The Reagan legacy: Vivid portrait of the president

Long before he became the 40th president, Ronald Reagan was asked by his son Michael for a bigger allowance. His reply: “When the government lets me keep more of my paycheck.”

Michael Reagan recalls that lesson fondly in “Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered,” a two-hour biography at 9 tonight on the History Channel. Ronald Reagan changed the course of world history by doggedly following his principles, and although this show is unlikely to alter the opinions of his admirers or detractors, it paints a vivid picture of the public and private man.

Anchored by former CNN correspondent Frank Sesno, the program features frank interviews with Reagan’s wife, Nancy, and his three children, as well as political associates and rivals such as Mikhail Gorbachev.

Reagan’s stubbornness paid off politically, but there was always a personal cost. His daughter, Patti Davis, recalls icy dinner conversations when she was a kid, unable to stomach Reagan’s “black and white” view of the world. His son Ron remembers a relationship that changed forever the day, at age 12, he refused to go to church.

They also recall how Reagan electrified the crowd at a 1964 speech for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, launching his own political climb after a Hollywood career. And how, while California governor, he nonchalantly rescued a girl at a poolside party in Sacramento.

Although Reagan was a popular president, he left a mixed legacy with his simple approach. His tax cut spawned a political “revolution,” and his military buildup and tough negotiating stance helped push Gorbachev to tear down “the wall” of the Soviet empire -- but only after Reagan broke his campaign pledge to balance the budget. His style of setting the vision and then delegating responsibility has become a leadership model -- but detachment worked to his detriment in the Iran-contra scandal, when his White House traded arms for hostages.

Throughout his many battles, Reagan never seemed to lose his charm. When he left the world stage in 1994 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he said goodbye to a colleague by joking, “There’s one good thing: Every day I meet new people.”