“Peggy Noonan was a speechwriter for former president Ronald Reagan. As someone who had regular contact with the president, she was constantly asked about the kind of man he was. In these situations, she would often tell the “bathroom story,” which went like this: A few days after President Reagan was shot, when he was well enough to get out of bed, he went into the bathroom that connected to his room and slapped some water on his face to wake himself up. In the process, he spilled some water out of the basin and all over the floor. So he got some paper towels and knelt down on the floor to clean it up. An aide went to check on the President and there he was, on the floor with paper towels, cleaning up the water that had spilled out of the basin. The aide said to him, “Mr. President, what are you doing? Let the nurse clean that up.” But he said, “Oh, no. I made that mess, and I’d hate for the nurse to have to clean it up.” Ronald Reagan was the most powerful leader in the world, yet he was marked by a surprising humility of character. In Noonan’s mind, President Reagan was great because he would rather serve than be served.[28]”