On February 6, 1911, Nelle and Jack Reagan of Tampico, Illinois, welcomed their second son into the world. They named him Ronald, although as he grew up the boy went by the nickname "Dutch."
As a radio announcer, "Dutch Reagan" became a familiar handle to listeners in the Midwest.
In Hollywood, Reagan was allowed to keep his given name by Warner Bros., the studio that signed him. As a stateside military officer in World War II – he was deemed unsuitable for combat due to poor eyesight – he was "Capt. Reagan" by the end of the war.
His pals called him "Ron," Nancy Reagan called him "Ronnie," and as a young Californian I knew him as "Governor Reagan." To this day, many Reaganites fondly call him "The Gipper" after his memorable film portrayal of doomed Notre Dame football star George Gipp. Democrats uninspired by his presidency called him other names, some of which, in the old city room phrase, are unsuitable for a family newspaper.
In his farewell address as president, Ronald Wilson Reagan took note of one appellation he acquired along the way: "The Great Communicator." In discussing it during a January 11, 1989, speech, he revealed one of the unsung traits of effective communicators: humility.
"And in all of that time," Reagan said after briefly recounting the journey of the previous eight years, "I won a nickname, ‘The Great Communicator.' But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: it was the content."
"I wasn't a great communicator," he continued, "but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation – from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries. They called it the ‘Reagan Revolution.' Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense."
And that is our quote of the week.
Carl M. Cannon is the Washington bureau chief for RealClearPolitics. Reach him on X @CarlCannon.
