said that he was “surprised that the Israelis had shipped arms to Iran.” Then he said that incorrectly remembered both instances. He was good at doing this, telling stories that is. Reagan was a good public speaker, and a lot of people believed in what he had to say. He was a true American in the sense that he was what every American pictured in the American president. Reagan wrote in his autobiography that, “To this day I still believe that the Iran initiative was not an effort to swap arms for hostages. But I knew that it may not look that way to some people. Unfortunately, an initiative meant to develop a relationship with moderate Iranians and get our hostages home took on a new shape I never expected and was never told about. The only way to get the hostages back and develop that relationship would be to negotiate with the Iranians. They wanted something, and the President had to comply to get what he wanted. The hostages got released, and the contras were funded with the President’s knowledge and participation. The commander-in-chief would make these types of negotiations, of compromises. Reagan was the leader of the government, but to those under him he was more than that. Poindexter said, “The President was the commander-in-chief; and he was also an irresistible civilian employer, a charming and shrewd old man to whom the players felt overpowering loyalty. Reagan was our boss, they were his staff of and his servants, political appointees serving at his pleasure.” This is how most of the administration felt about Reagan. What he wanted was given to him the way he wanted it. His staff and employers did as they were told, no matter what it was. Oliver North once boasted that he would take a spear in his chest for Ronald Reagan. His men were taught to be loyal, and they stayed loyal. They would have done anything for Reagan, even lie at times.President Reagan lied himself,...
