If London wants to land the new Shriners children's hospital, it should take a lesson from a man who passed away a few weeks ago.
In June, the world remembered the life and legacy of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan. Whether it was critics who had scorned him for being a mere actor playing at commander-in-chief, or conservatives who praised him for ending the Cold War, both sides agreed on at least one thing -- Ronald Reagan was an all-American success story.
In a commemorative issue, Time magazine said: "Throughout virtually his whole life, Reagan seemed to cling to an unchanging vision of an America that the Hollywood of his youth tried both to express and create. It was a Norman Rockwell vision of elm-shaded village life, of freckle-faced boys going fishing, of parading on July 4 . . ."
Yet, another Norman played just as big a role in the life of Ronald Reagan, at least in spirit. The Great Communicator was almost the embodiment of the positive thinking of Norman Vincent Peale.
In the early 1950s, after being in more than 50 films, Reagan was getting no offers of good parts. His presidency of the Screen Actors Guild had damaged his reputation amongst movie mandarins, so he was reduced to doing a nightclub routine in Las Vegas where he introduced singers and dancers and made apologetic jokes about his own inability to either sing or dance. Yet, his optimism never flagged.
Reagan was soon offered a new job that changed his life. For $125,000 a year, he would act as host and occasional star of a weekly television drama series for General Electric. The rest is history: Reagan's acting career revived and, more importantly, he became a leading conservative voice as he got to know -- and like -- GE workers around the U.S.
We could use some of his Yankee can-do attitude. Following last week's decision by the Shriners international convention in Denver to put Ottawa and Montreal back in the running for the new $50-million Shriners hospital, Controller Bud Polhill called for a special meeting of London city council, despite the fact council is on summer break.
It's a step in the right direction. It would be easy to retreat into a corner and whine about Montreal's johnny-come-lately approach to the Denver convention. But foot-stamping isn't likely to impress Shriner delegates.
The fact Montreal sent a large delegation to lobby -- including the city's mayor, the province's health minister and an ex-premier -- obviously did make an impression. Montreal has promised free land (valued at $5 million), a $5-million donation and says it will speed up construction of its super-hospital.
We should do the same, or better. Tony Dagnone, head of London's bid committee and president of London Health Sciences Centre, has said London would not get into a bidding war with Montreal. But, why not?
If Montreal is prepared to pull out all the stops to keep its Shriners hospital, we should do our best to match them. Nothing less will convince Shriner delegates we really want the hospital.
In his first successful presidential bid, Ronald Reagan almost lost because he tried to be above the fray.
His campaign strategist, a Washington lawyer, believed Reagan should remain aloofly "presidential" when competing against fellow Republicans for his party's nomination. As a result, Reagan lost the first big contest, the Iowa caucuses, to a hard-driving George H. W. Bush.
With the whole campaign at stake in the New Hampshire primary, the Gipper shifted to the grittier strategy known among aides as "letting Reagan be Reagan." At the debate in Nashua, N.H., in which Bush sat out a procedural argument in frozen silence while someone tried to turn off Reagan's microphone, Reagan angrily cried out "I am paying for this microphone!" It led to a sweeping victory for Reagan that virtually assured him the nomination.
My advice to London city council: Follow Reagan's example and don't let scruples get in the way of doing what is necessary.
For the children of Southwestern Ontario, win the Shriners hospital.