In the brisk autumn of 1992, a couple of months before his inauguration, Bill Clinton’s motorcade pulled up to the Century City skyscraper in Los Angeles where Ronald Reagan had his post-presidential office.
Clinton was spending a few days in town with friends and had sent word to Reagan, now eighty-one years old, that he wanted to stop by and chat. A meeting was quickly arranged.
The two men were thirty-four years apart in age and a world apart in outlook. The aging iconic conservative Republican and the baby-boomer liberal Democrat. Reagan’s team extended the invitation with raised eyebrows. This should be interesting.
And why in the world would the incoming Democratic President want to meet with the world’s best-known Republican?
They had met once before at the White House. Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, attended a reception for the governors with his wife, Hillary. But that was formal and official and expected. This was a request to chat. Anything but formal and official.
Even so, Clinton had an agenda. But it wasn’t to gloat. It wasn’t to vilify Reagan, to assert his political bragging rights, or to curry favor.
No, his agenda was something rarely seen in politics today. He wanted to learn, to gain insight and wisdom, and he just wanted to talk to Ronald Reagan.
In the seventy minutes they met that day in L.A. they talked about politics, handling problems, and being, well, President. But they didn’t argue about policy or party lines.
And before he left, Reagan offered Bill Clinton two pieces of advice. Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, in The President’s Club, describe what happened next.
First, Reagan said, “get out of Washington every weekend you can and make thorough use of Camp David. The fresh air, the chance to freely roam the complex’s roughly 150 acres, even the brief time away from Washington, was necessary. Good for the body and soul.”
They write, “That piece of advice was predictable. The other was not. Clinton, Reagan insisted, needed to learn how to salute. The older man had noticed during the campaign that Clinton didn’t have any idea how to execute a proper military greeting. As commander-in-chief, Reagan suggested, Clinton would need a good, crisp up-angle down slash of the hand to get the job done right.”
Reagan, having served in the military, was the President who actually launched the trend of the Commander-in-chief returning the salute of military personnel. He felt that Clinton, if he was going to continue honoring military personnel, should learn how to do it right.
He was willing to teach him. And Clinton was willing to learn. And so the aging former President gave the younger incoming Commander-in-chief a private tutorial. The two men stood there in Reagan’s L.A. office, thirty floors above Beverly Hills, perfecting their salutes.
And when the lesson as over, before Clinton departed, Reagan gave the new President one more thing. He gave Clinton a jar of red, white, and blue jellybeans, chuckling and explaining that they had prevented him from becoming a nicotine addict.
Clinton thanked him, they shook hands, and Clinton headed downstairs to his car.
In January Bill Clinton was inaugurated. And while he was in office, from time to time, when he felt he needed a refresher, Clinton would practice his salutes with aides who had served in the military. And occasionally, some who had not.
And for the next eight years, the same jar of jellybeans remained in plain sight in Clinton’s office. Why? Probably for a reminder of that cool fall day in L.A., that day that Reagan showed him three things that every leader needs to remember.
First, find common ground. “Strive for peace with everyone” the Bible says (Heb. 12:14), and reminds us we have an option. Argue or cooperate. When we find common ground, we can work together for the sake of everyone.
Second, teach and be teachable. Great leaders are teachable and able to teach (2 Tim. 2:24). We should never take lightly the role we have to teach others what we learned along the way.
And third, legacy matters. And for Christian leaders, it is indispensable: “Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7).
In today’s political climate, it is hard to imagine leaders who would even consider learning from each other, politicians who would seek one another’s advice and put the agenda of the American people above their own. I miss that. How about you?
But, if you are a leader, and, frankly, even if you’re not, remember this–God isn’t going to ask you to account for any other leader’s legacy. Just yours (Rom. 14:12).
And as leaders, we all know—one day, someone will take our place. When that time comes, what legacy will you leave?