Reagan Quotes and One-Liners
 

http://www.presidentreagan.info/speeches/quotes.cfm

I think it would be cool if we all shared our favorite Reagan Quotes and One-Liners.

A Classic is:

"I hope you're all Republicans."
To surgeons as he entered the operating room, March 30, 1981.


Also:

"Republicans believe every day is 4th of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15. "

"My fellow Americans. I'm pleased to announce that I've signed legislation outlawing the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes." - The (in)famous Reagan radio check that scared the sh*t outta the Soviet Union.

BTW, I'm a card-carrying Republican, ever since I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984.

"I want you to know that ... 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."

October 24, 1984 - Presidential debate with Walter Mondale

"After watching the State of the Union address the other night, I'm reminded of the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Only in this case, it's not flattery, but grand larceny: the intellectual theft of ideas that you and I recognize as our own. Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions, and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row seats."

RNC Annual Gala, Feb. 3, 1994

There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.

Address to the University of South Carolina, Columbia, September 20, 1983

MR. GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!

This still sends chills up my spine.

Howard Baker was interviewed recently and said that he wanted to take this out because it didn't sound "presidential." The speechwriters told Baker that President Reagan had wanted it in the speech. So much for the theories that the President wasn't in control ...

There was some great stuff on NPR yesterday with a bunch of former Regan aides who had to go out and justify some of the stuff he said off the cuff.

No question that the man was the absolute consumate communicator. He was brilliant, but on occassion inadvertantly caused some raised eyelids.

Consensus was that he brought back stuff from the back of his mind, often from movies that he had made, and mentally turned them into reality for himself and then said them outloud.

One of the aides called them parables.

I don't remember many, but one was when he ad-libbed that more people were at risk from trees than cars pollution-wise.

The guy was a stitch to listen to. Generally very enjoyable. I think the right man for the job at that time.

The 1980 Republican Coronation -- oops, I mean convention, I was Senior Director at a TV station in Detroit, where the convention was held. We had a sky box news set and control room.

Legend was, that no nominee ever came to the podium until the exceptance speech. One afternoon, we were in the control room and heard that there was going to be a security sweep and everyone had to leave the building. But, for some reason, nobody every came to tell us when.

So we're sitting in the control room fat, dumb and happy, with nobody else apparantely in the building, when in comes Regan and his entourage, and he goes up to the podium and practices his acceptance speech.

So much for tradition.

So, we punched up the camera on the line back to the station and opened a microphone on the set and fed it back to the station, who used a few seconds of voice over for a live newsbreak a few moments later.

The big network boys were pretty amazed.

"I know in my heart that man is good.
That what is right will always eventually triumph.
And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life."

Ronald Reagan Library Opening Ceremonies
November 4, 1991 Simi Valley, California.

I liked when he announced that the hostages had left Iranian air space. I can't find that quote on the page, but I heard it earlier tonight.

Also Win one for the Gipper. :)

I don't think that one was an original Reganism, but he sure put it to good use, didn't he?

"Hard work won't kill you, but I decided not to take the chance."

I liked this so much, I have it as my signature on another board.