Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Joke

Ronald Reagan, well known for his talents as a raconteur, included a touch of humor at the beginning of his first state of the union address, which he delivered on January 26, 1982.

“Today marks my first State of the Union address to you, a constitutional duty as old as our Republic itself.

“President Washington began this tradition in 1790 after reminding the nation that the destiny of self-government and the ‘preservation of the sacred fire of liberty’ is ‘finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.’ For our friends in the press, who place a high premium on accuracy, let me say: I did not actually hear George Washington say that. [Laughter] But it is a matter of historic record.”[Laughter]

Reagan Shooter Wants More Freedom

The Associated Press has reported that would-be presidential assassin John "I Love You Jodie" Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan and three other people more than 30 years ago, is seeking to spend more time away from a Washington, DC, mental hospital "with the goal of eventually allowing him to live outside the facility full-time."

Hinckley is already allowed to visit his mother's home in Virginia. His lawyers have asked Judge Paul L. Friedman to allow longer visits of 17 and 24 days duration. Unsurprisingly, the government opposes the plan, calling Hinckley, now 56, not "sufficiently well to alleviate the concern that this violence may be repeated."

The assassination attempt was a nearer thing than was generally understood at the time. In 2001, Larry King interviewed Dr. Joseph Giordano, head of the trauma team that treated Reagan on March 30, 1981, after the president had been hit by one of Hinckley's bullets ricocheting off the side of the presidential limousine.

King: Dr. Giordano, how close to death was President Reagan?

Giordano: He had a very serious injury, Larry, and I think he was close to death. I think that the fact that he came immediately to George Washington [Hospital] and that there was a trauma team there that were quickly able to resuscitate him, saved the day.

He came in with a blood pressure that was barely obtainable, and he left a half-hour later from the emergency room with a blood pressure that was that essentially normal. In fact, it was above normal. So, that period of time was critical, and I think that happily, it worked out very well.

No Meeting With Reagan for the Bears

The Chicago Tribune reports that the 1985 Chicago Bears, who won the Super Bowl in early 1986, will finally be invited to the White House to visit the president. "On that frigid day in 1986 when Chicago threw a tickertape parade to honor the Bears' Super Bowl win, Illinois Senator Alan Dixon sent a letter to the White House: Would President Reagan host a reception for the team?" Peter Nicholas of the Tribune Washington Bureau writes. "It never came off."

The day after the parade, but before plans could be finalized for a visit, the Space Shuttle Challenge was destroyed in flight. Understandably, the Reagan White House had other things on its mind in the wake of the accident, and the idea of a Bears visit faded away.

"But now the White House is home to a Chicagoan who roots for the Bears, reads local newspaper coverage of the team and is always eager to showcase his everyman credentials," notes Nicholas. "The NFL called the White House soon after Obama was sworn in and asked if the '85 Bears could get a belated celebration... On Friday, a quarter-century after they crushed the New England Patriots 46-10, Da Bears are getting their celebratory visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

November 12, 2006:Ford Outlasts Them All (So Far)

A year ago, Gerald Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan as the longest-lived president at 93 years and 121 days. Ford was near death at the time, however, and died 45 days later. Reagan himself had bested Herbert Hoover in early 2001 and John Adams in late 2001 to surpass the previous longest and second-longest presidential lifespans.

George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter would each have to live 10 more years to top Ford and Reagan, and Bill Clinton would have to live another 32 years.

Currently there are three living former presidents. From the inauguration of George W. Bush to the death of Ronald Reagan, there were five, which was only the third time that many former presidents have been alive. It was also the longest period with five ex-presidents kicking around -- more than three years, compared with the roughly 15 months between the inauguration of Bill Clinton and the death of Richard Nixon, and the 10 months between the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln and the death of John Tyler.

Three former presidents is a fairly common number, beginning all the way back in 1817, when James Monroe took office. All the previous presidents except Washington -- John Adams, Jefferson and Madison -- were still alive at the time, and in fact all of them survived Monroe's eight years in office.

August 11, 1984:Reagan's Joke

On August 11, 1984, Ronald Reagan gave a radio address that began:

"My fellow Americans:

"I'm pleased to tell you that today I signed legislation that will allow student religious groups to begin enjoying a right they've too long been denied -- the freedom to meet in public high schools during nonschool hours, just as other student groups are allowed to do. This has been given the shorthand label 'equal-access legislation...' "

This was not memorable. A joke by the president, recorded during a sound check, was:

"My fellow Americans:

"I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

July 13, 1985:Ronald Reagan Incapacitated

On July 13, 1985, for the first time in history, the United States had an acting president -- George HW Bush, back when he was Ronald Reagan's vice president. Reagan formally invoked the 25th amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1967, declaring his incapacity to exercise the powers of the presidency during an operation remove cancerous polyps from his colon. It was the first time the amendment had been evoked; George W. Bush evoked it in 2002, also for surgery.

To invoke the amendment, a president needs to tell the Speaker of the House and the President pro Tempore of the Senate in writing that he's going to be incapacitated. To resume the powers of office, the president needs to send another notice in writing saying as much. (That's the voluntary process for a president being declared incapacitated. There's an involuntary process spelled out in the amendment that's never been invoked.)

Ronald Reagan sent the following letter about his incapacity:

Dear Mr. Speaker (Mr. President:)
I am about to undergo surgery during which time I will be briefly and temporarily incapable of discharging the Constitutional powers and duties of the Office of the President of the United States.

After consultation with my Counsel and the Attorney General, I am mindful of the provisions of Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and of the uncertainties of its application to such brief and temporary periods of incapacity. I do not believe that the drafters of this Amendment intended its application to situations such as the instant one.

Nevertheless, consistent with my long-standing arrangement with Vice President George Bush, and not intending to set a precedent binding anyone privileged to hold this Office in the future, I have determined and it is my intention and direction that Vice President George Bush shall discharge those powers and duties in my stead commencing with the administration of anesthesia to me in this instance.

I shall advise you and the Vice President when I determine that I am able to resume the discharge of the Constitutional powers and duties of this Office.

May God bless this Nation and us all.

Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan

Later that day:

Dear Mr. Speaker (Mr. President:)
Following up on my letter to you of this date, please be advised I am able to resume the discharge of the Constitutional powers and duties of the Office of the President of the United States. I have informed the Vice President of my determination and my resumption of those powers and duties.

Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan

George W. Bush was acting president from 11:28 a.m. until 7:22 p.m. that day.

July 6, 1921:Nancy Reagan's Birthday

Though no one knew it at the time, the only movie ever made to star both a president and first lady was 1957's Hellcats of the Navy, a submarine picture with Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, who turns 86 today. Davis had married Reagan in 1951, a few years after his marriage with another actress, Jane Wyman, ended. It was Nancy's last picture; her husband's was The Killers in 1964, just before he started on the political path that would take the both of them to the White House in the 1980s.

For a Hollywood marriage, the Reagans' was remarkably durable: about 53 years. That's also quite long among presidential marriages, only a few of which have been over 50 years. Both John Adams and his son John Qunicy were married over 50 years, and in the 20th century, besides the Reagans, the Trumans, Eisenhowers and Nixons also celebrated golden wedding anniversaries. George H.W. and Barbara Bush have been married the longest thus far, however, over 62 years now.

As for Hellcats of the Navy, "Submarine movies are almost an entire genre unto themselves... [for example], there has to be a 'silent running' scene where the crew hunker down as quiet as church mice and try to avoid detection by an enemy destroyer," notes the movie review web site Rotten Tomatoes. "The destroyer naturally detects the sub at some point, and men brace themselves against the impact of depth charges. Damage ensues, with water leaking in and spraying about.

"Hellcats of the Navy is no exception, following the requirements of the submarine genre to the letter. There are also several conventions of war films that this movie follows; some characters are killed in action, of course, and they tend to be exactly the ones a viewer would expect. If this were an episode of Star Trek, they would all have been wearing red shirts. There is also a fairly unrealistic moment where Commander Abbott [Reagan] dons a wetsuit and ventures outside the sub by himself to try to effect important repairs; this is, of course, strictly a Hollywood idea, and one could easily imagine William Shatner doing exactly the same thing.

"Another war movie cliché is the love triangle, involving a conveniently placed nurse. The nurse in this case is Lt. Helen Blair, played of course by future First Lady Nancy Davis. Her triangle involves Abbott, who recently ended a relationship with her, and Wes Barton, an officer aboard Abbott's sub, who has been seeing her on the rebound. Davis isn't given much to do in her part, but she does a good job of playing the slightly war-weary realist. Hers is a role that calls for a certain maturity, not starry-eyed romantic innocence, and she does well with what she has to work with. The conventions of the genre would normally call for her to be merely a prize for Abbott and Barton to fight over, but both the script and her performance give her an identity and strength beyond what one might normally expect."

Today is also George W. Bush's birthday (61), but he is still very much with us.

June 5, 2004:Ronald Reagan Dies

Most of the obits and stories about the death of the 40th president three years ago focused on his various achievements in office, or his movie-actor-to-politician success story, his slow decline from Alzheimer's disease, or even talk that he would replace Roosevelt on the dime, Hamilton on the $10 bill or be an added face on Mt. Rushmore -- talk that has faded considerably since then.

Reagan is still a recent enough president to inspire partisan death notices. Fox News had this to say:

"Reagan, known as 'The Great Communicator,' was elected to office in a landslide victory over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980 and is credited with revitalizing the country's stagnant economy and forcing the end of the Cold War during his two terms in office from 1981 to 1989."

Phil Gasper, writing in the newsletter CounterPunch, had this to say: "Ronald Reagan has finally died at age 93. Predictably, politicians from both major parties have issued gushing tributes to this venal and vicious man, who was happy to slash workers' wages, see families thrown onto the street, support sadistic death squads and bomb other countries, if this was in the interests of the American ruling class."

And even the crackpot community (represented here by one Ellis Taylor) had its say about Ronald Reagan:"Reagan died on Saturn's day just hours before the 666 day of 6th June 2004. He died in Bel Air. Bel is another name for Saturn. I see that this member of the alleged Bohemian Grove child sacrificing ring will have a state funeral on Friday (El's day). El seems to be identified with Saturn's consort Ops. Mythology has become so confused that the origins of all of these deities have become scrambled. My research indicates that Ops was originally a version of Venus, who has now taken on a dark role. Saturn is a god who demands sacrifice..."

May 5, 1985:Reagan at Bitburg

Even the most astutely image-conscious presidents miscalculate sometimes, and Ronald Reagan's ceremonial visit to a German military cemetery in the spring of 1985 counts as one of those occasions, though it seems to have caused more consternation at the time than any lasting damage to his presidency. The visit to Kolmeshohe Cemetery near Bitburg, West Germany, might have seemed like at good idea at first -- a demonstration that 40 years after VE Day Germany, at least the western part, was now fully aligned with the United States and its western allies -- but the thing quickly took a life of its own when it was discovered that members of the SS were interred at the cemetery too.

Apparently Reagan's chief of staff, Michael Deaver, planned the visit but didn't notice any SS men in the cemetery, perhaps because the headstones were covered with snow during his February visit. And because the Germans didn't mention it. Oops.

"It wasn't clear if any of the SS troops buried at Kolmeshohe had participated in any atrocity and, as Bitburg Mayor Theo Hallet pointed out, all German military cemeteries were likely to contain at least a few SS graves," notes Jason Manning in The Eighties Club No. 56. "Such distinctions failed to placate those who were opposed to Reagan's visit on moral grounds.

"One of the most eloquent of these opponents was Elie Wiesel, an author and concentration camp survivor to whom Reagan presented the Congressional Medal of Achievement during a White House ceremony just weeks prior to the president's European trip. 'Mr. President,' said Wiesel, in his remarks, 'I am convinced . . . that you were not aware of the presence of SS graves in the Bitburg cemetery. Of course you didn't know. But now we are all aware. May I . . . implore you to do something else, to find another way, another site. That place, Mr. President, is not your place.' Wiesel's protest was just one of many. The chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, Menachem Rosensaft, called the proposed visit 'so macabre and so awful that one can only wonder what possessed Reagan.'

"Clarence M. Brown, national commander of the American Legion, warned that it would 'not sit well' with veterans if Reagan were to 'lay a wreath at the graves of Nazi soldiers.' Former Army S/Sgt. Jim Hively mailed his World War II decorations, including a silver star and a bronze star, to Reagan in protest. In the Congress, 53 senators, 11 of them Republicans, signed a letter urging the president to cancel the visit, while 257 representatives, including 84 Republicans, signed a letter asking [West German] Chancellor Kohl to withdraw the invitation.

"But Reagan would not budge, and neither would Kohl... Reagan spent only eight minutes at the Kolmeshohe Cemetery. Along with Kohl, 90-year-old General Matthew Ridgway, who had commanded the 82nd Airborne in World War II, and Luftwaffe ace General Johannes Steinhoff, Reagan placed a wreath at a wall of remembrance. Security was heavy; the three-mile route from the NATO airbase to Kolmeshohe was lined with 2,000 policemen -- one posted every twelve feet. As it turned out, relatively few protesters showed up."

May 3, 1988: Nancy Reagan and the Stars

Nineteen years ago today, in the waning months of the Reagan administration, the White House acknowledged that First Lady Nancy Reagan used astrology to help schedule some of her husband's activities. Don Regan, who had been shown the door as the president's chief of staff the year before, had claimed in his book -- For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington -- that the first lady took the advice of her personal astrologer, Joan Quigley, especially in matters related to her husband's speaking engagements, and the Reagans were admitting that it was true. (Quigley herself later wrote a book about her service to the first family, What Does Joan Say? My Seven Years as White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan.)

The revelation has been called a "scandal," but it hardly rises to that level. Consulting an astrologer might indicate a certain gullibility one doesn't want in high public officials, but it isn't illegal. It was more like a national joke, just the kind of thing Regan was probably trying to inspire by spilling the beans.

Other presidents and first ladies have been said to have consulted the stars, most famously Warren Harding and Mary Tood Lincoln (and a lot of good it did them, too), but the Reagans' admission was the first time the practice was confirmed. It got a lot of attention at the time, and still clings to the former first lady as one of those things people remember about her.

February 6, 1911: Ronald Wilson Reagan's Birthday

Today would have been Ronald Reagan's 96th birthday. Born in Tampico, Illinois, he remains the only president born in that state (Lincoln moved there). He's also the only professional actor to become president, and the only union member do to so -- the Screen Actors Guild, of which he was president for a time. He did not hold public office until well into his 50s, when he became governor of California.

It was an unexpected transition. In Back to the Future (1985), when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels back in time from 1985 to 1955 and then tries to convince Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) that he really was from the future, they have this exchange:

Dr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, "Future Boy," who's president of the United States in 1985?

Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.

Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor? [snorts in disbelief] Then who's vice president? Jerry Lewis?

[He rushes outside, down a hill and toward his laboratory]
Brown: I suppose Jane Wyman is first lady!

McFly: [following Brown] Whoa! Wait! Doc!

Brown: And Jack Benny, the secretary of the treasury.

McFly: [outside the lab door] Doc, you gotta listen to me.

Brown: [opens the door to the lab] I've had enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, Future Boy!

Actually, Reagan was already married to Nancy Davis by 1955, but we'll give the good doctor (and his scriptwriters) a pass on that. It's hard to keep up with who's married to whom in Hollywood.