These days are gone and will never return in our lifetime.

Posted on 1/10/26 at 6:17 am

Posted by Geekboy

Member since Jan 2004

7648 posts

Posted on 1/10/26 at 6:17 am

Tip and the Gipper is a political history and character study about the unlikely working relationship—and personal friendship—between Ronald Reagan, a conservative Republican president, and Tip O’Neill, a liberal Democratic Speaker of the House, during the 1980s. The book’s central thesis is that despite sharp ideological conflict, American governance functioned because leaders could disagree fiercely by day and still respect—and even like—each other by night.

What the Book Is About

At its core, the book argues that:
• Reagan and O’Neill represented authentic ideological opposites, not performative ones.
• They fought hard over taxes, spending, Social Security, defense, and the size of government.
• Yet they maintained personal trust, civility, and a shared belief in American institutions.

Chris Matthews uses their relationship to illustrate what he sees as a lost political culture: deal-making grounded in personal respect rather than total war politics. The famous image Matthews returns to repeatedly is that Reagan and O’Neill would spar publicly, then share drinks, jokes, and stories privately—often Irish-Catholic humor on O’Neill’s side and Hollywood optimism on Reagan’s.

The book is also partly autobiographical. Matthews worked for Tip O’Neill, and the narrative often reflects his insider vantage point inside Democratic leadership during the Reagan years.

How Chris Matthews Felt About Reagan

This is where the book is especially interesting for debate purposes.

Despite being a lifelong Democrat and a former O’Neill aide, Chris Matthews is clearly impressed by Reagan—sometimes uncomfortably so for readers expecting partisan hostility.

Matthews’ view of Reagan can be summarized accurately as:

1. He Respected Reagan’s Leadership and Skill

Matthews portrays Reagan as politically formidable:
• Exceptionally disciplined in message
• Intuitively brilliant at communicating values
• Able to frame conservative ideas in moral and emotional terms

Matthews repeatedly concedes that Reagan outmaneuvered Democrats not through policy minutiae but through narrative and conviction.

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2. He Acknowledged Reagan’s Sincerity

Matthews emphasizes that Reagan genuinely believed what he said. He was not cynical, not tactical in the modern sense, and not transactional. Matthews contrasts Reagan’s optimism with what he sees as the technocratic coldness of many Democrats.

This sincerity, Matthews argues, made Reagan trustworthy—even to opponents.

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3. He Disagreed Strongly With Reagan’s Policies

Matthews does not become a Reagan convert:
• He opposed Reaganomics.
• He believed Reagan favored the wealthy.
• He worried about cuts to social programs.

But importantly, Matthews separates policy disagreement from personal legitimacy, something he argues modern politics fails to do.

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4. He Viewed Reagan as a Unifier, Not a Divider

Matthews credits Reagan with understanding the emotional state of the country after Vietnam and Watergate. Reagan’s optimism, in Matthews’ telling, wasn’t superficial—it was strategic and restorative.

He saw Reagan as someone who loved the country and wanted it to feel confident again, even if Democrats believed he was wrong on substance.

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Matthews’ Larger Point

The Reagan–O’Neill relationship is used as evidence that:
• Democracy requires opponents, not enemies
• Politics works when leaders believe the other side is legitimate
• Personal respect enables compromise without ideological surrender

Matthews is blunt that he does not believe today’s political environment would allow a Reagan–O’Neill dynamic to exist.

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Bottom Line

Chris Matthews’ position in Tip and the Gipper is nuanced but clear:
• He admired Reagan the leader
• He respected Reagan the man
• He opposed Reagan the policymaker
• He believed Reagan elevated the presidency and the tone of American politics