Book Review: "Rawhide Down"

An exciting true story can be every bit as gripping as the best fiction thriller, and this is demonstrated remarkably well in "Rawhide Down, The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan" by Del Quentin Wilber. The book chronicles in great detail the events of March 30, 1981 (has it really been THIRTY years ago?) when total loser and nutcase John Hinckley attempted to kill President Reagan outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. The book details how much closer Reagan came to dying than any of us were ever led to believe back in 1981 when the events occurred.

There are several heroes in this tale. Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr instinctively grabbed and shoved the President into the back of his limo, and then made a split second decision that truly saved the President's life. The team of ER docs and nurses and the surgical team at George Washington University Hospital. The others who were wounded (press secretary Jim Brady, a secret service agent, and a DC policeman).

And, of course, Reagan himself. We all remember the stories of Reagan's one liners to the docs ("I hope all you fellows are Republicans") and how he walked on his own power into the ER, but in this book we see that the President was also a seriously wounded, 70 year old man. He collapsed as he walked into the hospital, and was fearful that he was having a difficult time breathing. But he survived and spent time in the recovery room writing notes to the nurses who were attending him. In one note, the ex-actor said "Can we re-write this scene beginning from when I left the hotel?"

A bit more disconcerting was the reactions of those in the government regarding what should be done while the President was unconscious, incapacitated, or if he should die. We all remember Secretary of State Al Haig's complete incomprehension about the constitutional line of Presidential succession. At the time of the shooting, Vice President Bush was in Texas at an official function, and communication between the White House and the VP's airplane was unbelievably primitive. It seemed that the real power rested not with true government officials, i.e., cabinet secretaries, but with appointed people like Chief of Staff Jim Baker and his people, Ed Meese and Mike Deaver.

We all know how the story ends - Reagan recovered, left the hospital in 13 days, and returned to the Oval Office in 26 days. He served two terms, was enormously popular, and history seems to be judging him well. And this book reconfirms one thing that has often been said of him: you may be 180 degrees apart from Ronald Reagan's politics, but it is absolutely impossible to not like, if not love, Ronald Reagan the man. (Cute anecdote: while in New York City once during his acting days, a lady approached him on the street thinking he was actor Ray Milland. Not wanting to disappoint the fan, Reagan played along and signed Milland's name when giving an autograph.)

Good book.