Mr. President and The Power Wheel

The following story happened at the Republican National Convention in 1980 after Reagan tapped George H.W. Bush to be his running mate. At the time, Reagan was 69 at the time.

"After Reagan chose Bush as his running mate, a group of us enjoyed breakfast together while visiting in Reagan's hotel suite.

The suite had a common room for hosting guests that was sandwiched between two bedrooms on each side. Bush, Reagan, myself, and some others had been chatting with a mayor from a key battleground state.

Wanting to ingratiate himself to the newly nominated presidential candidate, the mayor said, "My, Governor, you sure look great for a man your age in the midst of political battle.

How to you manage to stay in such great physical shape?"

Without saying a word, Reagan got up out of his seat and disappeared into his bedroom.

When he returned, in his hand was an exercise wheel. The thing sort of looked like a doughnut with a stick running through its middle. "Here's my secret, Mr. Mayor," said Reagan.

And with that, the former Eureka College football player, still wearing his suit, dropped to his knees and placed one hand on each of the bars protruding from the wheel.

In one long, graceful motion, Reagan stretched his body forward, distributing his weight from his knees to his hands, until his chest hovered inches above the floor.

With equal fluidity, he then pulled back on the wheel, recoiling his body like a Slinky before returning to his original position.

"Wow," said the mayor. "I guess doing that every day would keep a man pretty fit."

After we had finished visiting, everyone left the hotel room, or so I thought. Savoring the rare moment of tranquility, I sat down on one of the low-slung couches in the now darkened visiting room and sat silently thinking through what the day might bring.

That's when I noticed that someone else was in the room. It was Bush. He walked over to Reagan's little exercise wheel.

Curiosity, it seems, had gotten the best of this former Yale University baseball player.

Sitting perfectly motionless, I thought to myself: "I've got to see this."

Mimicking Reagan's earlier demonstration, Bush dropped down onto his knees.

Steadying himself, he put one hand on each side of the wheel and began to lean forward. But as the wheel rolled out about two and a half feet, he began to lose his balance.

With shaking hands and wobbling shoulders, his elbows gave way, sending him crashing face forward onto the carpet.

I rustled my papers to let him know someone was in the room. Startled, Bush wrenched his neck around.

When our eyes met, he realized for the first time he was not alone. He popped up off the ground, and blew by me on his way out the door without saying a word.

It was one of the most unforgettable things I'd ever experienced. "

*From The Greatest Communicator by Dick Wirthlin (President Reagan's Chief Political Strategist); John Wiley &Sons, Inc., 2004