope

effectively with alcoholism in their families often rely on support from a

nonalcoholic parent, grandparent, teacher, or other caring adult.” (“athealth.com,”


2009, n.p.). Gilbert echoes those findings in his article when he revealed that

Nelle would often explain to Ronald that his father suffered from a disease. She

reduced the impact of Jack’s alcoholism on their sons by providing sympathetic

explanations for his behavior so they wouldn’t view their father with contempt

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Reagan admitted such in his book stating, “I always

loved and always managed to maintain my respect for Jack, mostly I think

because Nelle tried so hard to make it clear he had a sickness that he couldn't help

and she constantly reminded us of how good he was to us when he wasn't

drinking” (Reagan, 1990, p. 34).

Ronald developed a love for acting and attention from his mother which

eventually led him to seek public office. She regularly put on morality plays that

conveyed the tenets of her faith and Ronald frequently played a role in them

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). When he was applauded for one of his performances,

Ronald relished the experience, writing that “for a kid suffering childhood pangs

of insecurity, the applause was music” (Reagan, 1990, p. 35).

Thanks to his mother, religion played an important part in Ronald’s life.

Nelle baptized Ronald into the Disciples of Christ Church in 1922. She was never

shy to assert her religious beliefs, in fact one of her grandchildren described her as

a “fiery Bible thumper (Gilbert, 2008, p.737-765). According to Gilbert, Ronald’s

relationship with his alcoholic father and his religious and compassionate mother

had a lasting effect, contending that Ronald career path and ideals were ultimately

formed by his childhood experiences:

For the rest of his life, Reagan sought career paths that would satisfy this craving for

attention and applause that was planted in him by both parents, his mother through

morality plays, his father through alcoholism (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).


The Transformation of Reagan’s Politics

Though initially Ronald leaned to the left in political philosophy, in

middle age he moved rapidly toward the right side of the political spectrum and

toward the Republican Party. Robert E. Gilbert states this transformation was due

to multiple reasons, including the political climate of the times which made

Reagan “suspect” because of his past affiliation with left-wing causes, his interest

in moving to the top of the Screen Actors Guild which would not have been

possible then if he was seen as a left-winger, his interest in identifying with

powerful figures in his environment, his antipathy toward government policies

that affected him negatively, and family pressures (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

The family pressures included his brother and his father-in-law, who frequently

argued with him and tried to persuade him to share their conservative beliefs

(Johnson, 1991, p. 63).

Historian Robert Dallek believes Ronald’s political and philosophical

transformation began with the death of his father in 1941. It began a process of

liberation and reorientation for him. Within a decade of that event, he was voting

Republican and, in 1962, formally switched parties. Becoming a staunch

conservative and breaking decisively with his father, he argued that government

could not solve problems because government itself is part of the problem, and

that people resent and suffer from dependency, even when that dependency is on

the government itself. He claimed that earlier in life, as a lifeguard for several

summers, he had begun to realize that the drowning swimmers he rescued felt

insulted by his having to save them because they had lost their sense of

independence and self-dignity. This confirmed his conviction that “any kind of


dependency or loss of self-possession leaves people feeling angry, demoralized

and foolish” (Dallek, 1984, p. 17).

Reagan’s love for the limelight led him to avoid political positions that

would make him one of many (such as legislator) and instead to seek out those

(governor, president) that would make him the center of attention and affection,

first in California, then in the country at large (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Iran-Contra Affair

The leadership style and the traits mentioned above were developed by

Reagan over the course of this childhood. They contributed in a large way to one

of the largest scandals to rock his presidency, the Iran-Contra Affair. Sarah

Lovering opines in her essay, “President Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair, A

Lesson in Leadership Failures” that Reagan’s leadership contained weaknesses in

the areas of organization and use of his staff, in his over-delegation of decision

making authority, and in his ability to fully grasp broad policy contexts, which

ultimately led to the events that constituted the Iran-Contra Affair (Lovering,

Spring, 2002, p. 65).

Reagan was not sufficiently interacting with or providing guidance to his

staff, they were not held accountable or admonished for failing to adhere to

established processes or their assigned roles. Consequently, White House senior

staff members developed a strong sense of independence and informality, and the

negative effects on the process of policy formulation and review namely, a lack of

rigorous deliberation and weighing of all the alternatives began to show

(Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 62).


The Iran-Contra Affair became a shining example of how Reagan’s

inattention to the largely independently-operating staff led to the staff’s disregard

for ethical and legal standards. He did not interact with these talented individuals

enough or inject sufficient structure into their activities to ensure that they carried

out his policy agenda ethically and in a manner of which he approved. Greater

interaction with his staff would have provided Reagan with opportunities to

communicate his values and expectations and to ensure that his staff accepted

those as their own in the performance of their work (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p.

62).

Lovering also notes that the problem of unethical and illegal behavior

arose as staff members’ roles began to blur. Reagan’s lack of interaction and

guidance of his staff resulted in some staff members stepping outside of their

prescribed roles to perform tasks that were inappropriate for their status or

function, and sometimes even illegal (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 62). A prime

example is that of Oliver North, a mid-level staff member who was instructed to

come up with ways to maintain Contra funding in order to keep them alive. North

did so by developing a complex, illegal network of third-country donations and

proceeds from arms sales to Iran until Congress eventually approved a $100

million Contra aid package on October 17, 1986 (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 62).

Other leadership deficiencies include Reagan’s inattention to the

importance of defined roles and activities within the White House. He allowed

the National Security Council to operate covertly with no system of accountability

or oversight. Covert activities place a great strain on the decision making process

because information is withheld to limit knowledge to a minimum number of

people. If Reagan had insisted upon transparent policy development and review,


and individual accountability, it would have been apparent from the outset that the

NSC could not support covert activities ethically and legally (Lovering, Spring,

2002, p. 63).

Lovering believed Reagan also exhibited poor management of his staff by

delegating away much of his own authority and responsibilities to others; the

authority he was elected to use. For example, he often made decisions solely on

the basis of the options his aides presented to him (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 63).

He typically did not question the choices he was given or seek to provide his aides

with some initial guidance in developing those policy options. To be fair, Reagan

had strong general convictions that allowed his administration to set overall

priorities, such as his emphasis on the buildup of defense programs and his

economic program. But when it came to discussing the means to achieving those

ends, Reagan relied too heavily on his staff; consequently his staff was neither

equipped nor appropriately managed to make the most effective and proper policy

decisions. This often resulted in Reagan making final decisions too readily and

promptly, without having been able to consider all the important factors of a

decision (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 63).

Lovering also believed Reagan’s legal and policy transgressions were

more a by-product of a cognitive limitation on his part rather than an absolute

moral failing. He believed a better conceptual understanding of broad policy

problems and solutions would have helped him appreciate the reasons why the

United States did not negotiate or make deals with terrorists and thus respect the

current policies instead of contradicting them out of extreme emotional concern

for the hostages (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 65).

Lovering suggests that Reagan’s own actions contributed to his limited

understanding of broad policy contexts. His heavy reliance on the White House


staff to concern themselves with the details of policymaking left him terribly

uninformed. Reagan’s conceptual limitations cannot merely be written off as

effects of personality traits or natural cognitive abilities given that part of

his limitations were the direct result of the way he organized his staff. They

ultimately resulted in the gross negligence and poor decision making that led to

the events of the Iran-Contra Affair (Lovering, Spring, 2002, p. 65).

Concurring with Lovering is the independent, non-partisan, non-profit

organization known as ProCon.org. They state that Reagan's hands-off leadership

style manifested into an inability to control his administration from potentially

illegal activities such as the "Iran-Contra" scandal (ProCon.org, 2012, n.p.).

Michael Deaver, one of Reagan’s most important aides during his first term,

understated the issue when he commented that Reagan “never pretended to be a

great administrator” and that as both governor and president, Reagan tended to be

distracted and disengaged. He was described as “a most affable and passive

president” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). More perceptively, Chief of Staff Donald

Regan aptly described Reagan's loose administrative style as “dangerous” and

Martin Anderson, another White House aide, compared it to “a loaded pistol,

without a safety” (Regan, 1988, p. 292).

James Pfiffner of George Mason University reveals in his presentation,

“The Paradox of President Reagan’s Leadership” that President Reagan’s

leadership style of setting broad directions and leaving the implementation of

policies to his subordinates that worked so effectively during his first term

backfired on him during the Iran-Contra Affair. “Without conflicting

perspectives among his cabinet, narrower views prevailed. The Iran-Contra Affair


demonstrated the downside of Reagan’s detached leadership style.” (Pfiffner,

2011, p.l1).

Pfiffner points out the Iran-Contra Affair demonstrated that Reagan was

willing to abandon his own principle of not negotiating with terrorists, reverse his

own administration’s policy, and even break the law. It also illustrates Reagan’s

ability to stick with his own vision of reality in the face of facts to the contrary.

The diversion of funds to the Contras resulted from Reagan’s conviction that the

Contras were “freedom fighters” who were helping to protect the United States

from the leftist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Reagan’s unwillingness to

oversee the means his subordinates used to achieve his ends led to the diversion of

funds from the arms sales to Iran to aid the Contras when it was forbidden by law.

Pfiffner quotes Lou Cannon, in his authoritative book on the Reagan Presidency,

“Reagan had both the courage and the ignorance to ignore the collective wisdom

of his experts and follow his own counsel.” (Pfiffner, 2011, p.12).

Larry Speakes, the president's press secretary, commented that Reagan

“sets the policy and just assumes he has competent people to carry it out”

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Such an assumption was unwise for a president, and

it cost Reagan dearly during the worst crisis of his presidency…the Iran-Contra

scandal. Not surprisingly, the Tower Commission, appointed by Reagan in

December 1986 to investigate Iran-Contra, found the President to be a “remote”

figure in his Administration and that he and his top advisers were responsible for

the “chaos” that descended on the White House in the Iran arms deal. More

specifically, the Commission faulted Reagan for operating in a management style

“that placed an especially heavy responsibility on key advisors yet, it said, the

president did not insist they be held accountable for their actions”. Congressional


investigators also criticized Reagan's administrative style, holding him fully

responsible for what had transpired on his watch and offering the simple but

devastating commentary that “if the president did not know what his national

security advisers were doing, he should have” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Adriana Bosch, author of the Reagan biography, Reagan – An American

Story wrote on Reagan's disgust with his drunken father and, “How as a child of

an alcoholic, he learned to shut out the unpleasant -- the explanation, perhaps, to

why he denied for so long that he traded arms to Iran for hostages” (Bosch, 2000,

p. 14).

His mother had described his father's alcoholism as an illness. Alcoholism

had made his father into a weakling. To Ronald Reagan, therefore, illness was a

form of weakness, and he would not easily succumb to it or even admit its

existence (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Throughout his life, including his

presidency, Reagan was appalled by weakness, even denying the Iran-Contra

Affair long after his administration had been implicated (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-

765).

End of Cold War

Edward Meese, Attorney General under Ronald Reagan describes how

Reagan led the United States to victory in the Cold War. He believed Reagan’s

success was due to several factors including Reagan’s work to rebuild our

defenses by increasing the technological ability of our armed forces,

implementing a strategy dealing with the Soviets on the basis of morality, and his

commitment to not only restrain Soviet aggression but to roll back previous

aggression throughout the world. Meese credits Reagan with inaugurating a


“whole new way of looking at ballistic missiles and nuclear war”, by developing a

strategic defense initiative to “repudiate the doctrine of mutually assured

destruction” and promote mutual agreements to begin dismantling nuclear

arsenals. Meese states, “At the end of the 1980s more nations in the world were

free than in any other time in history.” (Meese, 1999, n.p.). Meese states that

when Reagan took office, not only had our armed forces deteriorated but so had

America’s leadership status in the world. He points out that by the end of his

presidency, Reagan used his leadership to rebuild our military capability and

restore our position of world leadership (Meese, 1999, n.p.).

Former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani concurred with Meese. Stating in

a 2009 New York Daily News editorial, “The Cold War was won by Reagan’s

unyielding style.” (Giuliani, 2009, n.p.). Giuliani agreed with Meese stating that

the general perception in America was that democracy and capitalism were

morally equivalent to socialism and that co-existence was inevitable. He stated

that Soviet leaders were “flush with confidence” while the West was

“dangerously close to losing its will.” (Giuliani, 2009, n.p.).

Giuliani states that Reagan understood that any existential struggle comes

down to two things: “the capacity to fight and the will to keep fighting.” (Giuliani,

2009, n.p.). To win the Cold War, the West had to rediscover its confidence. It

had to be galvanized around not just the idea of freedom, but the principle that

every person in the world has a right to be free (Giuliani, 2009, n.p.).

Giuliani continues:

Reagan understood this truth and made it his purpose to communicate it to the world.

Where others equivocated, Reagan was direct and unyielding, calling the Soviet Union

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 29 the Evil Empire and standing at the Brandenburg Gate and demanding, "Mr. Gorbachev,

tear down this wall!"

Reagan understood the necessity of negotiating from strength and the critical importance

of leverage. In contrast to much of today's diplomatic posturing, Reagan backed his

words with action. Reagan knew a strong national defense was essential to deterring

Soviet ambitions.

"History teaches," Reagan told the nation, "that wars begin when governments believe the

price of aggression is cheap." He convinced the nation it was time to rebuild.

Giuliani called Reagan’s handling of the Cold War his greatest

achievement, and the one that surely made him one of the great Presidents of this

century. He credits Reagan with liberating from slavery - millions of people

outside of the United States, and helping to produce a world that is safer for

Americans and for everyone else, as well (Giuliani, 2009, n.p.).

ProCon.org states that Reagan’s character, namely his charm, geniality,

and ability to connect with average citizens as well as world leaders made his

success possible. This leadership trait earned Reagan the nickname "The Great

Communicator." Through his speeches and actions, Reagan restored the

confidence of the American public in the office of the president (ProConl.org,

2012, n.p.).

In his presentation “The Paradox of President Reagan’s Leadership”

James Pfiffner states that it was Reagan’s moralistic approach to the Soviet Union

(a good versus evil mentality) that helped gain support for expansion of the

military. However, it was Reagan’s willingness to work with Soviet President

Gorbachev that resulted in a successful conclusion to the Cold War. The Soviet

Union was ultimately brought down by its own internal contradictions, but the

timing and lack of bloodshed was made possible by Ronald Reagan and his


relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev. Thus Ronald Reagan’s greatest contribution

to world peace came not through military confrontation but through his personal

aversion to nuclear war and his personal relationship with Gorbachev. Reagan

was an ideological anti-communist, and he always remained one. But his

ideology, unlike that of his conservative critics, was tempered by his ability to see

in Gorbachev a different type of communist, one who shared his own fear of

nuclear war and with whom he could find common ground (Pfiffner, 2011, p.15).

Reaganomics

Not everyone viewed Reagan’s hands-off leadership style as a handicap.

Murray Weidenbaum served as an Economic Advisor under President Reagan. In

a 2006 issue of Directors and Boards Magazine, Weidenbaum described the traits

that made Reagan’s management style so effective. Murray states Reagan was

successful because he set clear and attainable objectives, he chose subordinates

who shared his views and outlook, and he gave his people lots of leeway and

operating authority (Weidenbaum, 2006, n.p.).

Meese also describes how Reagan led the United States out of the

economic chaos that gripped the country. When he took office, Reagan inherited

the worst economy since the Great Depression. The crisis included a stagnant

economy with high interest rates, inflation, and unemployment. Reagan led the

country back to economic vitality through a four-point program now referred to as

“Reaganomics”. The program reduced tax rates by 25% across the board over the

course of three years, cut federal regulations in half, slowed the growth of federal

spending, and implemented a stable monetary policy to curb inflation. The result

of all of this was the longest period of peacetime economic growth in history

(Meese, 1999, n.p.).


Meese noted an important aspect of Reagan’s presidency was his faith in

the good conscience and the good motives of the people themselves. He

challenged people as individuals, and as citizens to take more responsibility for

their own lives so there would be less for the government to have to do. Reagan

felt that government handouts only alleviated problems for a short period of time,

but that getting people to work provided a human touch which would help solve

problems in the long run and get people out of their position of dependency and

back into a position of constructive citizenship (Meese, 1999, n.p.).

When Ronald Reagan became president, he had a clear vision of what the

nation should be and spelled out the direction he hoped it would take during his

administration. Reagan had a clear social, economic, and foreign policy agenda,

and with political guile and personal persuasiveness he was able to achieve many

of his goals. Early in his presidency, Reagan remarked: "What I'd really like to do

is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves

again." (The Reagan Presidency, n.d., n.p.).

Former US Senator Phil Gramm explains how Reagan managed to work

up support for his economic program, in a 2011 speech to Hillsdale College.

Gramm explains that there were a couple of major impediments to the economic

success of Reagan’s program:

First, the Federal Reserve Bank clamped down on the money supply in 1981 and 1982, in

an effort to break the back of inflation, and subsequently the economy slipped into the

steepest recession of the post-World War II period. Second, Soviet communism was on

the march, the U.S. was in retreat around the world, and President Reagan was

determined to rebuild our national defense as part of a program of peace through strength

(Gramm, 2011, n.p.).


All of these factors worked strongly against Reagan in the battle to revive

the American economy. Nor was it a foregone conclusion that his program would

get through Congress. It was a tough program that represented a dramatic change

in public policy. For example, it eliminated three Social Security benefits in one

day: the adult student benefit, the minimum benefit, and the death benefit

(Gramm, 2011, n.p.).

With his great skill in communicating ideas, Reagan pushed his program

through Congress. He explained his ideas well, and in terms people could

understand. And despite Fed policies and large expenditures for national defense,

his program succeeded (Gramm, 2011, n.p.). Reagan understood that what makes

Americans who we are is a historically unprecedented level of freedom and

responsibility. The real danger is not merely a loss of prosperity, but a loss of the

kind of character on which prosperity is based (Gramm, 2011, n.p.).

Reaganomics was a powerful element and new to the economic debate. It

was the idea that tax rates affect a person’s incentive to work, save and invest. To

put it simply: lower tax rates create more economic energy, which generates more

economic activity, which produces a greater flow of revenue to the government.

This idea, which came to be known as the Laffer Curve, was met with media and

public skepticism. But in the end, it passed the critical test for any public policy. It

worked (Gramm, 2011, n.p.).

Historian Andrew Roberts stated in another speech to Hillsdale College

that what made Reagan’s success possible was his morale courage:

The defining feature of Ronald Reagan was his moral courage. It takes tremendous moral

courage to resist the overwhelming tide of received opinion and so-called expert wisdom

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 33 and to say and do exactly the opposite. It could not have been pleasant for Reagan to be

denounced as an ignorant cowboy, an extremist, a warmonger, a fascist, or worse by

people who thought themselves intellectually superior to him. Yet Reagan responded to

those brickbats with the cheery resolve that characterized not only the man, but his entire

career (Roberts, 2011, n.p.).

According to Roberts, Reagan was accused of being mad, bad, and

dangerous. He was written off as stupid, provocative, and oafish by the Western

media. It suited his purposes to be underestimated by his opponents though. It

worked to his advantage. What helped to make Reagan great was that he couldn’t

care less what his critics thought of him. He knew the image of the swaggering

cowboy was very far removed from reality, but if his opponents chose to be

mesmerized by it, all the better for him (Roberts, 2011, n.p.).

Reagan genuinely believed, as the 1984 campaign slogan put it, that it was

“Morning in America.” His confidence in the country and its abilities spread to

the American people and to the markets led to his success. After all, strong,

confident leadership is infectious. There can be a virtuous cycle in economics, just

as there can be a vicious one. Reagan’s Economic Recovery Act and his Tax

Reform Act were the twin pillars of America’s renaissance in the 1980s (Roberts,

2011, n.p.). “Reagan’s great virtue,” said his former Secretary of State George

Shultz, “was that he did not accept that extensive political opposition doomed an

attractive idea. He would fight resolutely for an idea, believing that if it was valid,

he could persuade the American people to support it” (Roberts, 2011, n.p.).

Reagan believed that low taxes, a minimal state, a reduction in

bureaucratic regulation, and a commitment to free market economics would lead

to a dramatic expansion of the American economy. As the leader of the free


world, he saw it as his responsibility to defend, extend, and above all proselytize

for democracy and human dignity. Reagan understood successful leadership as

described its very essence as as the ability to, ‘grasp and hold a vision’ (Roberts,

2011, n.p.).

Summary

Reagan’s childhood experiences played a role in the development of his

leadership traits and style. Not surprisingly, he developed traits and a leadership

style common to children of alcoholic parents which led to the outcome of one of

the biggest failures of his presidency, the Iran-Contra Affair. During the Iran-

Contra Affair, Reagan’s hands-off leadership style led him to over-delegate

responsibilities and make decisions based solely on the opinions of his aides. He

was not able to hold his subordinates accountable, acted on his emotions, failed to

seek conflicting perspectives, and demonstrated an inability to face reality.

Reagan was able to avoid some of the negative traits common to children

of alcoholic parents due to the support of his mother Nelle. Reagan’s mother

helped mold and encourage the leadership traits that eventually led to the positive

outcomes of the Cold War and the economic crisis that Reagan inherited when he

assumed the presidency. Reagan demonstrated a commitment to morality and an

ability to effectively hold and communicate a vision. He used his character and

charm to win over support and keep followers motivated. Reagan backed his

words with action and persevered in the face of adversity and opposition. These

traits led America to victory in the Cold War and helped frame his economic plan

known as Reaganomics which led the country out of the abysmal economic

conditions he inherited.


CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This is a study of President Ronald Reagan’s leadership style and traits,

how he developed them, and how they influenced three major developments

during his presidency. The three major developments addressed in this study

include tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and

the end of the Cold War. Important to this study are the major events in Reagan’s

life that led to the development of his specific leadership traits and style that he

employed during his presidency. Reagan’s success and failures in regard to these

three major developments were influenced by his hands-off yet transformational

leadership style.

The qualitative research will include studies pertaining to the influence of

childhood and life experiences on the development of personal leadership traits

and style. It will also include accounts of Reagan’s own childhood and life

experiences and the role those experiences played in the development of his

personal leadership traits and style. Finally, it will include the outcomes of the

three major developments during Reagan’s presidency mentioned above, and the

role that his personal leadership traits and style played in each.

Description of Methodology

There are three methods of research that exist to employ when conducting

a study including: qualitative research, quantitative research, and a mixture of

these two methods known as mixed-methods research.

Qualitative research approaches data collection, analysis, interpretation,

and report writing through purposeful sampling, collection of open-ended data,


analysis of text or pictures, representation of information in figures and tables,

and personal interpretation of the findings (Creswell, 2009, p. xxiv). It takes

place in the natural setting, relies on the researcher as the instrument for data

collection, employs multiple methods of data collection, is inductive, is based on

participant’s meanings, is emergent, often involves the use of a theoretical lens, is

interpretive, and is holistic (Creswell, 2009, p. 201). Qualitative research also

seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of its topic through the analysis of unstructured

information rather than relying on statistics or numbers. It is used to gain insight

into people's attitudes, behaviors, value systems, concerns, motivations,

aspirations, culture or lifestyles (Ereaut, 2011, n.p.). Qualitative research is a

study of things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret

phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin and Lincoln,

1994, p. 2). It is a deeply personal experience, and researchers’ passion for their

subject shines through (Neergaard, H. and Ulhoi, J. P. 2007, p. 15).

Quantitative research involves the process of collecting, analyzing,

interpreting, and writing the results of a study. Specific methods exist in both

survey and experimental research that relate to the identifying a sample and

population, specifying the strategy of inquiry, collecting and analyzing data,

presenting the results, making an interpretation, and writing the research in a

manner consistent with a survey or experimental study (Creswell, 2009, p.xxiv).

Quantitative research is in simplistic terms, the study of a collection of numerical

data rather than text or pictures (Donna M. Mertens, 2010, p. 3). It is explaining

phenomena by collecting numerical data that is analyzed using mathematically

based methods (Muijs, 2004. P. 1). It is only useful to the extent that it answers

theoretical and/or practical questions (Wolvin, A. 2010, p. 2).


Mixed-methods research employs aspects of both quantitative methods

and qualitative procedures (Creswell, 2009, p.xxiv). There is more insight to be

gained from the combination of both qualitative and quantitative research than

either form by itself. Their combination use provides an expanded understanding

(Creswell, 2009, p. 203). Mixed-methods research is the type of research in

which the researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and

quantitative research approaches for the purpose of breadth of understanding or

corroboration (Teddlie, C. and Tashakkori, A. 2009, p. 32). It involves the

collection or analysis of both quantitative and/or qualitative data in a single study

in which the data is collected concurrently or sequentially, is given a priority and

involve the integration of the data at one or more stages in the process of research

(Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. 2003, p. 212)

The research method which will be utilized for this study is mixed-

methods for the purpose of gaining more breadth, insight and an expanded

understanding (Creswell, 2009, p. 203) of how President Reagan’s childhood and

life experiences helped shape his personal leadership traits and style, and how that

leadership style effected three major developments during his presidency: tax and


Cold War.

The information and data collected will be focused in the areas of

Reagan’s childhood through his presidency. Once collected, this information will

be compared and contrasted in order to evaluate the effect Reagan’s childhood

and life experiences played in the development of his personal leadership traits

and style, and the role of his leadership style in the outcome of the three major

developments of his presidency mentioned above.


Sample and Population

In statistics, the term population represents a group that one wishes to

generalize research to. Populations are often defined in terms of demography,

geography, etc. (Children's Mercy, 2008, n.p.).

The term population refers to an entire collection of items to be studied

that share at least one measurable feature, while the term sample refers to a set of

items to study drawn from a single population that accurately represents that

population. While all samples are a piece of a population, caution must be taken

to ensure that when drawing random samples from a population, it is done in a

manner which guarantees an equal probability of each item being selected from

the population (Creswell, 2009, p. 148). This also involves ensuring that items

are replaced into the population before withdrawing another item for the sample

(Hoffman, 2004, n.p.)

When looking at data, it is important to clearly identify the population

being studied or referred to, so that one can understand who or what are included

in the data. An example of a population studied by the Australian Bureau of

Statistics includes a study of Australian farming data. For the purpose of the

study, it was necessary to understand whether the population the data refers to is

all farms in Australia, just farms that grow crops, those that only have livestock,

or some other type of farm (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, n.p.).

A sample is a subset of units in a population. It is a portion of the

population that has been selected to represent all units in the population of

interest. Information from the sampled units is used to estimate the characteristics

for the entire population of interest. A sample must be robust in its design and


large enough to provide a reliable representation of the whole population

(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, n.p.).

Sampling can be random or non-random. A lottery draw is a good

example of simple random sampling where the numbers are randomly generated

from a defined range of numbers with each number having an equal chance of

being selected (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012, n.p.).

An example of a study in which a sample is taken from a population

comes from the University of Glasgow’s Department of Statistics. The population

for a study of infant health might be all children born in the UK in the 1980's. The

sample might be all babies born on May 7th in any of the years during the 1980’s

(Easton & McColl, n.d., n.p.).

Another example includes a study by the Department of Agriculture. The

department wishes to investigate the use of pesticides by farmers in England. A

sample could be taken by identifying the different counties in England. A sample

of these counties would then be chosen at random, so all farmers in those counties

selected would be included in the sample (Easton & McColl, n.d., n.p.).

In this study of the leadership style and traits of President Ronald Reagan

and the role they played in his presidency, a sample of three events including tax

and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of

the Cold War are taken from the population of all major events that occurred

during Reagan’s presidency. In order to determine what role Reagan’s childhood

and life experiences played in the development of his personal leadership traits

and style, a sample of experiences including the childhood experience of growing

up in a home with an alcoholic father, and his life experiences during time spent


employed in Hollywood and with General Electric are taken from the vast life

experiences of Ronald Reagan pre-presidency.

For the purpose of this study, the samples taken from the population are

nonprobability samples as a matter of convenience and in order to assure that the

most important and relevant events are included in the study (Creswell, 2009, p.

148).

Internal and External Validity

In quantitative research, validity refers to whether one can draw

meaningful and useful inferences from scores on particular instruments. In

qualitative research, validity refers to whether one can draw meaningful and

useful inferences from their findings using procedures such as member checking

or triangulating data sources in order to demonstrate accuracy of findings

(Creswell, 2009, p. 232). Establishing the validity of the scores in a survey helps

to identify whether an instrument might be a good one to use in research

(Creswell, 2009, p. 149).

Validity refers to truthfulness. Does the test measure what it purports to

measure? It refers to the extent to which certain inferences can be made from test

scores or other measurements (Mehrens and Lehman, 1987, n.p.). Validity also

refers to the degree to which test scores accomplish the purpose for which they

are being used (Worthen, Borg, and White, 1993, p. 213).

Internal validity refers both to how well a study was run (research design,

operational definitions used, how variables were measured, what was/wasn't

measured, etc.), and how confidently one can conclude that the observed effect(s)

were produced solely by the independent variable and not extraneous ones. In

experimental research, internal validity answers the question, "Was it really the


treatment that caused the difference between the subjects in the control and

experimental groups?" In descriptive studies, internal validity refers only to the

accuracy/quality of the study (“Internal and external”, n.d., n.p.). Internal validity

refers to conclusions that can be drawn based on the study itself and is not

generalized outside the study to larger populations. External validity represents

the extent to which a study's results can be generalized or applied to other people

or settings (“Internal and external”, n.d., n.p.) External validity involves applying

conclusions drawn from a specific study to populations outside of the study itself.

Experimental procedures, treatments, or experiences of the participants

that threaten the researcher’s ability to draw correct inferences from data about

the population in an experiment are known as internal validity threats (Creswell,

2009, p. 230). External validity threats occur when experimenters draw incorrect

inferences from the sample data to other persons, other settings, and past or future

situations (Creswell, 2009, p. 229).

Three forms of validity include: content validity, predictive or concurrent

validity, and construct validity. Content validity concerns whether the items

measure the content they were intended to measure, while predictive or

concurrent validity concerns whether scores predict a criterion measure and

whether results correlate with other results. Lastly, construct validity concerns

whether items measure hypothetical constructs or concepts (Creswell, 2009, p.

149).

In this study, the internal and external validity are threatened by outside

factors. These factors include any influences other than President Reagan’s

leadership styles affecting the outcome of the three major developments that

occurred during his presidency, including tax and spending cuts known as


Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. In order to

reduce these threats, the study will triangulate data by cross examining various

sources. The study will also employ the use of rich, thick descriptions to convey

the findings and will present negative or discrepant information that runs counter

to the themes if such data is found. Other strategies to reduce the threats on

validity will include continuous peer debriefing to enhance accuracy and an

external auditor to review the entire project in order to provide an objective

assessment of the project at the conclusion of the study (Creswell, 2009, p. 191 -

192).

Reliability

Reliability refers to whether scores to items on an instrument are internally

consistent, stable over time, and whether there was consistency in test

administration and scoring (Creswell, 2009, p. 233). Reliability also refers to the

degree of consistency between two measures of the same thing (Mehrens and

Lehman, 1987, n.p.). Reliability is the measure of how stable, dependable,

trustworthy, and consistent a test is in measuring the same thing each time

(Worthen, Borg, and White, 1993, n.p.).

In qualitative research, bias affects the validity and reliability of findings

because it distorts truth. It slants and skews data. It is important to recognize bias

and reduce it, or at least be aware of it (“Focus group tips,” 2009, n.p.).

Reliability is affected by bias because it skews information presented in a study to

assist in drawing a particular desired conclusion.

For this study, reliability will be illustrated through data pointing to

consistent outcomes of the three major developments during President Reagan’s

presidency, including tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-


contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. Reliability in this study will be

addressed by employing data from various random sources. Transcripts will be

checked to make sure that they do not contain obvious mistakes made during

transcription (Creswell, 2009, p. 190, n.p.).

Researcher Bias

Researcher bias refers to the degree of objectivity of the researcher

in both gathering and interpreting data. Response bias refers to the effect of

nonresponses on survey estimates. If nonrespondents had responded, their

responses would have substantially changed the overall results (Creswell, 2009, p.

233). Bias can be unknown or unacknowledged errors created during the design,

measurement, sampling, procedure, or choice of the problem studied (Research

Bias, n.d., n.p.) Bias skews information presented in a study to assist in drawing a

particular desired conclusion.

In quantitative research, bias refers to a systematic error, where a

particular research finding deviates from a true finding. This might come about

through errors in the manner of interviewing or by errors in sampling. In

qualitative research, a finding that deviates from a true finding could result from

personal bias of the researcher. To minimize obvious and avoidable sources of

bias, one can be sure to recognize the personal views of the researcher, or by

working in teams (Association of Qualitative Research, nd, n.p.).

Researcher bias in this study includes personal bias of the authors of data

used and the data gathered by the researcher themselves. Possible bias will be

addressed by recognizing personal views of authors of data when necessary.

Additionally, data used in this study will be selected from a variety of random

sources and authors (Association of Qualitative Research, nd, n.p.).


Data Collection

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on

variables of interest, in an established systematic fashion that enables one to

answer stated research questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes. The

emphasis is on ensuring that accurate and honest collection remains the same

(Northern Illinois University, n.d., n.p.). The data collection steps include setting

the boundaries for the study, collecting information through unstructured or semi

structured observations and interviews, documents, and visual materials, as well

as establishing the protocol for recording information. The data collection

procedure involves purposely selecting sites or individuals for the study,

indicating the type or types of data to be collected, and then gathering data

through observations, interviews, documents, and audio and visual materials

(Creswell, 2009, p. 178 - 181). Qualitative data deals with descriptions. It can be

observed but not measured such as colors, textures, smells, tastes, appearance,

beauty, etc. Quantitative data deals with numbers. It can be measured such as

length, height, area, volume, weight, speed, time, temperature, humidity, sound

levels, cost, members, ages, etc. (Roberts, 2011, n.p.).

This case study of the leadership style and traits of President Ronald

Reagan and the role they played in his presidency, will employ qualitative

research procedures including qualitative data in the form of historical and

biographical documents. Quantitative research methods will be employed

including quantitative data regarding statistical economic indicators during

Reagan’s presidency.

The research will largely focus on historical viewpoints provided through

various forms of qualitative data. Once the data is collected, a qualitative method


of comparing and contrasting the data will be employed. The scope of this

research will be contained in President Reagan’s childhood and life experiences

through his presidency, with a focus on three major developments during his

presidency: tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair,

and the end of the Cold War.

Data Analysis

Data analysis is a body of methods that help to describe facts, detect

patterns, develop explanations, and test hypotheses (Levine, 1996, n.p.). It is

simply the compilation and presentation of numerical evidence to support and

illustrate arguments grounded in hard evidence and sound reasoning (Klass, 2011,

n.p.).

Qualitative data analysis has to do with richness and precision. The

aim is a complete, detailed description. No attempt is made to assign frequencies

to the linguistic features which are identified in the data, and rare phenomena

receive the same amount of attention as more frequent phenomena. Qualitative

analysis allows for fine distinctions to be drawn because it is not necessary to

shoehorn the data into a finite number of classifications. Ambiguities, which are

inherent in human language, can be recognized in the analysis (McEnery &

Wilson, n.d., n.p.).

Quantitative data analysis has to do with statistically reliable and

generalizable results. In quantitative research one classifies features, counts them,

and even constructs more complex statistical models in an attempt to explain what

is observed. Findings can be generalized to a larger population, and direct

comparisons can be made, so long as valid sampling and significance techniques

have been used. Thus, quantitative analysis allows one to discover which

phenomena are likely to be genuine reflections of the behavior of a language or


variety, and which are merely chance occurrences. The more basic task of just

looking at a single language variety allows one to get a precise picture of the

frequency and rarity of particular phenomena, and thus their relative normality or

abnormality. However, the picture of the data which emerges from quantitative

analysis is less rich than that obtained from qualitative analysis. For statistical

purposes, classifications have to be of the hard-and-fast "Aristotelian". An item

either belongs to class x or it doesn't. Many linguistic terms and phenomena do

not belong to simple, single categories. Therefore, quantitative analysis is an

idealization of the data in some cases and tends to sideline rare occurrences. To

ensure that certain statistical tests provide reliable results, it is essential that

minimum frequencies are obtained - meaning that categories may have to be

collapsed into one another resulting in a loss of data richness (McEnery &

Wilson, n.d., n.p.).

The data analysis for this case study will involve comparing and

contrasting the outcomes of three major developments during Reagan’s

presidency including tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-

contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. This study will analyze the effects of

President Reagan’s leadership traits and style on the outcomes mentioned above.

Purposeful sampling will be used for this study as a matter of convenience

and in order to assure that the most important and relevant events are included in

the study (Creswell, 2009, p. 148).

The study will also involve statistics related to economic indicators during

Reagan’s presidency.

Pilot Testing


Pilot testing is a small experiment designed to test logistics and gather

information prior to a larger study, in order to improve the latter’s quality and

efficiency. A pilot test can reveal deficiencies in the design of a proposed

experiment or procedure and these can then be addressed before time and

resources are expended on large scale studies. A pilot test is normally small in

comparison with the main experiment and therefore can provide only limited

information on the sources and magnitude of variation of response measures

(Altman, 2006, n.p.). A pilot test provides the researcher an opportunity to

discover flaws in data collection and to improve the efficiency and quality of data

collection on a small scale before resources are exerted on a full scale version of

data collection.

The term ‘pilot test’ refers to mini versions of a full-scale study, as well as

the specific pre-testing of a particular research instrument such as a questionnaire

or interview schedule. The term is used in two different ways in social science

research. It can refer to so-called feasibility studies which are "small scale

versions, or trial runs, done in preparation for the major study" (Polit et al., 2001:

p. 467). However, a pilot test can also be the pre-testing or 'trying out' of a

particular research instrument (Baker 1994: p. 182-3). Pilot tests can be based on

quantitative and/or qualitative methods and large-scale studies might employ a

number of pilot studies before the main survey is conducted. Thus researchers

may start with "qualitative data collection and analysis on a relatively unexplored

topic, using the results to design a subsequent quantitative phase of the study"

(Tashakkori & Teddlie 1998: p. 47). Pilot tests may also have a number of

limitations. These include the possibility of making inaccurate predictions or

assumptions on the basis of pilot data; problems arising from contamination; and

problems related to funding (Hundley & Teijlingen, 2001, n.p.).


This case study of the leadership style and traits of President Ronald

Reagan and the role they played in his presidency will not include a pilot test due

to the qualitative nature applied in the study. The limit of pilot tests in qualitative

studies such as this include problems converting or translating from written or

spoken words such as an interview, into the form of the pilot study (Kamberska,

2007, p. 17).

Summary

This is a qualitative study of President Ronald Reagan’s leadership style

and traits, how he developed them, and how they influenced three major

developments during his presidency including: tax and spending cuts known as

Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. It employs a

mixed-methods research methodology including qualitative and quantitative data.

Samples taken from the population are nonprobability samples as a matter of

convenience and in order to assure that the most important and relevant events are

included in the study (Creswell, 2009, p. 148). To limit bias, this study includes

all relevant information selected from a variety of random sources and authors,

and recognizes personal views of authors of data when necessary (Association of

Qualitative Research, nd, n.p.). This study will not include controversial

statements unless they are corroborated by several sources. Reliability in this

study is addressed by employing data from various random sources and

transcripts are checked to make sure that they do not contain obvious mistakes

made during transcription (Creswell, 2009, p. 190). Validity is ensured by cross

examining various sources and employing the use of rich, thick descriptions to

convey findings. Negative or discrepant information that runs counter to the

themes is presented and peer debriefing and an external audit of the entire project

are employed.


The qualitative research will include accounts of Reagan’s own childhood

and life experiences and the role those experiences played in the development of

his personal leadership traits and style. Finally, it will include the outcomes of the

three major developments during Reagan’s presidency mentioned above, and the

role that his personal leadership traits and style played in each.


CHAPTER IV

DATA ANALYSIS

Introduction

Specific examples of President Reagan’s leadership traits and style were

identified in this study. Specific childhood and life events were analyzed to

demonstrate the influence they had on the development of the leadership traits and

styles Reagan exhibited during his presidency. Specific examples were noted of

how Reagan implemented his leadership traits and styles during three major

events during his presidency including: tax and spending cuts known as

Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and the end of the Cold War. The outcomes

of the three major developments during Reagan’s presidency mentioned above

were analyzed for links between the implementation of his personal leadership

traits and style and the outcome of each major event.

Reagan’s Leadership Traits and Style

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois

to Jack and Nelle Reagan. He had an older brother Neil. Ronald Reagan had a

difficult childhood, faced with the struggles of growing up the son of an alcoholic

father and being uprooted frequently through his early years, he looked to him

mother for strength and she role-modeled the values that would become a part of

Ronald’s character (“Miller Center,” 2011, n.p.).

Ronald was an apathetic student, a dreamer and a hard worker (“Miller

center,” 2011, n.p.). He emerged from childhood with a sunny disposition as well

as a number of traits that are common in children of alcoholics, including

discomfort with conflict, distance in personal relationships, and a tendency to put


a rosy gloss on harsh realities. Perhaps because of the attraction of fantasy to

those who have had painful formative experiences, Reagan developed an early

ambition for the arts which played a large role in his future (Fred Greenstein,

2000, n.p.).

The following describes six characteristics possessed by Ronald Reagan,

as an adult child of an alcoholic:

Typically, adult children of alcoholics exhibit a number of important characteristics.

First, they have difficulty with intimate relationships and are, therefore, “emotionally

detached and isolated”. Second, they are either highly reliable or highly unreliable; their

“style is to carry out tasks sporadically, not at all or frantically”. Third, they are “loyal

beyond reason” since they are “terrified of abandonment and would do anything to hold

onto a relationship not to re-experience the painful separation felt from living with people

who never were emotionally there for them”. Fourth, they live in a world of make-

believe, being forced to do “an amazing job of dodging, negotiating, hiding, learning,

adapting just to stay alive. They learn to be survivors despite the demand that they

pretend there is nothing wrong”. Fifth, they become alcoholics themselves or “become

addicted to excitement, to alcoholics, abusers or compulsive people”. Finally, they

constantly seek approval and affirmation since they have a “low sense of self-esteem” as

a result of their interaction with their alcoholic parent (Gilbert, 2008, p.

737-765).

Ronald despised weakness. When he developed an ulcer during his

California governorship, he actually felt shame at having done so, later explaining

that “I'd always regarded an ulcer as evidence of weakness. Now I had one. I

didn't want anyone to know about it and so I kept it a secret from everyone except

the family” (Reagan, 1990, p. 167).


Although Reagan as president clearly showed an ability to “strike up

friendly and productive relations with members of Congress”, these remained

superficial and strategic. Larry Speakes, his press secretary, later pointed out that

Reagan's affability was an “impersonal one” and that he “tends to be a loner,

content to spend most of his time with his wife and no one else” (Bell, 1988, p.

92). Patti Davis, Reagan's younger daughter, commented that her father had only

one close personal friend, the actor Robert Taylor, who died in 1969. She also

wrote that her parents' “world is complete. They have each other” (Gilbert, 2008,

p. 737-765). Columnist George Will remarked that Reagan “is a friendly man

who has one friend and he married her. But beyond that, to look for a second real

friend, the kind of person he might open up to, I don't know who it would be”

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan's relationship with members of his own family was markedly

distant. On the day his older son was married in Hawaii, Governor Reagan

attended the wedding of Tricia Nixon in Washington, D.C., an act his son

describes as deeply hurtful (Bell, 1988, p. 122). This son later remarked that “I

didn't dare talk with Dad about my feelings because he always seemed to be

uncomfortable whenever he and I embarked on anything resembling a personal

discussion” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Ronald did not see his new

granddaughter until she was 18 months old even though he was in California

frequently and could easily have managed a visit. Reagan's grandson, Cameron,

was once asked by a journalist whether he ever saw his grandfather. The boy

replied, “sure, on TV” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Gilbert reveals Reagan’s self-imposed isolation, even from family

members:

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 53 The former first lady remarked, “He often seems remote and he doesn't let anybody get

too close. There is a wall around him. He lets me come closer than anyone else, but there

are times when even I feel the barrier”. His daughter Maureen commented that “I've

never really been with him,” and his daughter Patti, from whom he was estranged for

many years, admitted that “I never knew who he was. I could never get through to him”.

She also explained that “I thought that if I found the right words, shared enough thoughts

with him, he would reach across the distance”. The distance, however, remained

formidable. Patti was so alienated from her father that she assumed her mother's maiden

name (Davis) and also appeared regularly at anti-Reagan rallies throughout the Reagan

presidency. In her memoir written about her father after his death in 2004, Patti described

the experience of hugging him by writing, “our embrace is quick and shy—a language

I've always associated with him” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Peter Wallison, Reagan's White House Counsel, described the President as

“remote” and remarked that his “staff complained that it was impossible to get

close to him, to get beyond the affable man to the ‘real person’ inside” (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765). Staff members were quick to offer support for such a

judgment. Richard Secord, a White House aide, described the President as

“personally aloof”. Another aide, John Poindexter, commented that Reagan had

few personal relationships. “People have asked me who his closest personal

friends were and I am always hard put to identify anybody” (Gilbert, 2008, p.

737-765). One of his speechwriters suggested: “I think he must have suffered a

terrible hurt in his youth, because he closed himself off. He didn't become

involved with people. The people he worked with, they were all interchangeable.

He didn't become immersed in their lives, and they didn't touch him. He was

closed off” (Reagan, 1990, p. 154). Lyn Nofzinger, a political advisor, pointed out

that “There was a kind of veil between him and the rest of the world; there was


that final bit that you couldn't penetrate. I always felt it” (Stober & Strober, 2003,

p. 44).

Reagan's son, Ron, Jr., once said, “You almost get the sense that he gets a

little bit antsy if you try to get too close and too personal and too father and

sonny” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). When being interviewed by his father's

official biographer, Ron held up his thumb and finger, millimeters apart, and

remarked, “I love my dad but our relationship is about this deep” (Gilbert, 2008,

p. 737-765). More recently, when Reagan was suffering from the Alzheimer's

disease that quickly made conversations with others virtually impossible, Ron Jr.

indicated during a television interview on “60 Minutes” that the disease had not

changed his relationship with his father because he had never had a serious

conversation with him (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan's adopted son, Michael, once remarked that “Dad could give his

heart to the country but he just found it difficult to hug his own children” (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765). He also recounted a rather startling story about his unusual

relationship with his father. It relates to the day of Michael's high school

graduation. He explains that, “On graduation day, prior to my commencement

address, Dad was asked to pose for pictures with some of the graduating students.

Naturally, I was included in the group selected for the photo. We were all wearing

caps and gowns. I was the third or fourth in line. As the others passed in front of

him one by one, I heard Dad introduce himself and then ask for the graduate's

name. My grin was as wide as a cavern when I came before him. ‘My name is

Ronald Reagan,’ Dad said. ‘What's yours?’ I took off my mortar board.

‘Remember me?’ I said. ‘I'm your son, Mike.’ (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).


In later years, Michael didn’t grow much closer with his father. When

Ronald and Nancy invited Michael and his family to Easter dinner and to

celebrate his daughter's fourth birthday, Michael disclosed that this was the first

time the four of them had ever been alone with the Reagans as a family (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765). Reagan's brother Neil once spoke about Ronald’s distance

from his children: “He's not really a demonstrative guy. I don't know how to put

it. He was a swimmer but I taught Maureen to swim before she could walk. He

didn't bother with her. I taught her to swim. I can't picture him doing that”

(Johnson, 1991, p. 43). One close observer later commented that during Reagan's

presidency, even when there was a serious presidential illness, “the children didn't

call to see how he was and he and Mrs. Reagan didn't call them. It was strange”

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan did not just delegate, as all presidents must to some degree, but

often passed on his responsibilities and his power too carelessly. Gilbert provides

the following anecdotes illustrating such:

Senator Warren Rudman (R-N.H.) commented that Reagan painted with a broad brush,

cared little for details and relied heavily on his staff, while Tip O'Neill, Speaker of the

House of Representatives at the time, reflected that Reagan often worked only three or

four hours a day which made him wonder who was really in charge in the White House”

Ed Rollins, Reagan's White House political director, estimated that 80% of the decisions

made during the latter years of the Reagan presidency were made by Chief of Staff

Donald Regan rather than the president. Regan seemed to confirm the suspicions greatly

not only by considerably expanding his office to include three deputies, but also by

joking to reporters that “it was now permissible to mispronounce President ‘Reagan’ as

‘Regan’ ” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

When subordinates were insubordinate, President Reagan was tolerant and

forgiving, even when he was deeply humiliated—and his Administration badly


damaged—by their actions (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Gilbert provides these

examples:

On one occasion, David Stockman, the head of the Office of Management and Budget,

indiscreetly told a reporter—who then published the remarkable story in the Atlantic

Monthly—that Reaganomics was just “trickle down” economics, and that the tax cut was

a Trojan horse designed to disguise a giveaway to the rich. Most senior advisors as well

as the first lady urged that he be fired. Not only had he deeply embarrassed the

Administration but he also had showed that he “didn't believe what he was out there

saying”. When Reagan met with Stockman, however, he declined to ask for his

resignation and even refused to allow him to resign, telling him, “I want you to stay on. I

need your help” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan’s loyalty, even to those who became a threat to his leadership cost

him frequently over the course of his presidency. Secretary of State Alexander

Haig sent instructions to an American envoy overseas that had not been formally

approved by the President, he visited the Oval Office and spoke with a perturbed

Reagan about the episode. The President asked him what he would do if he were a

general and one of his lower officers circumvented him and acted on his own.

Haig replied, “I'd fire him, Mr. President.” Instead of taking this proffered

opportunity to rid himself of a secretary of state with whom he had had a rather

difficult relationship, Reagan replied, “No, no, I didn't mean that. But this mustn't

happen again” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Ronald Reagan often denied unpleasant realities by constructing and

hiding in dream worlds. This was something he began to do as a child. These

dream worlds existed only in his imagination but were very real to him

nonetheless. He admits that “As a kid, I lived in a world of pretend. I had a great

imagination. I used to love to make up plays and act in them myself, but by the


time I was eight or nine I felt self-conscious about it. People made fun of me. A

sensitive boy begins to feel a little silly. So from then on, I didn’t pretend openly”

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

As an adult, Reagan continued to pretend—but not as openly. One of his

children remarked succinctly that “he makes things up and believes them”.

Another observer pointed out that “early on, Reagan created a distance between

the reality of his experience and his feelings by focusing on the ideals and

mythology of American culture” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). There are many

examples of this curious behavior:

During the 1960s, Reagan told a biographer that when he got out of the Army Air Corps,

“all I wanted to do in common with several million other veterans—was to rest up

awhile, make love to my wife, and come up refreshed to do a better job in an ideal

world.” As Schaller puts it: “This obscured the fact that unlike most of the ‘several

million other veterans,’ Reagan had left neither home nor wife while in military service”

(Schaller, 1992, p. 8).

Schaller points to another example that occurred during his presidency.

Reagan indicated publicly that he had firsthand experience with the Holocaust

because he had filmed the liberation of Nazi death camps in Europe while in the

signal corps. When journalists quickly noted that Reagan had never set foot

outside the United States during the war, a White House spokesman explained

that “the president had meant to say that he had been greatly affected by seeing a

film about death camps after the war ended” (Schaller, 1992, p. 9). According to

one commentator,

“These misstatements, probably not intended to deceive, suggest the depth of Reagan's

belief in myths of individual heroism and how he longed to be part of a larger, shared

experience—in this case the triumph over fascism in the Second World War. They also

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 58 revealed his tenacity in holding firm to an idea once he had convinced himself it was true.

(Schaller, 1992, p. 9)”

Other examples of Reagan living in a dream world include the time his

doctor, John Hutton, told him that his wife, Nancy, was suffering from breast

cancer, he reported that the president “took it with absolute denial. It was more

than he could handle” (Strober & Strober, 2003, p. 47). This was the way he had

dealt with difficult events for many years. When his father died in 1941, for

example, Reagan claimed that he did not have to feel sad because his deceased

father had spoken to him, saying, “I'm OK and where I am is very nice. Please

don't be unhappy” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). When his marriage to Jane

Wyman ended in divorce, he maintained that since he did not initiate or want the

breakup, he had not really been divorced at all (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan reveled in appearing at public ceremonies and being cheered by

adoring crowds. In his 1990 autobiography, he remarks that shortly after

becoming president, he visited New York City and found that “the streets were

lined with crowds of people all the way to the Waldorf Astoria, as if New York

were having a holiday parade. Suddenly, I realized that I was the parade. As we

passed the crowds, people cheered and clapped and I wore out my arms waving

back to them” (Reagan, 1990, p. 252).

Presidential “image” was paramount with Ronald Reagan. As a telling

sign of this, even when he was shot, he remained keenly aware of the way he

“appeared” in public and insisted on walking unaided into the hospital—as a hero

would—and then making jokes to doctors, nurses, and members of his family

despite the severity of his wound. He had, in fact, lost half of his body's blood

supply and had no recordable blood pressure upon arrival at the George


Washington Medical Center, but still was anxious to appear strong and well. It

was as if he were laughing in the face of death, and his courage and heroic

bearing inspired the nation and brought him an outpouring of affirmation and

affection from both the public and the political elite (Gilbert, 1998, p. 221).

Reagan was highly effective in establishing broad themes for his

administration and keeping his subordinates focused on them despite the

immediate pressures of politics. He saw negative events as nothing more than a

bump in the road. He was more than simply a gifted speaker. He spoke of "great

things," and his words and actions helped the nation move along a fundamentally

new course, a course in which he deeply believed and from which he tried not to

waiver. His most important legacy would be to convince Americans "to believe in

themselves again. (President Profiles, 2011)

The Early Years & Effects of an Alcoholic Father

Ronald was a victim of much inconsistency during his childhood due to

his father’s alcoholism. He and the family frequently relocated during his

childhood. The Reagans moved from Tampico to Chicago when Ronald was

three, to Galesburg when he was four, to Monmouth when he was seven, back to

Tampico when he was eight, and to Dixon when he was nine. While living in

Dixon, the Reagan family moved on five separate occasions (Gilbert, 2008, p.

737-765).

One of Ronald’s most powerful memories was that of finding his father

lying drunk and unconscious in the snow outside their house one cold and snowy

night. Ronald was eleven years old at the time, and the memory clearly lasted well

into his old age. In his 1981 biography he discussed this sad incident, describing


his father's arms as “outstretched as though he were crucified” and his hair as

“soaked with melting snow,” and poignantly explaining his own feelings:

I stood over him for a minute or two. I wanted to let myself go in the house and go to bed

and pretend he wasn't there. Oh, I wasn't ignorant of his weakness. I don't know at what

age I knew what the occasional absences or the loud noises in the night meant but up till

now my mother . . . or my brother handled the situation and I was a child in bed with the

privilege of pretending to sleep. (Reagan and Hubler, 1981, p. 7)

The Impact of Ronald’s Mother on His Development

Ronald's mother, Nelle nurtured and encouraged her sons. She taught them

that alcoholism was a disease and urged them not to blame their father for

succumbing to it. Ronald took after his mother and was raised by Nelle in her

church, the Disciples of Christ. She was a relentless do-gooder, visiting prisoners,

poorhouse inmates, and hospital patients. She also organized drama recitals—

some of which featured her sons. As an adult, Ronald often reminisced fondly

about his mother's compassion and generosity (“Miller center,” 2011, n.p.).

A non-alcoholic parent is oftentimes able to help compensate for the lack

of parenting functions from the alcoholic parent. A supportive non-alcoholic

parent or other caregiving adult such as Ronald’s mother Nelle, provides

nurturance, protection, and guidance which optimize the development of a child

with an alcoholic parent (Werner & Johnson, 2000, n.p.). Like Ronald, resilient

children of an alcoholic parent very often had a non-alcoholic mother/step-mother

who served as the "mainstay" of the family. In short, if the child's home

environment involved the presence of a functional, central, "buffering" parent

such as Nelle, the negative developmental impact of a father's alcoholism was

somewhat mitigated; children had more problems when their family lives did not


include a person that could be described in this way (Werner & Johnson, 2000,

n.p.).

The Transformation of Reagan’s Politics

Both of Ronald’s parents were Democrats (“Miller center,” 2011, n.p.).

Ronald embraced a liberal political philosophy at an early age, likely due to his

family’s economic hardship throughout his childhood due to his father’s

alcoholism (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765). Ronald’s early embrace of a liberal

political philosophy was likely done subconsciously as he revealed in his

biography that he had not known that his family was poor in comparison with

others in town or that they had been at all disadvantaged (Reagan, 1990, p. 28).

Jack Reagan had been an outspoken Democrat and Reagan initially

followed his political lead. In his early years, he regularly voted the Democratic

ticket and campaigned for Democratic Party candidates. Even as late as 1952, he

had urged Dwight Eisenhower to run for president as a Democrat (Gilbert, 2008,

p. 737-765).

As a young adult and even into middle age, Reagan was, again like his

father, something of a liberal who believed that government could solve the

country's problems. When, for example, he sought membership in various

Hollywood organizations in the mid-1940s, he joined those that would “guarantee

to save the world.” These tended to be liberal groups such as the Hollywood

Independent Citizens Committee of Arts, Science, and Professions and the

Hollywood American Veterans Committee. He even signed a petition opposing

U.S. support for the Chinese nationalist Chiang Kai-shek against the communist

Mao Zedong (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).


The turning point for Reagan? In his 1990 post-presidential memoirs,

Reagan wrote of the night he found his father passed out and drunk on his front

yard: “When I tried to wake him he just snored—loud enough, I suspected for the

whole neighborhood to hear him. So I grabbed a piece of his overcoat, pulled it

and dragged him into the house, then put him to bed and never mentioned the

incident to my mother” (Reagan, 1990, p. 33). The episode was clearly an

important one in Reagan's life. After it, his role in the family grew while his

father's place in Reagan's life diminished.

Historian Robert Dallek opines:

Reagan's conservative ideology satisfies his own compelling psychological needs—to

promote freedom and individual independence and punish government and ruling

authority. His insensitivity to the suffering of the poor has less to do with enriching

himself or other wealthy Americans than it has to do with his antipathy to their

dependency and their failure to achieve the self-reliance he gained for himself. The needy

remind him of his dependent father, from whom he tried to separate himself all his life

(Dallek, 1984, p. 104).

Though Ronald’s father suffered with alcoholism, he did instill in Ronald

the importance of tolerance and compassion. Ronald remembered his father as

being fiercely opposed to racial and religious intolerance. He refused to allow his

children to see the film Birth of a Nation, because it glorified the Ku Klux Klan.

Jack Reagan was named the local director of the Works Progress Administration

by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. The Works Progress Administration

was a federal agency created by President Roosevelt to provide work for jobless

Americans. Ronald’s brother Neil was also employed by the Works Progress

Administration (“Miller center,” 2011, n.p.).


Ronald had an early taste of politics: while still a freshman he made a

dramatic oration on behalf of Eureka students who were striking to restore classes

that the school administration had eliminated because of financial strains caused

by the Great Depression. After the strike, the college president resigned (“Miller

center,” 2011, n.p.).

Iran-Contra Affair

On the Iran-Contra Affair Ehrman writes of one aide whose surreptitious

activities contributed greatly to the scandal:

“That Oliver North could establish and run his extensive operations with virtually no

supervision is a telling example not only of how poorly McFarlane and Poindexter [two

of Reagan's National Security Advisors] ran the council but also of the price that Reagan

paid for tolerating such substandard work.” (Ehrman, 2005, p. 143)

Gilbert is one of many scholars who point out that Reagan's presidency

took a hit after his inattention to detail led to the Iran-Contra Affair. Talk of

criminal indictments, a presidential resignation, and even impeachment began to

be heard and the president's popularity dropped precipitously with the American

people, plunging from 67% in July 1986 to 46% four months later. So

undermined was Reagan's credibility that only 40% believed that he was telling

the truth about the matter. Even more striking, his approval rating remained

below 50% for the next two years and only began to rebound in the fall of 1988, a

year and a half before his presidency would end (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Reagan's aides often commented on his “laid back style” and pointed out

that while he was vigorously engaged at times, sometimes he seemed almost

totally disengaged. He did little to supervise subordinates, required few progress

reports on their activities, and held them to no accounting (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-


765). As Donald Regan noted, the President “laid down no rules and articulated

no missions” (Regan, 1988, p. 144).

In a revealing commentary, Colin Powell described Reagan's first meeting

with National Security Adviser Frank Carlucci:

President Reagan listened carefully and asked a few questions but gave no guidance. This

became the pattern almost every morning when we briefed him. We would lay out the

contrasting views of various cabinet officers and Congress and wait for the President to

peel back to get at underlying motives. It did not happen. Most unnerving, when Carlucci

presented options, the President would say little until Frank gave him his

recommendation. And then the President would merely acknowledge that he had heard

him, without saying yes, no or maybe. . . . We eventually assumed that the President

knew we had balanced competing views and had given him our best judgment. He

evidently felt it unnecessary to do more than acknowledge what we would be doing in his

name. That, at least, was our optimistic interpretation. (Powell, 1995, p. 334)

Reagan’s inability to face reality may have been at work when he denied

the Iran-Contra Scandal or that it violated his own policy of never negotiating

with terrorists. When the Tower Commission issued its highly critical judgments

about his conduct, Reagan was reported to be “stunned and confused” (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765). In fact, after his public approval ratings finally rebounded from

the low point to which they had fallen at the height of the scandal, the President

reacted by saying that “it was as if Americans were forgiving me for something I

hadn't done” (Reagan, 1990, p. 541).

During the Iran-Contra affair, Ronald Reagan denied the unpleasant reality

that his tough policy on terrorism had been transformed into something of a joke

by his own administration, and that terrorists, far from not being allowed even to


hide, had been permitted to profit handsomely from their terrorist acts (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765).

Lawrence Walsh, the Special Prosecutor appointed to investigate Iran-

Contra, wrote that in his February 1990 deposition, Reagan “astonishingly

testified that he ‘had no knowledge then or now’ that funds had been diverted to

the Contras out of earnings from the sale of missiles to Iran.” The former

president said that “No one has proven to me that there was a diversion” (Gilbert,

2008, p. 737-765). Shown a copy of the 1987 Tower Commission Report, Reagan

declared, “This is the first time that I have ever seen a reference that actually

specified there was a diversion. I have to tell you, to my recollection; this is the

first time I have ever seen that”. Some may attribute Reagan's words here to early

signs of the Alzheimer's Disease that was diagnosed in 1994; others to the self-

delusions that so commonly characterized his behavior throughout his life

(Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

End of Cold War

Reagan truly believed that the Soviet system would eventually crack under

steady Western pressure and that belief encouraged him to increase defense

spending from $119 billion to $273 billion in 1986, a level that the U.S.S.R.

simply could not begin to match. The Left criticized what they believed to be

wasteful spending, but this expenditure led to a massive savings once the U.S.S.R.

no longer posed the global existential threat it once had (Roberts, 2011, n.p.)

An example provided by Rudy Giuliani of how Reagan’s unyielding style

won the Cold War was Reagan’s handling of the arms reduction talks of 1986.

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to use international pressure for


arms reductions to strong arm Reagan into abandoning the United States’ counter

missile program known as “Star Wars”. Reagan refused. He got up and walked

out to tremendous criticism. Giuliani points out how, “A lesser man, a lesser

President would have stepped back in the face of the criticism. But Reagan didn't

budge.” A few months later, Gorbachev agreed to every one of Reagan’s terms.

Guiliani states, “I believe in that act alone the Cold War was won. It took us a few

years to realize it was won, but it was won by Reagan's willingness to stick to his

principles.” (Giuliani, 2009, n.p.).

Liberal historian David Greenberg agrees that it was Reagan’s strategy of

strengthening the US military that brought the Cold War to a head. He points to

Soviet President Mikael Gorbachev’s speech days before travelling to Reykjavik,

Iceland to offer Reagan a groundbreaking disarmament plan. Gorbachev told his

colleagues that if he didn’t offer the cuts, the Soviet Union would be pulled into

an arms race that is beyond its capabilities. “If the new round of an arms race

begins, the pressures on our economy will be unbelievable” (Kaplan, 2004, p.1.).

It was also Reagan’s fanciful imagination that ushered in an end to the

Cold War. As Greenberg points out, Reagan’s missile defense system tagged

“Star Wars” was impractical and unrealistic, but it caused enough concern that

Soviet leader Mikael Gorbachev was willing to give in. Documents reveal that

Gorbachev asked Yevgeny Velikhov, his chief science adviser, to evaluate

whether Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, as it was formally called, would

pose a threat. Velikhov replied that the project was fanciful and that the Soviets

could build countermeasures—or deploy additional offensive missiles to saturate

the Star Wars system—much more cheaply than the United States could construct


additional defenses. However, Velikhov advised that it might be a good idea to

build more missiles, just in case (Kaplan, 2004, p.1).

Reagan wasn’t bluffing Gorbachev. His vision of “Star Wars”, a shield

that would render nuclear weapons obsolete, was scientifically preposterous but,

by all accounts, genuine. Many of his aides scoffed at it; but they liked “Star

Wars” because it would scare the Russians and, if it worked, might give the US

nuclear superiority. And it did work. (Kaplan, 2004, p.2).

Reagan’s honesty and ability to communicate openly to build trust was the

final essential ingredient to drawing the Cold War to a conclusion. In a 2007 CBS

report on Reagan’s legacy, Correspondent Wyatt Andrews illustrates the initial

mutual distrust between Reagan and Gorbachev. Gorbachev referred to Reagan as

a dinosaur, while Reagan called Gorbachev a hardline Bolshevik (Jaime, 2007,

n.p.). However, the two men approved a simple statement that a nuclear war could

not be won, and Gorbachev remembers feeling that Reagan actually meant what

he said. "You know, you really can't explain it, I felt something and he felt

something -- that we could talk to each other.” (Jaime, 2007, n.p.).

As Jack F. Matlock Jr., Reagan’s senior coordinator of policy toward the

Soviet Union, and ambassador to Moscow reveals in his memoir, “Reagan and

Gorbachev”:

The Reagan game plan was to look for areas of common interest, be candid about points

of contention and support Gorbachev's reforms while avoiding any demand for regime

change. He cautioned the members of his administration not to rub Gorbachev's nose in

any concessions he might make. Above all, Reagan wanted to establish a relationship

with his Soviet counterpart that would make it easier to manage conflicts lest they

escalate to thermonuclear war (Talbott, 2004, p.1).


Reagan wanted to reduce the threat of war, to convince the Soviet leaders

that cooperation could serve the Soviet peoples better than confrontation and to

encourage openness and democracy in the Soviet Union (Talbott, 2004, p.1).

That honesty helped overcome false impressions and led to the open dialogue and

trust necessary to reach the unlikely agreements that brought an end to the Cold

War.

Reaganomics

The specifics and effects of Reaganomics were summed up in a May 2011

article in Forbes titled, “Reaganomics Vs. Obamanomics: Facts And Figures”.

The article was written by Peter Ferrara, director of policy for the Carleson Center

for Public Policy and senior fellow for entitlement and budget policy at the

Heartland Institute. Ferrara noted that when President Reagan entered office in

1981, he faced three worsening recessions which were about to culminate in the

worst of all in 1981-1982. Unemployment soared into double digits at a peak of

10.8%. At the same time America suffered roaring double-digit inflation, with

the CPI registering at 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980 (25% in two years).

Interest rates hit double-digits, with the prime rate peaking at 21.5% in 1980. The

poverty rate started increasing in 1978, eventually climbing by an astounding

33%, from 11.4% to 15.2%. A fall in real median family income that began in

1978 snowballed to a decline of almost 10% by 1982. In addition, from 1968 to

1982, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 70% of its real value, reflecting an

overall collapse of stocks. The Washington establishment at the time argued that

this inflation was now endemic to the American economy, and could not be

stopped, at least not without a calamitous economic collapse (Ferrara, 2011, n.p.).


Ferrara noted that President Reagan campaigned on an explicitly

articulated, four-point economic program to reverse this slow motion collapse of

the American economy. The first was to cut tax rates to restore incentives for

economic growth, which was implemented first with a reduction in the top

income tax rate of 70% down to 50%, and then a 25% across-the-board reduction

in income tax rates for everyone. The 1986 tax reform then reduced tax rates

further, leaving just two rates, 28% and 15%. The second point included

spending reductions, including a $31 billion cut in spending in 1981, close to 5%

of the federal budget then, or the equivalent of about $175 billion in spending cuts

for the year today. In constant dollars, nondefense discretionary spending

declined by 14.4% from 1981 to 1982, and by 16.8% from 1981 to 1983.

Moreover, in constant dollars, this nondefense discretionary spending never

returned to its 1981 level for the rest of Reagan’s two terms! Even with the

Reagan defense buildup, which won the Cold War without firing a shot, total

federal spending declined from a high of 23.5% of GDP in 1983 to 21.3% in 1988

and 21.2% in 1989. That’s a real reduction in the size of government relative to

the economy of 10%. Thirdly, Reagan pursued an anti-inflation monetary policy

restraining money supply growth compared to demand, to maintain a stronger,

more stable dollar value. Finally, Reagan pushed for deregulation, which saved

consumers an estimated $100 billion per year in lower prices. In fact, Reagan’s

first executive order eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas. Production

soared, and aided by a strong dollar the price of oil declined by more than 50%.

These economic policies amounted to the most successful economic

experiment in world history. The Reagan recovery started in official records in

November 1982, and lasted 92 months without a recession until July 1990, when


the tax increases of the 1990 budget deal killed it. This set a new record for the

longest peacetime expansion ever, the previous high in peacetime being 58

months. During this seven-year recovery, the economy grew by almost one-third,

the equivalent of adding the entire economy of West Germany, the third-largest in

the world at the time, to the U.S. economy. In 1984 alone real economic growth

boomed by 6.8%, the highest in 50 years. Nearly 20 million new jobs were

created during the recovery, increasing U.S. civilian employment by almost 20%.

Unemployment fell to 5.3% by 1989 (Ferrara, 2011, n.p.).

The shocking rise in inflation during the Nixon and Carter years was

reversed. Astoundingly, inflation from 1980 was reduced by more than half by

1982, to 6.2%. It was cut in half again for 1983, to 3.2%, never to be heard from

again until recently. The contractionary, tight-money policies needed to kill this

inflation inexorably created the steep recession of 1981 to 1982, which is why

Reagan did not suffer politically catastrophic blame for that recession (Ferrara,

2011, n.p.).

Real per-capita disposable income increased by 18% from 1982 to 1989,

meaning the American standard of living increased by almost 20% in just seven

years. The poverty rate declined every year from 1984 to 1989, dropping by one-

sixth from its peak. The stock market more than tripled in value from 1980 to

1990, a larger increase than in any previous decade (Ferrara, 2011, n.p.).

Ferrara points to the following statement from supply side guru Art Laffer

and Wall Street Journal chief financial writer Steve Moore in the book titled The

End of Prosperity:

Impact of Reagan’s leadership 71 We call this period, 1982-2007, the twenty-five year boom–the greatest period of wealth

creation in the history of the planet. In 1980, the net worth–assets minus liabilities–of all

U.S. households and business was $25 trillion in today’s dollars. By 2007, net worth was

just shy of $57 trillion. Adjusting for inflation, more wealth was created in America in

the twenty-five year boom than in the previous two hundred years.

Critics of Reagan’s proposal were quickly persuaded. Less than two weeks

after being shot and almost killed, Reagan walked out of the hospital wearing a

bright red cardigan sweater and smiling and waving to onlookers. This solidified

his hero status and made him a force even more difficult to withstand. As his

popularity soared to almost a 70% approval rating, the Democrat-controlled

Congress accepted his economic recovery program and passed his defense

buildup, afraid to be standing on the wrong side of history (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-

765). Speaker O'Neill wrote that “Many Democrats were scared stiff at the

prospect of being out of step with the mood of the country. And for a while there,

we were out of step” (Gilbert, 2008, p. 737-765).

Summary

The data reveals that President Reagan’s childhood experiences played a

significant role in the development of his leadership traits and style. Growing up

the child of an alcoholic parent, Ronald developed traits and a leadership style

common to children of alcoholic parents such as discomfort with conflict,

unreasonable loyalty, distance in personal relationships, and a failure to face harsh

realities. He viewed weakness with contempt and was quick to delegate

responsibilities without appropriate oversight. These leadership traits and style led

to the outcome of one of the biggest failures of his presidency, the Iran-Contra

Affair. During the Iran-Contra Affair, Reagan’s hands-off leadership style led


him to over-delegate responsibilities and make decisions based solely on the

opinions of his aides. He was not able to hold his subordinates accountable, acted

on his emotions, failed to seek conflicting perspectives, and demonstrated an

inability to face reality.

Reagan was able to avoid some of the negative traits common to children

of alcoholic parents due to the support of his mother Nelle. Reagan’s mother

helped mould and encourage the leadership traits that eventually led to the

positive outcomes of the Cold War and the economic crisis that Reagan inherited

when he assumed the presidency. Reagan demonstrated a commitment to

morality and an ability to effectively hold and communicate a vision. He used his

character and charm to win over support and keep followers motivated. He was

confident and refused to compromise on his principles. Reagan backed his words

with action and persevered in the face of adversity and opposition. These traits led

America to victory in the Cold War and helped win support for his economic plan

known as Reaganomics which led the country out of devastating economic

conditions and ushered in a period of prosperity for the United States.


CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

This study focused on the leadership traits and style of President Ronald

Reagan, the life events that lead to the development of those traits and style, and

how the outcomes of three major events during Reagan’s presidency were

affected by those leadership traits and style. The three major events analyzed

include: tax and spending cuts known as Reaganomics, the Iran-contra affair, and

the end of the Cold War.

Summary

The study confirmed the thesis statement that President Ronald Reagan’s

leadership traits and style correlate to his life events and to the outcomes of three

major developments during his presidency: tax and spending cuts known as


Conclusions

The study illustrated that growing up the child of an alcoholic father;

President Reagan developed traits such as discomfort with conflict, unreasonable

loyalty, distance in personal relationships, and a failure to face harsh realities.

These traits led to a very hands-off leadership style in which Reagan was quick to

delegate responsibility without appropriate oversight. This leadership style

resulted in one of the biggest failures of his presidency, the Iran-Contra affair in

which his delegates acted illegally without his knowledge. Reagan was never able

to fully accept the reality of this failure and it remains today, one of the biggest

stains on his presidency.


They study also illustrated that the support and nurturing of Ronald’s

mother Nelle, helped Reagan avoid some of the negative traits common to

children of alcoholic parents. Reagan’s mother helped mold and encourage

leadership traits such as a commitment to morality and the ability to hold and

effectively communicate a vision. These traits led to a leadership style that

included confidence, persuasion, and a dedication to the principles he believed in.

This leadership style eventually led to the positive outcomes of the Cold War and

the economic crisis that Reagan inherited when he assumed the presidency.

Reagan’s foes and critics recognized his commitment and were eventually

persuaded to accept his vision. This vision led to a successful end to the Cold War

and an economic recovery for the United States.

Recommendations

A further recommendation would include analyzing how President

Reagan’s leadership traits and styles had a positive influence during the Iran-

Contra Scandal and a negative influence on the outcome of the Cold War and his

economic philosophy known as Reaganomics. Additional major events during

the Reagan presidency could be analyzed for a correlation between their outcome

and Reagan’s leadership traits and style.

Final Summary

By studying the data collected, there is sufficient evidence to confirm that

specific life events played a large role in the development of President Reagan’s

leadership traits and style, specifically the role of his alcoholic father and

supportive and nurturing mother. The study also confirms that those leadership

traits and styles played a large role in the failures and successes of three major

events during Reagan’s presidency: tax and spending cuts known as



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