Throwback Thursdays

President Reagan believed in the power of reaching across the aisle, in getting things done, and in the power of people working together towards solutions rather than leaving it in the hands of the government.

In Ronald Reagan’s eight years as president, he held a total of 46 press conferences which is one of the lowest numbers compared to other presidencies. For example, in their eight years, Eisenhower and Clinton faced the press 193 times, Bush ’43 met with the White House Press corps 210 times and to date, Biden is at number nine. Although President Woodrow Wilson held the first presidential press conference on March 15,1913, the modern idea of a live, televised press conference dates basically from the Eisenhower Administration. Prior to that, the rules governing press conferences favored the president.

Not much meant more to President Reagan than peace and freedom across the globe.

The month of February held very special meaning for Ronald Reagan for a number of reasons. Yes, his birthday was February 6th followed by Valentine’s Day when he always honored his beloved wife, Nancy. But the other important event in February during his presidency was the opportunity to address the national prayer breakfast. In case you aren’t familiar with it, the National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. It’s actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—and has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton’s International Ballroom attended by some 3500 guests, with invitees attending from over 100 countries.

President Reagan loved celebrating – and joking about – his birthday. Each year was another anniversary of his 39th birthday.

One of the most heartbreaking moments in Reagan’s presidency came early in his term, when his dear friend and colleague, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated. The President greatly admired everything about his leadership and character and worried about who would follow and uphold the principles the fine man initiated. Who would take the helm in Egypt? The man who followed Sadat, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, was an Egyptian military and political leader who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.

President Reagan believed that hard work, ingenuity and enterprise is what makes us Americans.

Ronald Reagan had tremendous respect for FDR, in many ways; in how he communicated and inspired the American people and how FDR was a devoted public servant. 40 years ago, on January 28th, 1982, the President delivered remarks at a White House Luncheon, celebrating the Centennial of the Birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We’ll listen to these remarks but first, on May 25th, 1977, then former Governor Ronald Reagan delivered a radio address, entitled Public Servants. As you listen, think about the Air Traffic Controllers strike which occurred 4 years later in 1981, during his first year in office.

At his heart, Ronald Reagan was an optimist. He believed in America and its people.

On January 27, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his sixth State of the Union address, calling for cuts in domestic spending, an increase in the defense budget, and an assurance of no tax increases. But before he delivered the speech to Congress, he prepared a radio address to the nation, to be delivered several days before his annual State of the Union Address. Inspired by FDR’s Fireside Chats, Ronald Reagan felt there was an intimacy to radio which could not be replicated. And this intimacy provided an opportunity to touch the American people in a completely unique way. So, on January 24, 1987,  in this informative address, the President gave the American people a little history on the State of the Union tradition.