Ronald Reagan

For other uses, see Ronald Reagan (disambiguation).

Ronald W. Reagan
File:Reagan.jpg
40th President
Vice President	George H.W. Bush
Preceded by	Jimmy Carter
Succeeded by	George H.W. Bush
Personal details
Nationality	american
Political party	Republican

Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Reagan was also a broadcaster, actor, and head of the Screen Actor's Guild before entering politics.

Early life and career

Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, the second of two sons to John "Jack" Reagan and Nelle Wilson. One of his four great-grandfathers had immigrated to the United States from Ballyporeen, Ireland in the 1860s. Prior to his grandfather's emigration, the family name had been spelled Regan.

In 1920, after years of moving from town to town, the family settled in Dixon, Illinois. In 1921, at the age of 10, Reagan was baptized in his mother's Disciples of Christ church in Dixon, and in 1924 he began attending Dixon's Northside High School. Reagan always considered Dixon to be his hometown.

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Ronald and his older brother Neil, with parents Jack and Nelle Reagan. (ca. 1916-1917)

In 1927, at age 16, Reagan took a summer job as a lifeguard in Lowell Park, two miles away from Dixon on the nearby Rock River. He continued to work as a lifeguard for the next seven years, reportedly saving 77 people from drowning. Reagan would later joke that none of them ever thanked him.

In 1928, Reagan entered Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, majoring in economics and sociology and graduating in 1932. In 1929 Reagan joined the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity which he later recalled during numerous interviews and conversations as one of the greatest experiences he had during his college years. Though earning mediocre grades, he made many lasting friendships. Reagan developed an early gift for storytelling and acting. He was a radio announcer as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs baseball games, getting only the bare outlines of the game from a ticker and relying on his imagination and storytelling gifts to flesh out the game. Once in 1934, during the ninth inning of a Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game, the wire went dead. Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams fouled off pitches) until the wire was restored.

Hollywood

In 1937, while in California to cover the spring training session of the Chicago Cubs as a radio announcer, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with the Warner Brothers studio. Reagan's clear voice and athletic physique made him popular with some audiences; the majority of his screen roles were as the leading man in B movies. His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie Love Is On the Air. By the end of 1939, he had appeared in 19 films. In 1940 he played the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American, from which he acquired the nickname the Gipper, which he retained the rest of his life. Reagan himself considered his best acting work to have been in Kings Row (1942). He played the part of a young man whose legs were amputated. He used a line he spoke in this film, "Where's the rest of me?" as the title for his autobiography. Other notable Reagan films include Hellcats of the Navy, This Is the Army, and Bedtime for Bonzo. Reagan was kidded widely about the last named film because his co-star was a chimpanzee. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6374 Hollywood Blvd.

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Nancy and Ronald Reagan married in 1952. Nancy Reagan became a powerful background figure in Ronald Reagan's rise and roles as governor and president.

Reagan was commissioned as a reserve cavalry officer in the U.S. Army in 1935. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he was activated and assigned, partially due to his poor eyesight, to the First Motion Picture Unit in the United States Army Air Force, which made training and education films. He remained in Hollywood for the duration of the war, and he attained the rank of captain. Reagan tried repeatedly to go overseas for combat duty, but was turned down because of his astigmatism.

Reagan married actress Jane Wyman in 1940. They had a daughter, Maureen in 1941 and adopted a son, Michael in 1945. Their second daughter, Christine, was born four months prematurely in 1947 and lived only one day. They divorced in 1948. Reagan remarried in 1952 to actress Nancy Davis. Their daughter Patti was born on October 21 of the same year. In 1958 they had a second child, Ron. In his second marriage, Reagan was known as a loving and devoted husband.

As Reagan's film roles became fewer in the late 1950s, he moved into television as a host and frequent performer for General Electric Theater. In the GE effort, for the first time, he encountered the working class and labor union population that he had previously not understood. Reagan now identified with them, which may be the original nexus between the conservative movement, and the understanding of the labor unions, which resulted in the "Reagan-Democrat" 1984, movement. Reagan appeared in many live television plays and often co-starred with Nancy. Reagan became head of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and served in this position from 1947 until 1952, and then again from 1959 to 1960. In 1952, a Hollywood scandal raged over his granting of a SAG blanket waiver to MCA, which allowed it to both represent and employ talent for its burgeoning TV franchises. He went from host and program supervisor of General Electric Theater to actually producing and claiming an equity stake in the TV show itself. At one point in the late 1950s, Reagan was earning approximately $125,000 per year. His final regular acting job was as host and performer on Death Valley Days. Reagan's final big-screen appearance came in the 1964 film The Killers, in which, uncharacteristically, he played a mob chieftain. This film was a remake of an earlier version, based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Reagan's co-stars were John Cassavetes and Lee Marvin.

Early political career

Reagan began his political life as a Democrat, supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. He gradually became a staunch social and fiscal conservative. He embarked upon the path that led him to a career in politics during his tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild. In this position, he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on alleged Communist influence in Hollywood. He also kept tabs on actors he considered disloyal and informed on them to the FBI under the code name "Agent T-10," but he would not denounce them publicly. He supported the practice of blacklisting in Hollywood. Concluding that the Republican Party was better able to combat communism, Reagan gradually abandoned his left-of-center political views, supporting the presidential candidacies of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 and Richard Nixon in 1960—all while Reagan was still a Democrat.

His employment by the General Electric company further enhanced his political image; he travelled widely as a GE spokesman, and was noted for his anti-Communist speeches. By the 1964 election, Reagan was an outspoken supporter of conservative Republican Barry Goldwater. His nationally televised speech "A Time for Choosing" electrified conservatives; soon after, several top Republican contributors visited Reagan at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, urging him to seek the governorship in 1966. Though these requests were initially "laughed off" by Reagan, he says in his autobiography, he eventually gave in, after countless sleepless nights.

Governorship

In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California, defeating two-term incumbent Pat Brown; he was re-elected in 1970, defeating Jesse Unruh, but chose not to seek a third term. During the People's Park protests, he sent 2,200 National Guard troops onto the Berkeley campus of the University of California. Reagan made it clear that the policies of his administration would not be influenced by student agitation, saying "if it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with, no more appeasement." When left-wing SLA terrorists kidnapped Patty Hearst in Berkeley and gave a list of demands that included free distribution of food to the poor, Reagan facetiously suggested that it would be a good time for an outbreak of botulism. After the media caught wind of the comment, he apologized.

In his first term, he froze government hiring, but also approved tax hikes to balance the budget. He worked with Democrat Assembly Speaker, Bob Moretti, to create welfare reform in 1971. Reagan also opposed the construction of a large federal dam, the Dos Rios, which would have flooded a valley of Indian ranches. Later, Reagan and his family took a summer pack trip into the high Sierra to a place where a proposed trans-Sierra highway would be built. Once there, he declared it would not be built. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned capital punishment. He had campaigned as a strong supporter; however, his efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the Supreme Court of California issued its People v. Anderson decision, which invalidated all death sentences passed in California prior to 1972. Although the decision was quickly overturned by a constitutional amendment, there would not be another execution in California until 1992.

During his governorship, Reagan promoted the dismantling of the public psychiatric hospital system, opposing involuntary hospitalization as a civil liberties issue, and instead proposing that community-based housing and treatment system replace it. According to some Reagan critics, the first objective was effectively accomplished, but the community replacement facilities were never adequately funded, either by Reagan or by his successors.

Presidential campaigns

Reagan's first attempt to gain the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 was unsuccessful. He tried again in 1976 against the incumbent Gerald Ford, but was narrowly defeated at the Republican Convention. He finally succeeded in gaining the Republican nomination in 1980. The campaign, led by William J. Casey, was conducted in the shadow of the Iran hostage crisis; some analysts believe President Jimmy Carter's inability to solve the hostage crisis played a large role in Reagan's victory against him in the 1980 election. Other issues in the campaign included inflation, lackluster economic growth, instability in the petroleum market leading to a return of gas lines, and the perceived weakness of the U.S. national defense.

Reagan's showing in the televised debates boosted his campaign. He seemed more at ease, mocking President Carter's criticisms with remarks like "There you go again." Perhaps his most influential remark was a closing question to the audience, during a time of skyrocketing global oil prices and highly unpopular Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

Carter's eventual ouster was accompanied by a 12-seat change in the Senate from Democratic to Republican hands, giving the Republicans a majority in the Senate for the first time in 28 years. Upon his election, Reagan became the oldest president to enter office, at the age of 69.

In the 1984 presidential election, he was re-elected in a landslide over Carter's Vice President Walter Mondale, winning 49 of 50 states and receiving nearly 60 percent of the popular vote. At the Democratic National Convention, Mondale accepted the party nomination with a speech that is believed to have constituted a self-inflicted mortal wound. In it he remarked "Reagan will raise taxes, I will raise taxes. Reagan won't tell you this, I just did."[1] Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in Dallas, Texas, on a wave of good feeling bolstered by the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the Los Angeles Olympics that summer. Despite a weak performance in the first debate, Reagan recovered in the second and was considerably ahead of Mondale in polls taken throughout much of the race. Reagan's landslide win in the 1984 presidential election is often attributed by political commentators to be a result of his conversion of the "Reagan Democrats," the traditionally Democratic voters who voted for Reagan in that election.

Presidency

Main article: Reagan Administration

Domestic record

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Chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981.

Ronald Reagan portrayed himself as being economically conservative in favor of tax cuts, smaller government, and deregulation. He also took a strong "tough-on-crime" stance.

Reagan's first official act upon taking the presidency was to terminate oil price controls, a policy designed to boost America's domestic production and exploration of oil. [2] The high point of the Reagan presidency's first 100 days was the end of the Iran hostage crisis after the American hostages were freed within minutes of his inauguration.

While leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC on March 30, 1981, Reagan, his Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and MPDC officer Thomas Delanty were shot by John Hinckley, Jr.. Reagan turned what could have been a low point in his first 100 days into another high point by joking, "I hope you're all Republicans," to his surgeons (While they were not, he received the reply, "We're all Republicans today" from Dr. Joseph Giordano) and "Honey, I forgot to duck" to his wife. [3] Reagan also said that he forgave Hinckley and hoped he would ask for God's forgiveness as well.

Vice President Bush, right, meets with President Reagan, left, in 1984.

In the summer of 1981 Reagan fired a majority of federal air traffic controllers when they went on an illegal strike. Since this union was one of the only two unions to support Reagan in the prior election, this action proved to be a political coup; the public viewed the strikers as greedy and self-serving, and saw Reagan as willing to stand on principle. Not only did this set limits for public employee unions, but also signaled that it was acceptable for businesses to play hardball with unions.

A large focus of Reagan's first term was reviving the economy his administration inherited, which was plagued by a new phenomenon known as stagflation (high inflation combined with a stagnant economy.) His administration sought to fight double-digit inflation by supporting Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker's decision to tighten the money supply by dramatically hiking interest rates. While successfully lowering inflation, this policy caused a short term recession from 1981-1982, which temporarily lowered Reagan's public support.

Reagan combined this tight-money policy with across-the-board tax cuts designed to boost business investment (see supply-side economics). While ridiculed by opponents as "voodoo," "trickle-down," and "Reaganomics," he managed to push his proposed tax cuts through in 1981 with the approval of Congress. At the same time, the administration successfully cut welfare and social spending, eliciting protests from liberal Democrats.

Despite the recession of 1981-82, the economy staged a dramatic recovery beginning in 1983, and the Reagan administration claimed success. Due to the revived economy, federal revenues rose despite the tax cuts. But due to both the tax cuts (further cuts were approved with Reagan's Tax Reform Act of 1986) and dramatic increases in the military budget that grew out of the administration's staunch anti-Communist stance, the federal deficit reached record highs. At that time, Congress had a Democratic Party majority, who opposed lowering public spending with Reagan's initiative to lower taxes. Instead, to cover the deficit, the administration borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, and by the end of Reagan's second term the national debt had tripled. Despite this heavy debt, both the inflation and unemployment problems had been solved, with the latter at only 5.2% when Reagan left office. Opponents charged that while the economy had recovered, Reagan's policies had created an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor.

A renewal of the "war on drugs" was also declared during his presidency, spearheaded by Nancy Reagan's high-profile "Just Say No" series of messages.

President Reagan was criticized by the gay rights movement and others for not responding quickly enough to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. The first official mention of the disease in the White House was on October 15, 1982 when Reagan's press secretary Larry Speakes, in response to a reporter's inquiry about "the gay plague," said "I don't have it, do you?" to general laughter. (It should be noted that AIDS was just beginning to be understood at this time. The term AIDS had been coined that year and was not yet widely used--hence the reporter calling it "the gay plague" instead. HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, would not be identified until 1983.) Reagan himself first publicly discussed the federal government's role in fighting the disease at a press conference in 1985. Reagan's policies in regards to AIDS and gay rights became a subject of controversy after his death. Liberals and libertarians pointed out that he had gone on record as supporting sodomy laws, opposing anti-discrimination laws including sexual orientation, and the conservative United States Supreme Court Justices that he appointed would help produce the majority opinion in the 1986 case of Bowers v. Hardwick. Yet, after his death, family members and gay conservatives pointed out that he opposed the 1978 California anti-gay Briggs Initiative. In 1984 he had the first openly gay couple spend the night in the White House. He is said to have taught his children that homosexuality was a normal state of being for some people and considered actor Rock Hudson to be a longtime friend.

Reagan made the abolition of communism and the implementation of supply-side economics the primary focuses of his presidency, but he also took a strong stand against abortion. He published the book Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation, which decried what Reagan saw as a disrespect for life, promoted by the practice of abortion. Many conservative activists refer to Reagan as the most pro-life president in history. (However, two of the three Supreme Court justices he selected, Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy, voted to uphold Roe v. Wade, to Reagan's disappointment).

Although Reagan's second term was mostly noteworthy for matters related to foreign affairs, his administration supported significant pieces of legislation on domestic matters, including an overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code in 1986, as well as the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which compensated victims of the Japanese American Internment during World War II. Reagan also signed legislation authorizing the death penalty for offenses involving murder in the context of large-scale drug trafficking; wholesale reinstatement of the federal death penalty would not occur until the presidency of Bill Clinton.

Foreign policy and interventions

Reagan forcefully confronted the Soviet Union, marking a sharp departure from the détente observed by his predecessors Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. Sensing that planned economies could not compete against market economies in a renewed arms race, he strived to make the Cold War economically and rhetorically hot. The administration oversaw a massive military build-up that represented a policy of "Peace through strength." The Reagan administration set a new policy toward the Soviet Union with the goal to win the Cold War through a three-pronged strategy outlined in NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive). The directive outlined Reagan's plan to confront the Soviet Union on three fronts: economic - decrease Soviet access to high technology and diminish their resources, including depressing the value of Soviet commodities on the world market; military - increase American defense expenditures to strengthen the U.S. negotiating position and force the Soviets to devote more of their economic resources to defense; and clandestine - support anti-Soviet factions around the world from Afghanistan resistance fighters to Solidarity during in his presidency. He proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, dubbed "Star Wars", which was a space-based missile shield. In October 1986, Reagan met with Gorbachev in Iceland. At the meeting, Gorbachev ardently opposed this defensive shield. As the Soviet Union was failing, the only advantage they held was the threat of nuclear war, leading to why Gorbachev would oppose a defensive shield. Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher said, "Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot."

Others argued, however, that the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union was due more to the reawakening of internal separatist problems under glasnost, an inherent weakness in communist economic theory, and the depressed global price of crude oil, on which the Soviet economy during those years depended heavily. Furthermore, Reagan's much heralded military buildup that increased American military spending by 8% per annum in fact did not appear to have the planned effect of forcing the Soviets to mirror American growth: according to CIA estimates, Soviet military spending levelled off at a growth rate of 1.3% per annum in 1975 and remained at that level for a decade, rising slightly to approximately 4.3% in 1985 through 1987 (though spending on offensive strategic weapons continued to grow at 1.3% during that period), before returning to 1.3% in 1988. It is also often pointed out that many actions popularly attributed to Reagan were actually initiated by his predecessor Jimmy Carter, such as the increase in military spending and the decisions to fund anti-communist militant groups in Nicaragua and Afghanistan.

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President Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at Camp David.

Among European leaders, his main ally and undoubtedly his closest friend was Thatcher, who as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom supported Reagan's policies of deterrence against the Soviets.

Reagan, left, in one-on-one discussions with Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1985 to 1991.

Although the administration negotiated arms-reduction treaties such as the INF Treaty and START Treaty with the U.S.S.R., it also aimed to increase strategic defense. A controversial plan, named the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), was proposed to deploy a space-based defense system that was supposed to make the U.S. invulnerable to nuclear weapon missile attack by means of a network of armed satellites orbiting the Earth. Critics dubbed the proposal "Star Wars" and argued that SDI was unrealistic and would likely inflame the Arms Race. Supporters responded that even the threat of SDI forced the Soviets into unsustainable spending to keep up. In fact, the Soviets did not attempt to follow suit with their own program, but instead followed a program of arms reduction treaties. The technology required to implement SDI is still being researched in the U.S., and it is currently in a test phase with stations in Alaska and islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Support for anti-communist groups including armed insurgencies against communist governments was also a part of administration policy, referred to by his supporters as the Reagan Doctrine. Following this policy, the administration funded "freedom fighters"—described as terrorists by their detractors—such as the mujahideen in Afghanistan, the Contras in Nicaragua, and Jonas Savimbi's rebel forces in Angola. The administration also helped fund central European anti-communist groups such as the Polish Solidarity movement and took a hard line against the Communist regime in Cambodia. Covert funding of the Contras in Nicaragua would lead to the Iran Contra Affair, while overt support led to a World Court ruling against the United States in Nicaragua v. United States.

The administration took a strong stance against the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization, which was taking American citizens hostage and attacking civilian targets after Israel entered the 1982 Lebanon War. It similarly took a strong stance against Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. More disputed was Reagan's consideration of the Salvadoran FMLN and Honduran guerrilla fighters as terrorists, as the two countries' respective militaries were known to have used torture and indiscriminate tactics against those suspected of collaboration or sympathy with the guerrillas. Reagan also considered the anti-apartheid ANC armed wing known as Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) as a terrorist organization.

U.S. involvement in Lebanon followed a limited term United Nations mandate for a multinational force. A force of 800 U.S. Marines was sent to Beirut to evacuate PLO forces. The September 16, 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in Beirut (see Sabra and Shatila Massacre) prompted Reagan to form a new multinational force. Intense administration diplomatic efforts resulted in a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. U.S. forces were withdrawn shortly after the October 23, 1983 bombing of a barracks in which 241 Marines were killed. Reagan called this day the saddest day of his life and of his presidency.

A communist coup on the small island nation of Grenada in 1983 led the administration to develop an invasion plan to restore the former government. The resulting Operation Urgent Fury was successful.

President Reagan and Emperor Hirohito of Japan at Tokyo

Initially neutral, the administration increasingly became involved in the Iran-Iraq War. At various times, the administration supported both nations, but mainly sided with Iraq, believing that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was less dangerous than Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Henry Kissinger articulated the administration's policy when he stated "Too bad they both can't lose." The American fear was that an Iranian victory would embolden Islamic fundamentalists in other Arab states, perhaps leading to the overthrow of secular governments in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait. After initial Iraqi military victories were reversed and an Iranian victory appeared possible in 1982, the American government initiated Operation Staunch to attempt to cut off the Iranian regime's access to weapons (notwithstanding their later shipment of weapons to Iran in the Iran-Contra Affair). The United States also provided intelligence information and financial assistance to the Iraqi military regime. The administration also allowed the shipment of some chemical, biological and "dual use" materials, which Iraq claimed were required for agriculture, medical research, and other civilian purposes, but which were diverted to use in Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs[4], although most Iraqi weaponry was supplied by Germany, Britain, France and the USSR.

Concurrent with the support of Iraq, the administration also engaged in covert arms sales to Iran in order to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The resulting Iran-Contra Affair became a scandal. Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence and quickly called for an Independent Counsel to investigate the scandal. A significant number of officials in the Reagan administration were either convicted or forced to resign as a result of the scandal.

In 1985, on April 11, it was announced that then-U.S. President Reagan would visit the Kolmeshohe Cemetery near Bitburg, at the suggestion of Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany, to pay respects to the soldiers interred there. The White House staff was under the impression that those interred included both American and German soldiers. The visit was intended to be symbolic of the goodwill between the two countries, but unbeknownst to Reagan and deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver, 49 of the graves contained the remains of men who had served in the Waffen-SS. The cemetery also contained remains of about 2,000 other German soldiers who had died in both World Wars, but no Americans. On top of this, Reagan had no plans to visit a concentration camp during his tour of Western Europe in connection with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the end of war. (See Bitburg)

"The Great Communicator"

Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, exclaiming: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Reagan was dubbed "The Great Communicator" for his ability to express ideas and emotions in an almost personal manner, even when making a formal address. He honed these skills as an actor, live television and radio host, and politician, and as president hired skilled speechwriters who could capture his folksy charm.

Reagan's rhetorical style varied. He used strong, even ideological language to condemn the Soviet Union and communism, particularly during his first term.

But he could also evoke lofty ideals and a vision of the United States as a defender of liberty. His October 27, 1964 speech entitled "A Time for Choosing" re-introduced a phrase, "rendezvous with destiny," first made famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt, to popular culture.[5] Other speeches recalled America as the "shining city on a hill", "big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair," whose citizens had the "right to dream heroic dreams." [6][7]

On January 28, 1986, after the Challenger accident, he postponed his State of the Union address and addressed the nation on the disaster. In a speech written by Peggy Noonan, he said, "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'" [8] (quotations in this speech are from the famous poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr..)

It was perhaps Reagan's humor, especially his one-liners, that disarmed his opponents and endeared him to audiences the most. Discussion of his advanced age led him to quip in his second debate against Walter Mondale during the 1984 campaign, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." On his career he joked, "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

Both opponents and supporters noted his "sunny optimism", which was welcomed by many in comparison to his Presidential predecessor, the often smiling, but somewhat dour and serious, Carter.

Criticisms

A frequent objection by his critics, however, was that his personal charm also permitted him to say nearly anything and yet prevail, a quality that earned him the nickname "the Teflon President" (i.e., to whom nothing sticks). His denial of awareness of the Iran-Contra illegalities was belied by quotations in now-archived notes by his defense secretary, Casper Weinberger, that he (Reagan) could survive violating the law or Constitution, but not the negative public image that "big, strong Ronald Reagan passed up a chance to get the hostages free." However, in the almost twenty years since the Iran-Contra affair, no "smoking gun" has yet been revealed to show that he in fact did know about trading arms for hostages. Reagan-era papers were originally scheduled to be released starting in 2001, but President George W. Bush enacted a rule change to allow these to be withheld indefinitely.

Reagan's fiscal and tax policies were said by some to have increased social inequality and economic instability, his efforts to cut welfare and income taxes becoming common flashpoints between critics who charged that this primarily benefited the well off in America. The unprecedented growth of the national debt during his presidency also sparked charges of endangering the economic health of the nation.

Reagan's foreign policy also drew criticisms, many opponents making the charge that rather than genuinely upholding the cause of human rights throughout the globe, Reagan used it merely as a ideological tool against socialist and communist countries. Often cited are the administration's support of many widely condemned and bloody regimes, including apartheid-era South Africa, the Pinochet military junta in Chile, the Suharto regime in Indonesia, and the Contras in Nicaragua. One opponent was Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jose Ramos-Horta:

"Reagan, like Carter, ignored the rights of black South Africans who languished under a system of institutionalized terrorism and racism; the widespread and systematic use of torture in Chile and Guatemala. They not only ignored, but actively supported the mass murder of Timorese women, men, and children, orchestrated by their friend and ally, General Suharto of Indonesia. Under Carter, there were crocodile tears for the oppressed; under Reagan, there hasn't even been a pretence of concern for those in Timor, Chile, Paraguay, South Africa." (Funu: The Unfinished Saga of East Timor, 87)

Reagan's support of apartheid South Africa, which involved the condemnation of Nelson Mandela as a communist terrorist, has been among the most heavily criticized aspects of his foreign policy, though it was considerably lessened during his second term. Among the most vocal critics is Nobel Peace Prize recipient Bishop Desmond Tutu who commented in 1984 that Reagan was "immoral, evil, and totally un-Christian...you are either for or against apartheid and not by rhetoric." He was unconvinced by the later reformist "constructive engagement" posture of Reagan. Following a 1986 speech in which Reagan called proposed sanctions against South Africa "a historic act of folly," Tutu's response was "nauseating...your president is the pits as far as blacks are concerned." [[9]]

Residents of Western European countries often saw Reagan very differently from many Americans. In the United Kingdom, Reagan – though he had the strong support of Margaret Thatcher – was routinely lampooned by much of the media as being dim-witted, if not senile. This was fueled by certain real-life incidents, including a London speaking engagement in which he forgot the name of Diana, Princess of Wales and after some hesitation referred to her as 'Princess David', to widespread embarrassment. In the nations of Eastern Europe, however, Reagan enjoyed a good deal of popularity among residents (though not their governments) for his harsh criticism of communism, and has been praised extensively for his role in ending the Cold War.

Appointments

Cabinet

President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981)

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Ronald Reagan	1981–1989
Vice President	George H. W. Bush	1981–1989
State	Alexander M. Haig	1981–1982
	George P. Shultz	1982–1989
Treasury	Donald Regan	1981–1985
	James A. Baker III	1985–1988
	Nicholas F. Brady	1988–1989
Defense	Casper Weinberger	1981–1987
	Frank C. Carlucci	1987–1989
Justice	William F. Smith	1981–1985
	Edwin A. Meese III	1985–1988
	Richard L. Thornburgh	1988–1989
Interior	James G. Watt	1981–1983
	William P. Clark, Jr.	1983–1985
	Donald P. Hodel	1985–1989
Commerce	Malcolm Baldrige	1981–1987
	C. William Verity, Jr.	1987–1989
Labor	Raymond J. Donovan	1981–1985
	William E. Brock	1985–1987
	Ann Dore McLaughlin	1987–1989
Agriculture	John Block	1981–1986
	Richard E. Lyng	1986–1989
HHS	Richard S. Schweiker	1981–1983
	Margaret Heckler	1983–1985
	Otis R. Bowen	1985–1989
Education	Terrell H. Bell	1981–1984
	William J. Bennett	1985–1988
	Lauro F. Cavazos	1988–1989
HUD	Samuel R. Pierce, Jr.	1981–1989
Transportation	Drew Lewis	1981–1982
	Elizabeth Hanford Dole	1983–1987
	James H. Burnley IV	1987–1989
Energy	James B. Edwards	1981–1982
	Donald P. Hodel	1982–1985
	John S. Herrington	1985–1989

Supreme Court appointments

Reagan appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• Sandra Day O'Connor – 1981
• William Rehnquist – Chief Justice, 1986 (an associate justice since 1972)
• Antonin Scalia – 1986
• Anthony M. Kennedy – 1988

Major legislation approved

• Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981
• Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
• Social Security Amendments of 1983
• Tax Reform Act of 1986
• Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986

Religious beliefs

Reagan was a committed Christian from his childhood, and frequently addressed Christian groups. He argued that communism's atheistic worldview was one of its worst features.

In a March 1978 letter to a liberal Methodist minister who was skeptical about Christ's divinity—and accused Reagan of a "limited Sunday school level theology"—Reagan argued strongly for Christ's divinity:

Perhaps it is true that Jesus never used the word "Messiah" with regard to himself (although I'm not sure that he didn't) but in John 1, 10 and 14 he identifies himself pretty definitely and more than once. Is there really any ambiguity in his words: "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me?"… In John 10 he says, "I am in the Father and the Father in me." And he makes reference to being with God, "before the world was," and sitting on the "right hand of God."…

These and other statements he made about himself, foreclose in my opinion, any question as to his divinity. It doesn't seem to me that he gave us any choice; either he was what he said he was or he was the world's greatest liar."

It is impossible for me to believe a liar or charlatan could have had the effect on mankind that he has had for 2000 years. We could ask, would even the greatest of liars carry his lie through the crucifixion, when a simple confession would have saved him? … Did he allow us the choice you say that you and others have made, to believe in his teachings but reject his statements about his own identity?"

This was similar to the "Trilemma" argument of C.S. Lewis.

Even though Reagan was firmly Christian, his funeral was an interfaith service.

Legacy and retirement from public life

On January 11, 1989, Reagan addressed the nation one last time on television from the Oval Office of the White House, nine days before handing over the presidency to George H. W. Bush. After Bush's inauguration, Reagan returned to his ranch near Santa Barbara, California, to write his autobiography, ride his horses, and chop wood. He eventually moved to a new home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles . As of 2005, Reagan is one of only three presidents to serve two full terms since the adoption of the 22nd Amendment in 1951 (The others are Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bill Clinton).

Reagan received an honorary knighthood, as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and thus was entitled to use the postnominal GCB, but he is almost never styled this way. Reagan and George H. W. Bush are the only two American presidents to receive honorary knighthood.

In the autumn of 1989, Fujisankei Communications Group of Japan hired him to make two speeches and attend a small number of corporate functions. Reagan's weekly fee was about two million dollars, more than he had earned during eight years as president. Reagan made occasional appearances on behalf of the Republican Party, including a well-received speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. He publicly spoke out in favor of a line-item veto, a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, and repealing the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits a president from serving more than two terms.

File:FordNixonBushReagenCarter.jpg

(Left to right:) Presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library.

File:Pres38-42.jpg

Five presidents and first ladies attended the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994, in Nixon's hometown of Yorba Linda, California. From left: Bill and Hillary Clinton, George H.W. and Barbara Bush, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Gerald and Betty Ford.

In 1994, Reagan was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He informed the nation of his condition on November 5, 1994 with a hand-written letter, which displayed his trademark optimism, stating in conclusion: "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you." As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed his mental capacity, forcing him to live in quiet isolation.

In a 1995 poll of 2,307 coin collectors by the Littleton Coin Company, Reagan was ranked as the most popular person to appear on a future U.S. coin.

On February 6, 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport by a bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Three years later, on March 4, 2001, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) was christened by the Navy. It is one of few ships christened in honor of a living person and the first to be named in honor of a living former president. Many other highways, schools and institutions were also named after Reagan in the years after his retirement and death. (See List of things named after Ronald Reagan).

Reagan's health was further destabilized by a fall in 2001, which shattered part of his hip and rendered him virtually immobile. By 2004, Reagan had begun to enter the final stage of Alzheimer's. It is frequently reported that Secret Service agents had to inform Reagan every morning that he was once the president.

Job approval rating

According to ABC News by date:

Time	Approval	Disapproval	Event
April 22, 1981	73%	19	Shot by Hinckley
January 22, 1983	42	54	High unemployment
April 26, 1986	70	26	Libya bombing
February 26, 1987	44	51	Iran-Contra
Career average	57	39	Presidency of Ronald Reagan
July 30, 2001	66	27	(retrospective)

Upon leaving office in 1989, Reagan had an end-of-presidency job approval rating of 64 percent. This would not be matched until 2001, when Clinton left office with 65 percent job approval.

Death

Main article: Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan

In 2003, Reagan's death was incorrectly announced by CNN when his pre-written obituary (along with those of several other famous figures) was inadvertently published on CNN's website due to a lapse in password protection.

Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at his home in Bel-Air and is buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Reagan holds the record as the longest lived U.S. president, at 93 years and 120 days. Since Reagan's death, Gerald Ford is now the oldest surviving president at 92, and if he lives until November 11, 2006, he will hold the new record. Reagan also holds the record as the oldest-elected president at 69 and oldest president to serve at 77.

Posthumous honors

In 2005, Reagan was given two posthumous honors:

• On May 14, CNN, along with the editors of TIME, named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years. [10] [11]
• On June 26, participating voters selected Reagan as the "Greatest American" during a live television special sponsored by AOL and broadcast live on the Discovery Channel.

Further reading

• Reed Brody. Contra Terror in Nicaragua. South End Press. 1985. ISBN 0896083136.
• Dinesh D'Souza. Ronald Reagan: How An Ordinary Man Became An Extraordinary Leader. Free Press. 1999. ISBN 0684848236
• Curt Gentry. Last Days of the Late Great State of California, (political history of the gubernatorial period).
• Edmund Morris. Dutch, the "authorized" biography which became controversial over a number of acknowledged fictitious interpolations by the author
• Frances Fitzgerald. Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War. Touchstone. (political history of Reagan's S.D.I.) 2000. ISBN 0684844168.
• Lou Cannon. President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime Public Affairs. ISBN 1891620916
• Lou Cannon. Governor Reagan: His Rise To Power Public Affairs. ISBN 1586480308
• Lou Cannon. Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio. Public Affairs. ISBN 1891620843
• Michael Deaver and Mickey Herskowitz. Behind the Scenes. William Morrow. 1987.
• Elizabeth Drew. Campaign Journal: The Political Events of 1981-1984. Macmillan. 1985.
• Marlin FitzWater. Call the Briefing! Bush and Reagan, Sam and Helen, a Decade with Presidents and the Press. Times Books 1995.
• Jack W. Germond and Jules Witcover. Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won & Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980. Viking Press. 1981.
• Peter Schweizer. Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Atlantic Monthly Press. 1996. ISBN 0871136333
• Gary Sick. October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan. New York: Random House. 1992.
• Alan Moore Bill Sienkiewicz, Martha Honey, Tony Avirgan. Brought to Light: Shadowplay : The Secret Team/Flashpoint: The LA Penca Bombing (Two Books in One) ISBN 091303567X
• Peter Robinson. How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. Regan Books. 2003. ISBN 0060523999
• Marc Green and Gail MacColl. Reagan's Reign of Error ISBN 0-394-75644-4 (a compendium of reversals and inaccuracies). 1983, 1987.
• Paul Kengor. God and Ronald Reagan : A Spiritual Life Regan Books, 2004. ISBN 0060571411.

Reagan documentaries

• Ronald Reagan - An American President (The Official Reagan Library Tribute), January 25, 2005.
• Great Speeches, October 19, 2004.
• Stand Up Reagan, September 7, 2004.
• NBC News Presents - Ronald Reagan, August 10, 2004.
• ABC News Presents Ronald Reagan - An American Legend, July 13, 2004.
• Ronald Reagan - His Life and Legacy, June 22, 2004.
• Ronald Reagan - His Life and Times, May 11, 2004.
• Ronald Reagan - A Legacy Remembered (History Channel), 2002
• Ronald Reagan - The Great Communicator, 2002.
• Salute to Reagan - A President's Greatest Moments, 2001.
• American Experience - Reagan, 1998.
• Tribute to Ronald Reagan, 1996.

See also

• Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan
• October Surprise
• Reagan Administration
• Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom
• USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

External links

Biographical information

• RonaldReagan.com - The Official Site
• Ronald Reagan at IMDb
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation
• Ronald Reagan Legacy Project
• Ronald Reagan Memorial Foundation
• Ronald and Nancy Reagan Marriage Profile
• White House biography

Videos

• RonaldReagan.tk - A Large Video Archive
• Kudlow & Company - Short clip with Ronald Reagan on government spending
• A GE Tribute to Ronald Reagan

News items

• Public Domain video in Quicktime of CNN reporting attempted assassination of President Reagan (Courtesy of CNN.com)

Speeches

• Reagan 2020 - numerous speeches collected
• Audio recordings of Reagan's speeches
• Profile, Portrait and Inaugural Addresses as California Governor