My father was a public figure all my life, and so the presidency was an extension of that. I guess you get used to it, though you can stand back occasionally and think, 'Boy, this is really weird!'
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Several things about Reagan are unusual in a public man. He was not a typical politician at all, but a private man in public life.
My dad came out of the Roosevelt era and the Depression. One person and one party made a difference in his life. That's what everybody forgot when they called my father and other people political bosses.
As I've gotten older, I've gotten more liberal, and my father is increasingly conservative. It's so shocking to me because I always thought we had the same politics. The day I realized we voted for different presidents, I practically fell out of my chair.
If I think of all the family members, I was probably the only one who was excited with the possibility of my dad's entering public office.
My dad was phenomenal. Born in Mexico, lived poor, didn't graduate from college, and becomes head of a car company and then governor of a state. I can't imagine I would have ever thought about running for office had I not seen my dad do it.
My particular historical vantage point is a product of my upbringing as that odd duck, a native Washingtonian whose parents were not in government. The first presidential transition of my sentient lifetime, Kennedy's, I remember vividly.
In exchange for power, influence, command and a place in history, a president gives up the bulk of his privacy.
Our dad was just a congressman for 27 years, and if you live in Washington, D.C., everybody's dad works for the government. We grew up just like everyone else.
My parents elected me president of the family when I was 4. We actually had an election every year, and I always won. I'm an only child, and I could count on my mother's vote.
No one in my family had ever been in politics. My dad thought it was something that got in the way.