There's no need to romanticize the relationship. They were not best friends. "I think that maybe Tip had a little Irish jealousy [of Reagan]," says Rosty. O'Neill and Reagan continued to fight, with Republicans happily using O'Neill as Reagan's foil. When it came to tax reform, in Reagan's second term, Tip privately accused Rostenkowski of "being a goddamn Republican" as he worked toward a package. But Rosty finally got it--largely because the president gave him his word that he would not criticize the tax bill as it was being written. "If you start talking about this bill, it will fall apart," Rosty recalls telling Reagan. The president called in his chief of staff, Don Regan, and informed him of the deal he had made. "And Reagan kept his word," says Rosty. "For two years."
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Imagine that. Then imagine Reagan inviting Democrats and Republicans over for drinks every month or two--usually when Nancy was away. "Hell," Rosty recalls, "Reagan used to have six or seven of us over to the White House just to tell jokes." One time, he smiles, "Reagan wore that plaid sports jacket, and he offered me Campari. I told him if he didn't have any gin, I would go out and buy some." Then it was down to business. "I told him, 'You and I can write some history,' " recalls the chairman of the tax-writing committee. It was the beginning of tax reform. "It's so sad now," says Rosty. "These people [in Washington] are so angry they don't even talk to each other."
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