While the national mourning for President Ronald Reagan has been characterized by an outpouring of admiration and respect rarely seen in American political history, Reagan's legacy is still tarnished for some Americans by his apparent inaction during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop '37, appointed by Reagan in 1982, explained that political forces repeatedly thwarted both his and Reagan's attempts to raise awareness about the growing problems of AIDS.
"Mr. Reagan has been painted by the press as not knowing or not caring much about AIDS," Koop told The Dartmouth. "That is wrong. He did care about it."
Instead, according to Koop, the problem was that Reagan's political advisors continually recommended that the President disregard the AIDS crisis because of its politically controversial nature.
"Conservatives around him didn't want him to get involved because of the people who had [AIDS]," Koop remembered. "They said, 'Homosexuals, intravenous drug abusers, heterosexuals who are sexually promiscuous, prostitutes -- don't they deserve what they got?' I've always resented that. I think I could have saved a lot more people."
As one example, Koop cited his failed attempt to add an AIDS awareness spin to First Lady Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No to Drugs" campaign. Koop saw the First Lady's campaign as a perfect opportunity for President Reagan to address the AIDS crisis.
"I contacted him [Reagan] through personal friends and suggested he could accomplish more if he appeared with her and for him to say something like, 'That includes IV drugs like heroin. You're not just saying no to drugs, you're saying no to AIDS,'" Koop said.
After asking Koop several well-informed questions regarding AIDS, Reagan took the idea to his domestic policy council the next morning.
"It caused an uproar," Koop said. "They said, 'That's lose-lose, you want win-win.' He listened to those who he thought were acting on his best behalf."
The White House staff made Koop's job as Surgeon General even more difficult by making direct conversation with the President difficult to obtain. "I'd never be able to make a call directly to Mr. Reagan the way I could call President Bush or President Clinton," Koop said.
This forced Koop to resort to secret methods of communicating with Reagan such as passing notes. "This lady would bring down 12 to 20 letters that she thought was the pulse of the country," he said, "and he'd sign each one painstakingly 'Ronald Reagan' and include a little note. I could slip notes in between those letters."
This also meant Koop would take advantage of every moment he had in Reagan's presence to discuss public health issues, even while stuffed in a broom closet during a tour of the National Institutes of Health.
"We were walking side-by-side and we were surrounded by Secret Service," Koop remembered. "Before we knew it we were both pushed into a broom closet by Secret Service because there was a bomb scare. So it was just he and I in this broom closet, and I said with a smile on my face, 'We have very little time, Mr. President, but I have a few things to say about AIDS.'"
However, as ineffective as Reagan appeared in handling the AIDS crisis, according to Koop his influence proved powerful when it came to other public health problems. The president took a great interest in those waiting for organ transplants, especially children.
"He pleaded for one girl in his weekly radio address one Saturday morning and we had 40 livers by Monday morning. The family didn't want her to be on the list unless she was at the top and he had enough interest to help in that way," Koop said.
Koop also said he knew through personal experience that the friendly appearance Reagan exuded was genuine."There was a warmth to the man that hadn't been felt in Washington in some time," he said. "When he shook your hand, he put his left hand on top of the two clasped hands, and he looked you right in the eye. You didn't feel you were in a receiving line, and you didn't feel he was bored to death."
Despite the problems that existed during his administration, Koop felt that warmth would be Reagan's ultimate legacy.
As Koop put it, "The arrival of Mr. Reagan in Washington was an occasion for those who had been waiting for a resurgence of the old American spirit, and he delivered that in spades."
