You know that song "Faith" by the late, great George Michael? It was Ronald Reagan's favorite. He and Nancy used to listen to it before going out, dancing around the White House using a miniature replica of the Washington Monument as a microphone.*

*Totally unconfirmed…but we can dream, can't we?

It's more likely President Reagan and the 1980s pop singer didn't see eye-to-eye. But the notion of faith was an important one for Reagan, especially in his Challenger address.

He uses faith in two different ways in the speech, but in the end they come together, sort of like a grill fork.

His first mention of faith comes relatively late, when he's talking about the U.S. space program:

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. (29)

It's a straightforward chest bump for NASA, which he embellishes a bit by promoting the space program's transparency and trustworthiness. He also uses the motif of faith to look to NASA's future, which he is confident will be bright and successful:

We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. (34-36)

Awfully sure of himself.

Reagan's other use of faith is a little more subtle. It appears in the last sentence:

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God." (45)

Okay, maybe it's not that subtle after all. When Reagan talks about "God," it's easy to assume it's backed up by religious faith. He's connecting to people on emotional and spiritual grounds, which again relates to the speech's overarching theme of courage.

It's worth noting that the closing line evokes an image of lift-off, like a space shuttle, and associates outer space with heaven. Reagan connects his faith in the U.S. space program with his faith in God, and ties the whole thing together into one idea.

That Peggy Noonan was good.