The bitter truth was that Ronald Reagan faced an excruciating test

of presidential decision-making. After an exhausting and prolonged

political struggle, he had emerged in July triumphant, having enacted

a generous tax cut for all Americans. Only three months later, he had

to admit that the triumph had been an illusion, when we couldn t win

support for the spending cuts needed to balance the equation.

Even worse, it had not been his fault. He had been misled by a crew

of overzealous-and ultimately incompetent-advisers. The original

budget plan I had devised for him had been fatally flawed. It is even

harder to eat crow when you haven t cooked it yourself.

The President could run, but he couldn t hide. ~nclo would help

him? Not the Democrats, who were sullen and revengeful; not the

Republicans, who were hunkered down in their separate camps,

frantic and confused. Reagan had one real option: to retreat and give

back part of the huge tax cut we couldn t afford.

But he wouldn t. Ronald Reagan chose not to be a leader but a

politician, and in so doing showed why passion and imperfection,

not reason and doctrine, rule the world. His obstinacy was destined

to keep America s economy hostage to the errors of his advisers for

a long, long time.