A Master of Laughter: 3 Pointers From Ronald Reagan for Us Today

President Ronald Reagan sports a bush hat, won in a bet with Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke, during ceremonies honoring the Stars and Stripes crew for their America's Cup victory, in Washington on Feb. 9, 1987. MIKE SARGENT/AFP via Getty Images

In the 1984 presidential debates, Ronald Reagan, 73, faced off with his Democrat opponent, Walter Mondale, 56. During their second debate, journalist and moderator Henry Trewhitt asked this question of Reagan: “You already are the oldest president in history, and some of your staff say you were tired after your most recent encounter with Mr. Mondale. I recall yet that President Kennedy had to go for days on end with very little sleep during the the Cuban Missile Crisis. Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances?”

“Not at all, Mr. Trewhitt,” Reagan replied. “And I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

Reagan’s response brought down the house. Even Mondale burst out laughing.

Lesson 1: Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Ronald Reagan loved jokes and funny stories, and he had a comedian’s knack for timing and delivery. In his desk in the Oval Office he kept a stack of 3 x 5 notecards inscribed with one-liners that he had collected or invented. He often inserted one or more of them into speeches. Search online for topics such as “Ronald Reagan’s jokes,” and we find an array of video and print compilations featuring the best of this president’s comedic moments.

While many of his “truths spoken in jest” concerned politics, Reagan also directed his humor at the human condition, often making himself the butt of the joke. Done with a smile, this technique of poking fun at himself gave him an air of self-confidence while making him appear open and warm in the eyes of others.

A case in point: As he did in his debate with Walter Mondale, Reagan frequently lampooned his age. In 1984, while delivering an address for the National Alliance for Senior Citizens, Reagan said: “You know, I’ve been around a while myself. One of my favorite quotations about age comes from Thomas Jefferson. He said that we should never judge a person by his age, only by his work. And ever since he told me that, I’ve stopped worrying.”

Regarding cat naps snatched from a busy day by older people, Reagan said, “I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a Cabinet meeting.”

He reinforced that jest with another: “I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.”

Popping the balloon of our pretensions with the pinpricks of humor helps us keep both feet on the ground.

Lesson #2: Gently Employed Humor Draws People Together

Reagan’s jokes were pointed at times, but he avoided the snide comment or the ugly put-down that so often passes for comedy. He saw humor as a means of building bridges to others.

In “Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary man Became an Extraordinary Leader,” Dinesh D’Souza wrote about one of the frequent protests that occurred while Reagan was governor of California.

“Reagan once witnessed a sidewalk lined with students staring him down and giving him the silent treatment,“ D‘Souza wrote. ”Reagan began to tiptoe, put his finger to his lips, and said, ’Shhhhh.' A few students broke out laughing, and Reagan ducked into his car with a smile.”

As president, Reagan discovered that Mikhail Gorbachev, the last general secretary of the Soviet Union, possessed an abundant sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke, qualities that helped create a bond between the two men.

President Ronald Reagan (R) with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during welcoming ceremonies at the White House on the first day of their disarmament summit, on Dec. 8, 1987. MIKE SARGENT/AFP via Getty Images

D’Souza told the story of Reagan telling Gorbachev this joke about a Russian and an American arguing about their two countries:

“The American said, ‘Look, I can go into the Oval Office, pound the president’s desk, and say: Mr. President, I don’t like the way you’re running our country.’ And the Russian responded, ‘I can do that.’ The American said, ‘You can?’ The Russian replied, ‘Sure. I can go into the Kremlin, into the general secretary’s office, and say: Mr. Gorbachev, I don’t like the way that President Reagan is running his country.’ Gorbachev laughed heartily.”

“I’ve always believed,” Reagan once said, “that a lot of the troubles in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other.”

Reagan talked to Gorbachev. The year after he left the White House, the Berlin Wall came down, and the Soviet hold on Eastern Europe fell apart. Three years later, the Soviet Union was dismantled.

Lesson #3: Levity Lightens Our Troubles

In March 1981, just two months after taking office, Reagan was shot during an attempted assassination. As the hospital staff prepared him for surgery, his wife Nancy arrived after racing to the hospital.

“Honey, I forgot to duck,” Reagan joked, repeating the words boxer Jack Dempsey had spoken to his own wife after losing the heavyweight championship nearly 60 years earlier.

After being wheeled into the operating room for surgery, Reagan told the medical personnel surrounding him, “Please tell me you’re Republicans.”

The doctors and nurses gathered round him laughed, and the lead surgeon, a Democrat, said, “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

A cheerful heart, a kind word, and an appropriate jest can ease our troubles and those of others. One key element of Reagan’s personality was his optimism—“Even in a time of hardship and confusion,” wrote D’Souza, “he was irrepressibly optimistic about his country’s future”—and that optimism shone through in his humor, jokes, and storytelling.

One of Reagan’s nicknames, The Great Communicator, sums up these positive attributes. In a 2004 article, “Ronald Reagan, Master Storyteller,” Lloyd Vries wrote: “Even many of his harshest detractors found him charming. And the Reagan humor was often a hit with the press corps, too.”

Winning so many hearts and minds with this lighthearted approach helped Reagan communicate and carry forward his presidential agenda.

Preserving Civility and Laughter

Many commentators today believe that the United States’ store of humor and good cheer seems diminished, a victim of our country’s bitter political and cultural divisions. The furious rancor roused by such animosity is hardly a breeding ground for the civility and grace of a Ronald Reagan.

Yet we still have Reagan’s example, easily accessible online, and we still have freedom to emulate that grace and style and share it with loved ones, friends, and strangers.

The speech that brought Reagan national political attention is now known as “A Time to Choose.” We, too, are living in a time to choose.

Let’s choose laughter and a buoyant heart.