Ronald Reagan's life and leadership demonstrated the triumph of principle over politics, of long-term thinking over short-term, hollow payoffs. Nothing illustrates this better than Reagan's leadership at Reykjavik in his summit with Mikael Gorbachev.

At the time, the " nuclear freeze" movement was in full flower. American elites and the media thought better of The Soviet dictator than of the American president. Many called Reagan a "warmonger" and a " dangerous man." They cringed when the President said that the Soviet Union was "the focus of evil in the modern world" and that it would end up on "the ash heap of history." In the meantime, Reagan had proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to defend the USA from a missile attack. This troubled the Soviet leader greatly. Reagan knew that even if SDI was never built, it was till a magnificent advantage at the bargaining table.

So when Reagan met Gorbachev at Reykjavik, there were bound to be some serious chips on the table. But not even Mr. Reagan could have imagined what Gorbachev would propose. In return for the US abandoning SDI, the Soviets would agree to eliminate all nuclear weapons.

This breathtaking proposal was certainly the greatest foreign policy temptation of Reagan's presidency. Had he agreed, the press and liberal elites would have proclaimed him a hero for seeing things their way. Surely, he couldn't deny disarmament to humankind! Undoubtedly Reagan would have captured the Nobel Peace prize as both Gorbachev and Carter, noted "men of peace" did later.

But Reagan said no to Gorbachev's proposal. He said he could not break his promise to the American people. And history will judge that his response was correct. But more importantly, it showed his commitment to principle over politics, to long-term thinking over short-term payoffs. Instinctively, Mr. Reagan suspected accurately that the Soviet Union's economy was on the verge of collapse and that to release them from the burden to keep pace with the US military build-up would be counter-productive. Secondly, he knew that there was something more dangerous in the world than nuclear weapons. That danger was communist ideology. Defeating this intellectual and moral poison was his ultimate goal. Fortunately, he lived to see it.

Who knows what might have happened if Mr. Reagan had accepted Gorbachev's "deal" at Reykjavik? The Soviet Union might have lasted and still might be with us today. No one knows. But clearly, what Ronald Reagan did there redounded to the long term and best interest of the United States of America and the world. It helped to produce the collapse of communism, dozens of free nations who now embrace our values, the "peace dividend," free trade across Europe and a diminution of danger in the world.

As President Reagan enters his eternal reward, it is doubtful he is wishing that the Nobel Committee or the elite media thought better of him. His is the unfading glory of those who did the right thing in difficult circumstances. For that, we all owe him our undying gratitude.

  John Pendleton