The Rest of Him

“Tonite 8:15–Staff party here at W.H.–receiving line & entertainment,” Ronald Reagan wrapped up his diary entry for December 18, 1986, just weeks after the Iran-Contra “mess” or fuss” had gone public enough to Grinchify a lesser man’s Christmas. “A magic night–a magician who baffled even the most sophisticated among us. I confess I have no idea how he did what he did.”
Reagan’s fellow citizens might change that “even” to especially, but we know the feeling. Thanks to him, we spent eight years unsure if we were the rabbit or the hat. Whatever explained the magician who not only performed but slept in the White House that night , he took the secret to his grave–and to a number of Salvadoran and Nicaraguan ones, too…–Tom Carson in LA Monthly