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I was either in school or working in accounting at UPS during Ronald Regan’s presidency. What I and million’s of others esteemed about him was the way he communicated. It was plain and so simple! I remember several of his quotes including: “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” He said what most American’s were thinking! America is still working toward this goal.
Another one of my favorite quotes is: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
President Reagan used the phrase “Trust but Verify” in the negotiations for the INF Treaty with Russia. He led an extensive campaign and ultimately forced Russia to take down the wall separating east and west Germany. Yet, he never won the Nobel Peace Prize! When Reagan took office he promised to “the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” It seems like some president’s pick and choose their favorable interpretation of the constitution to focus on. He never did!
During the 1980 election Reagan faced President Jimmy Carter where he won 44 states and 489 electoral votes. Reagan promised to cut taxes, shrink the size of the federal government, and balance the federal budget. He said the nation was in recession and formulated what became a surefire applause line of his campaign: “Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his”.
In his reelection bid in 1984 he faced off against Walter Mondale. His opposition tried to say that he was an extremist” who would divide America along racial, religious, and regional lines. I guess they were prophesying what was in their past and what would be in their future. His opponent promised to raise taxes (sounds familiar) and that Reagan was too old to be president (he was 73 and had completed one term, the current president will be 82 before his fist term is over). In the end Reagan won every state (49) but 1 and received more electoral votes that any president in history!
