Book Review
The story of a
leader asleep
at the wheel
By Larry Matthews
• The Eagle
American U., DC
When Jane Mayer and Doyle
McManus's Landslide: The Un
making of the President, 1984 1988
was released late in November of
last year, the White House reacted
with disdain and denial.
After all, here was a book that
portrayed Ronald Reagan as an
aloof chief executive in his second
term who preferred television over
policy matters, who rarely voiced
an opinion and frequently sat com
placent as his aides discussed
issues. One whose advisers were
apparently so concerned about the
president's state of mind that they
briefly considered invoking Section
Four of the 25th amendment,
which transfers powers from the
president to the vice president.
Not exactly a nattering portrait.
What Mayer and McManus
attempt in this book is not simply a
barrage of attacks on the president,
but an alarming portrayal of an
administration's loss of direction in
its second term that hopelessly
spiraled toward virtual paralysis.
Landslide is also a comprehensive
examination of the Iran-Contra
affair — from its inception to the
final issuance of the Tower report
— told in vivid, lucid language that
might very well be considered the
most definitive account of the
period yet written.
Wall Street Journal reporter
Mayer has covered the White
House for the last four years.
McManus covers Washington for
the Los Angeles Times. Together,
using extensive interviews and re
ports, various books written during
the Reagan years and recently de
classified documents and tapes, the
authors have compiled a rarely
seen or heard of view inside the
Reagan White House.
Perhaps even more disconcerting
than the hands-off management
style of President Reagan are the
references to his successor in the
oval office, George Bush, and
Bush’s early knowledge of the
arms-for-hostages swap with Iran.
“He had the entire deal laid before
him in clear, unsparing terms; but
Bush. .. raised no objections and
forced no review of the policy," the
authors write.
Landslide is not without its
White House gossip, including
tales of behind-the-scenes man
ipulation by Nancy Reagan, the
president's laid-back work sche
dule and the claim by one of
Reagan's children that “he makes
things up and believes them."
Whether one is interested in such
scintillating tidbits, a step-bv-step
description of the ill-fated Iran
Contra dealings, or in seeing how a
once thriving presidency slowly de
generated into chaos, Landslide is
must reading in light of the newly
elected administration.
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