Slipping the Surly Bonds: Reagan's Challenger Address

chapter 3

chapter 3 Writing the Challenger Address Americans are proud of their nation’s technological accomplishments and scientific prowess, which are widely considered integral to their nation’s self-identity.1 When that sense of pride is threatened, it can be deeply upsetting to American psyches. Such was the case following Sputnik’s launch, for instance, and again following the explosion of Challenger. The shuttles were an international symbol of American technological might. They appeared to be both safe and routine—so much so, in fact, that one major car manufacturer used the shuttle as part of its advertising campaign for a minivan, that suburban transportation system designed for parents and multitudes of small children. Had any of the shuttles been damaged under any conceivable circumstances, the nation would have been profoundly affected. But the Challenger mission wasn’t just any mission. It was the one carrying Christa McAuliffe, the “Teacher in Space.” Because of this, Americans were watching in unusually large numbers, and an unprecedented number of children were tuned into the launch, many watching in their classrooms across the country. Because video of the launch existed, it was replayed on all of the major television stations for the entire afternoon. Everyone in the country—and many people around the world—watched the explosion again and again. [61] writing the challenger address Any occasion of national importance demands presidential speech, and Ronald Reagan’s White House was immediately aware of the need to send the“right”message to both the nation and the world. Initially the president seemed to think this meant instantiating and enacting thecredothat“lifemustgoon”andclaimedthathewouldbegivingthe State of the Union address as scheduled.2 That idea was quickly revised, however, as the enormity of the disaster began to sink in, and the State of the Union address was canceled in favor of brief remarks to the nation. Unlike most presidential talks, those comments were swiftly written . Standard practice in the Reagan White House gave speechwriters anywhere from six to seven days to craft a speech; major addresses generally received even more time.3 On this day, however, only six hours elapsed between the explosion and Reagan’s televised talk. In fact, Peggy Noonan, the speech’s principal author, says that she began drafting the remarks as soon as she understood what had happened.4 Certainly it must have been completed in a very short time indeed. Writing Reagan Noonan devotes a full chapter of her White House memoir to the writing of the Challenger address, and, like all good authors, she compresses the actual composition of the speech into a much briefer and cleaner process than could actually have been the case. As she tells it, she watched the explosion, immediately began writing, received the notes from Reagan’s press meeting, and passed a draft to Pat Buchanan; a conference with Buchanan, some staffers, Larry Speakes, and “the chief” (presumably her immediate superior, Ben Elliot) followed.“No one,” she says,“is pleased, but there is no time to rewrite.”5 According to her narrative, the speech was delivered almost immediately after this meeting. Noonan’s account is nicely done, but it stretches the literal truth. The first draft in the files at the Reagan Library is time-stamped at 1:00 p.m., at which moment Reagan was meeting with the media. Noonan had access to notes from that gathering shortly thereafter. [62] chapter 3 His comments—mostly dwelling on his concern for the families and the dangers of pioneering—were incorporated into the second draft, time-stamped at 1:30 p.m. Those notes appear to be the only influence Reagan had on the speech until he initialed it, signifying his approval sometime after 3:30 p.m.Although several sets of people, including the National Security staff, contributed to the talk, it appears that there were essentially two major rounds of revision and some small tinkering after that first draft. In her account of the notes she received, Noonan foregrounds Reagan’s concern for the astronauts’ families and states that, in response to a question about the volunteer on board, the president replied,“They’re all citizens—all volunteers. That is the last frontier.” When asked how he would address the children, he again used the pioneering metaphor.6 Reagan did, in fact, say all of these things.7 What is important here is that, according to Noonan’s narrative of events...