The Presidency

By Hugh Sidey

He has earned the right, with his 75th birthday coming up next week, to play the old man in winter and affect an air of elegant fatigue. He could, in presenting his fifth State of the Union address, simply brandish the record of his Administration, then settle in before the fireplace and wait for the world to cheer.

Ronald Reagan has decided to play it very differently. The message he plans to present to a joint session of Congress this Tuesday evening, with the sixth year of his Administration just getting under way, is notable for the absence of tiredness. It is about family, youth, science and future achievement. It is another bugle call, a great roar for all those things he believes free people and free nations can--and will--do. If some of the words might sound familiar, their energy level at this stage in his presidency is remarkable.

The state of the union is strong, and America is on the move, Reagan will insist. From the carefully crafted lines he has prepared, one of his favored themes emerges: give the people credit for the past five successful years. Cheer the family, the moms and pops who tended their kids, worked hard at their jobs, risked their savings in new ventures and honored their traditions. Those people got America moving, and it is high time to reduce the federal budget and "leave the family budget alone."

But stay strong. The Soviets only understand strength, and they are watching more closely than ever. If America reduces its security forces, it must be because of reduced threat, not reduced resolve, Reagan plans to argue. He will also tout his Star Wars defense initiative, not only because it induced the Soviets to return to arms negotiations in Geneva, but because he believes the surge of scientific research will bring a better life.

For an old-timer, Reagan likes to sound a continual rallying cry to youth. Young people will have to live with the events of this time, his message declares. New concern about education, both in families and communities, has already improved classroom discipline and learning. That crusade must go on in the grass roots. And catastrophic medical costs for some elderly patients, so devastating to their families, must be studied to see if there is not some program that would ease the lives of the old and free the young from this threat of economic ruin.

The message is designed to be a shot of adrenaline. Back in December, Reagan summoned his experts and said he wanted to keep things humming in this country. He also wanted a message that ran around 20 minutes, such brevity being a spiritual triumph in itself. So he decreed that it not be, as State of the Union speeches usually are, another laundry list of agency goals and proposals.

The draft pages came to him by the dozens in a blue folder, and he would take them out, unclip his ballpoint pen and write down his own ideas on a yellow legal pad. When the moment of truth approached, the speech was just a dozen double-spaced regular pages.

One reason that Reagan continues to capture the national fancy is his seeming eternal youth. He simply will not lie down and act his age. When he went to the hospital the other day for his colon checkup, he had been off solid food for 24 hours. After then enduring all the indignities of a thorough exam, he gave a thumbs up, climbed into his helicopter for Camp David, ate a hearty meal and announced to his weary companions that they would all see a movie.

When Reagan met with his staff to sort out his year's priorities, the President was told he could not cling to the Rose Garden. "You will have to sell the country," said an aide. Replied Reagan: "I'm ready."