Introduction A statue of Ronald Reagan stands in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington D C Tom Williams CQ-Roll Call Group Getty Images 6
Imagine for a moment the events of March 30 1981 Ronald Reagan the 40th U S president has just been shot and seriously wounded he is rushed to the hospital and in the midst of chaos and panic he cracks a joke quipping to doc tors that he hoped they were all Republicans the party with which Reagan was affiliated As an actor-turned-governor-turned president Ronald Reagan was no stranger to maintain ing a public face and it was perhaps his ability to maintain such calm under pressure that endeared him to so much of the country and fittingly earned him the nickname the Great Communicator As with just about every presi dent Reagan’s time in office had both high and low points but for many Reagan became and remains a representation of the American ideal Reagan’s extraordinary journey from sportscaster to actor from governor to presi dent from liberal to conservative is recounted in the following pages Reagan’s résumé was a varied one to say the least with entries that may not seem typ ical of a U S president in fact it may even seem that his political career came as a sec ond act Taken together however the three areas most significant to his life athletics 7
Ronald Reagan drama and politics complemented each other each revealing his ability and confi dence in front of others In college Reagan indulged these interests joining the football swimming and track teams participating in productions by the drama club and serving as president of his freshman class and then the student body After college Reagan focused on a career in media and entertainment first working as a radio sportscaster and later as an actor Although he appeared primarily in supporting roles in B movies and on tele vision Reagan was active in Hollywood serving as the president of the Screen Actors Guild for six terms During his tenure Reagan helped achieve several mea sures that benefited actors However it was also during this time that his anticommu nist leanings which would remain a theme throughout his political career became evident He cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee which attempted to eliminate communist influ ence in Hollywood by blacklisting actors directors and writers believed to have ties to communism 8
Introduction Following this period Reagan’s focus shifted increasingly to politics He had been a lifelong Democrat like his father but partly due to the influence of his wife Nancy Reagan became more conservative and officially registered as a Republican in 1962 His televised speech in support of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 launched him into the national political arena and by 1966 he had attracted enough support to be elected gov ernor of California Despite his successes as governor Reagan failed in his attempts to win the Republican bid for the presidency in 1968 and 1976 By 1980 though the political climate was right and Reagan was elected the 40th U S president His administration faced some major setbacks including a severe reces sion and the infamous Iran-Contra scandal in which arms were illegally sold to Iran in an effort to secure the release of American hostages in Lebanon However having overseen a period of economic growth and improved relations with the Soviet Union Reagan regained much of his popularity by the end of his two terms 9
