That Show-Must-Go-On Spirit

By Hugh Sidey

The Presidency

On the Sunday after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, Nancy and other members of the family were on their way to George Washington University Hospital to visit the wounded President.

Someone in the crowd around the hospital apparently threw a firecracker in the vicinity of the limousine. The effect on those within the vehicle--Secret Service agents as well as the family--was instant. Deep down, personal alarms went off, reminding all of them once more of the hazards that attend high pub lic positions. The bulletproof limousine was virtually impervious to firearms. But the fear aroused by that sudden explosion was another lesson in just how much modern leadership depends on the well-being of the people involved and how their minds are refocused, often involuntarily, from extreme stress.

Washington is grateful for Reagan's remarkable recovery. Beneath the surface mood of thanksgiving, however, are questions of just how his presidency may have been altered by the shooting. Will there be the same physical vigor? Will there be the same hard edge of resolve? So much in national leadership hinges on the thin margins of presidential energy and determination. Any change in Reagan's mind or body can make a great difference.

The testimony from inside the White House, by those who have seen the President, is that he is less fearful of the future than before, that he has a deeper resolve to get on with his task. Those who know Reagan and have watched his progress agree with Congressman Jack Kemp, who predicted the President would have "an even greater sense of destiny." Reagan did his share of westerns in Hollywood, and he proved to have in him a lot of real-life John Wayne, who came back swaggering and feisty from his private battles with cancer. That show-must-go-on spirit could grow larger in the weeks ahead.

About the only measure we can take of this delicate time in Reagan's battle stewardship comes from the after math of John Kennedy's death and the days following the attempts on the life of Gerald Ford. Lyndon Johnson, though not wounded in the Kennedy shooting, was made aware of his own vulnerability. Aides remember that he took precautions about his safety, but his sense of political urgency heightened. What time he had in the White House he wanted to use totally for his Great Society goals.

Much the same happened to Ford. His press secretary, Ron Nessen, recalled last week that Ford emerged from the attempts on his life determined to fulfill the presidential obligation to the fullest. He wore bulletproof vests and rain coats now and then, but they were always an irritation, and finally he put them aside. Ford made public appearances without a trace of fear.

But a leader who has actually been wounded might react differently because of the complex chemistry of mind and body that surely changes in some way following such a trauma. One example is John Connally, who was the Governor of Texas when he was shot in the Kennedy motorcade. Horace Busby, aide and friend to both L.B.J. and Connally during those days, found that the Governor grew to be a "larger man." It may have been, reasoned Busby, a sense of how fragile life is that comes from having just missed death.

Precisely how Reagan will now conduct his presidency remains to be seen. A review of the security system for the President got under way seriously last week in the Treasury Department, which runs the Secret Service. Certain procedures, like publishing the presidential schedule, will undoubtedly be altered.

It will take many more weeks to determine just how Reagan, physically and mentally grazed by death, will really behave. A President will always be a target of sorts. And Reagan will go to work each day with his scars to remind him of that sad truth. But so far, there is every reason to believe that this President will heal, and be stronger than before.

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