--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ronald Reagan was a man who knew the…" description: "\"“Ronald Reagan was a man who knew the diplomatic form. He also had a showman’s ear for a tune. So when, at an official dinner, the marine band slipped ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/a-a-gill-2-35417_national-anthem_ronald-reagan-was-a-man-who-knew-the-dip_2093370.jpg" --- # Ronald Reagan was a man who knew the diplomatic form. He… ![“Ronald Reagan was a man who knew the diplomatic form. He also had a showman’s ear for a tune. So when, at an official dinner, the marine band slipped into ‘Edelweiss’, he stopped mid-anecdote, rose to his feet, placed a reverential hand over his heart and stared into the blank mid-distance out of…” quote by A.A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/a-a-gill-2-35417_national-anthem_ronald-reagan-was-a-man-who-knew-the-dip_2093370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/a-a-gill-2-35417_national-anthem_ronald-reagan-was-a-man-who-knew-the-dip_2093370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/a-a-gill-2-35417_national-anthem_ronald-reagan-was-a-man-who-knew-the-dip_2093370.jpg) > ““Ronald Reagan was a man who knew the diplomatic form. He also had a showman’s ear for a tune. So when, at an official dinner, the marine band slipped into ‘Edelweiss’, he stopped mid-anecdote, rose to his feet, placed a reverential hand over his heart and stared into the blank mid-distance out of respect for the Austrian national anthem.”” [A.A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reagan’s respect for a foreign anthem showed diplomatic sensitivity and theatrical flair. **In simple terms:** Respectful gesture at a formal event. Key Takeaway Show respect in cross‑cultural moments. Themes diplomacy respect theatricality Mood reflective critical Type political cultural When to use this quote - state dinners - international conferences - public ceremonies Key Concepts cultural etiquette political symbolism Questions to Reflect On - When does symbolism become empty? - How do you balance authenticity and protocol? A Different Perspective Such gestures can be seen as performative rather than sincere. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [National anthem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-anthem/) ## Related quotes > [We remember Ronald Reagan as a man who maximized his gifts from an unknown to an actor to a Governor to the leader of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burr/we-remember-ronald-reagan-as-a-man-who-maximized-his-gifts-from-an/) [Richard Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burr/) > [“To Ronald Reagan, The Man Who Won the War.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/to-ronald-reagan-the-man-who-won-the-war/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Regarding Ronald Reagan: In point of fact, the image of Ronald Reagan, the man responsible for shaping that decade (the 1980s), should be carved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/regarding-ronald-reagan-in-point-of-fact-the-image-of-ronald-reagan/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ \[Ronald\] Reagan seems to be a man of some basic convictions and on the other hand willing to let others do the ground homework,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schmidt/ronald-reagan-seems-to-be-a-man-of-some-basic-convictions-and-on-the/) [Helmut Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schmidt/) > [Reagan is the only man to take the presidency as a part-time job, a means of filling up the otherwise empty hours of retirement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/reagan-is-the-only-man-to-take-the-presidency-as-a-part-time-job-a/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [Maybe we like our politicians to appear like bumbling oafs. 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There were certain realities that he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/everything-ronald-reagan-got-the-tax-cuts-he-had-democrats/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Ronald Reagan just signed the new tax law. But I think he was in Hollywood too long. He signed it, 'Best wishes, Ronald Reagan.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/ronald-reagan-just-signed-the-new-tax-law-but-i-think-he-was-in/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Ronald Reagan's biographer wrote of the former president's final days: "for all the intimate familiarity of that face and body, I did not feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morris/ronald-reagan-s-biographer-wrote-of-the-former-president-s-final-days/) Edwin Morris ## More by A.A. Gill > [“I told them this was their language, this English, this most marvellous and expressive cloak of meaning and imagination. 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Gill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill-2/) ## More National anthem quotes > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. 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