It’s almost too perfect: How Ronald Reagan saw himself, notwithstanding the realities of the situation.

The main voice of reason is that of Reagan’s son Ron, who is interviewed by a swimming pool, describing his father with affection, but also critical distance. He traces his father’s worldview to his success as a young lifeguard, despite his terrible eyesight. (Nearsightedness kept Reagan in Hollywood making propaganda and training films during World War II.)

“He grew up seeing himself as somebody who saved people’s lives,” Ron Reagan says. “I think that carried through into his later years as well, the sort of roles he liked to play in movies. He wanted to be the hero.”

And that yearning to be America’s lifeguard helps explain Reagan’s thinking in the Iran-contra affair, which darkened the second term of his presidency. He denied trading arms for hostages in Iran, then later admitted it in a televised address. The film cites the secret diary of the former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, who recorded that when warned that the deal was illegal, Reagan said he didn’t care.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 4th, 2011 at 8:00 pm.