Ronald Reagan in Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani

On Homeland Security: Dealt with Soviets but insisted on verification with teeth

Ronald Reagan exemplified the best way to approach such situations. His refusal to award trust that hadn't been earned changed the nature of our country's relationship with the Soviet Union. Over arms control, he insisted on verification; he wouldn't take the Soviets at their word because it would have been reckless to have done so. The Soviet Union wasn't entitled to that civility. Reagan forced the Soviets to make concessions up front before the United States made any in return. We know we're going to live up to any treaty. We have laws and protocols that ensure it, and our culture demands it. That wasn't true of the Soviet Union. Reagan insisted on inspection mechanisms with teeth, of the kind that previous administrations might have refused to pursue to completion.

On Jobs: Fired PATCO workers who broke oath not to strike

I said I was sure the controllers signed that oath because we all had. I still do not know how he knew about it, because although the President takes the oath, I am sure he does not sign a form not to strike.

Reagan announced that any air traffic controller who did not return to work would be fired. He said, "Let me read the oath taken by these employees: 'I am not participating in any strike against the Government of the US or any agency thereof, and I will not so participate while an employee of the Government of the US or any agency thereof.'"

Here was the Great Communicator reading from an oath that every one of those controllers had signed. Suddenly it was as if the controllers had been caught betraying their country.

On Principles & Values: Built morale so people believed things could be accomplished

When Carter was president, the prevailing mood was malaise. Nobody could run the country, you just did the best you could not to make it worse. When Reagan became president, all of a sudden people started to believe things could be accomplished. The Soviet Union could be stared down and spoken about in plain language, unions could be forced to behave responsibly, taxes could be reduced in the hope that individuals would make smarter decisions for their dollars than the federal government. The feeling was that the president was very much in charge. Reagan understood that much of that was optimism. It did not mean that leaders ran around cheerful all the time, but that they found ways to build morale.