In a way, Calvin Coolidge is better than Reagan. His tax rates were lower, and he cut budgets.

The lucky biographers find themselves drawn into a sort of friendship with their subject.

Today we care about budgets more than anything. Our American future hangs on the ability of government to cut budget.

Coolidge was a pragmatist. He didn't start out with a tax theory. But he observed over time that lower tax rates sometimes brought in extra revenue. The success of his and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's experiment with rate cuts has been obscured by our modern history books.

Coolidge showed that the best government was the one that got out of the way. When he refrained, the economy grew, the Ku Klux Klan faded, and Americans got Model A's and automobiles.

Fame is worth less than service.

Coolidge thought budgets were virtuous. He had his econ straight. He didn't just cut taxes, he also cut the budget.