Introduction to "The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand"

The Mission: The Introduction to The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand | Paul Kengor and Patricia Clark Doerner

On a spring day in 1988, William P. Clark--known by friends and associates as "The Judge"--taxied into position on the dirt landing strip of his thousand-acre ranch near Paso Robles, the heart of California's Central Coast wine country. At age fifty-six, he was substantially finished with government service and looking forward to life at the ranch, working cattle, planting olive trees, and developing a  vineyard. Both orchard and vineyard would complement a Spanish mission-style chapel--at this point no more than a dream, yet to be designed.

Judge Clark, whose request to be called Bill goes mostly unheeded, had left the Reagan administration three years earlier. He had served Ronald Reagan for more than twenty years, beginning when Reagan ran for governor of California. During his two years as Reagan's national security advisor, Clark was--next to the President--probably the most powerful man in America, and thus among the most powerful men in the world. Though no longer a regular presence at Reagan's side, Clark continued to serve his country from the background and to advance causes he had been unable to address during his public life.

On this day, as he prepared his tandem-seat Super Cub for takeoff, his public career was mostly behind him. The night before, Clark had returned from a trip to Europe. He felt jet-lagged, not especially sharp, but his desk at the office in town was piled high with work.

Early into takeoff, the plane got caught in a crosswind. "I knew right away that I was in trouble", says Clark. "I lost control."

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Comments

[Mark Brumley]

This is a fascinating book. I know it looks like something outside the normal subject matter of an IP book. Some may even think it a matter of partisan politics. It isn't. It's about a great Catholic man and how his faith influenced him and those around him--including a president of the United States. You don't need to be a partisan to appreciate this book.