What Does it Take to be a Great President?

 

Ronald Reagan

By: Jordan and Alice 

 

 

Where I Live(ed):

Tampico, Illinois

Dixon, Illinois

California

District of Columbia!!!! WHITE HOUSE

 

Blog: http://iaspace.pbwiki.com/A3-Ronald-Reagan

Website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html

 

About Me:

     Hello all! My name is Ronald Reagan and I was the 40th President of the United States.  I had an unusual career journey that was different than all other presidents.  I started out as a well known actor from Hollywood.  I acted in several movies and was even President of the Screen Actors Guild.  I guess that was a sign that I was going to be a president of something even larger.  After acting, I got into politics.  I originally was a Democrat but then decided to become a Republican.  I was first the Governor of California and eventually came to be two-term President of the United States.

     As President, I had a plethora of goals on my agenda.  These goals were in general, cutting taxes, raising national defense, reinforcing a free-flowing economy, mending the relationship with the Soviet Union, etc.  I feel that most of these goals were successfully accomplished.  Aside from these accomplishments, I had a great connection with the people of the United States.  Not to sound brash, but I was known for my charisma and humor.  I was also known to have sincere interest in improving the lives of Americans and protecting our beloved country.  I guess you can say I am an extraordinary yet ordinary leader of an even greater nation.  

 

Date of Birth:

February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois

Date of Death:

June 5, 2004 in Bel-Air, California

Sex:

Male

Political Views:

I initally was a Democrat and I eventually became and still am a Republican.

 

Religious Views:

Christian- Presbyterian

 

Years Served as President:

1981-1989

Status:

Divorced from actress Jane Wyman

Married to Nancy Davis

Children:

Maureen and Michael (with Jane)

Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott (with Nancy)

Looking for:

Friendship

Occupations:

President of the United States

Governor of California

Actor

President of Screen Actors Guild

Radio Sports Announcer

Television Host

 

Interests/Hobbies:

• I really enjoy acting.  I acted in school plays and eventually appeared in a whopping total of 53 films
• I played football (the American kind) in college
• Horseback Riding
• Ranch Work
• Target Shooting

 

Education:

• Eureka College (It was as exciting as its name!)

 

Favorite Books:

•  The Bible
• Northern Trails, by William Joseph Long
• That Printer of Udell's, by Harold Bell Wright

 

Favorite Movies:

Well, I have been in A LOT of movies.  I mean seriously A LOT!!! So, why don't you just check out some of my awesome work, and maybe some not so awesome, here.  Some of my favorite are Bedtime for Bonzo, Knute Rockne All American, Kings Row, Dark Victory, and Hasty Heart.

 

Favorite Music:

• Song- Nancy With the Laughing Face

                    Battle Hymn of the Republic

• Concerto #1, Tchaikovsky
• Lara’s Theme (from Doctor Zhivago)
• Firebird Suite, Stravinsky
• Grand Canyon Suite, Ferde Grofe
• Porgy and Bess, Gershwin

 

Friends:

• Nancy Reagan
• George H. W. Bush 
• Dwight Eisenhower
• Richard Nixon

Sports:

• Football
• Baseball
• Golf 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with and how I influenced those things (at home) included:

 

Political

• I am very proud of this next thing.  You see, during my term in office I had the honor of choosing replacements for many federal and appeal judges and three supreme court justices.  But, guess who was the first president to select a female judge?  Oh you flatter me!  That's right, it was I who chose Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female judge to ever serve on the supreme court.
• I used much of my political power simply to push through my reforms to the economy.  As I told the the people in my first inaugural address, "Government is the problem," and I sincerely think it is.  When the government intervenes too much with the will of the people or the natural flow of economy bad things start to happen.  The government should be more a mediator than a rule maker.
• I just want to shout out a big "Oops" for abandoning one of my party's key components that being fiscal conservativism.  You see, I may have tripled the national dept during my time in office to 2.9 trillion dollars.  So, no one can say I was a straight republican!

 

Social

• One thing I did that may seem somewhat controversial was, as usual, an action that I made for the benefit of the people.  My opinion on discrimination during my term was that many of the antidiscrimination laws from the 60s and 70s had created more segregation rather than harmony between races.  I thought that by enforcing the laws I was only creating my violence.  So, I stopped enforcement.

• Along these same lines, I didn't think that it was fit to force integration either.  That is why I didn't see the rationale behind federally court-ordered busing for the purpose of integrating kids of different races even though they lived in different neighborhoods.  I continually thought that making actions to force integration upon people who were not ready for it was only going to cause more harm.  I didn't object to any of the laws, I just didn't want to force them on the people all at once.

• In my opinion, ALL Americans are equal, but in saying that I specifically mean that we should not have to make it seem as if certain ethnic groups are more equal than others.  For that reason, I actively opposed affirmative action and had many of the laws supporting it removed.

 

Economic

• My policy on economics was called "Reaganomics" (clever huh?).  My goal for the US economy was to balance out the federal budget, cut income tax, and increase defense spending.
• Due to my sweetness, I got congress to sign a legislation to spur economic growth, reduce inflation, send employment soaring, and beef-up national defense.
• I also cut taxes as part of my supply-side theory (I hoped that people would spend that extra money on goods and services to boost the economy) and reduced government expenditures.  Although it was temporarily necessary to spend extra on national defense (Don't forget I CARE about the people), it temporarily lead to a minor deficit...
• Part of my plan to help the economy included deregulation.  In this plan I noted some regulations that were costing factories a lot of cash to pass.  So, naturally looking out for the greater good of the people through the economy, I reduced the environmental and safety regulations.

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with and how I influenced those things (abroad) included:

 

Political

• I had to deal with my old pal Mikhail Gorbachev (he can be pretty emotional at times).  Fortunately, we were able to make a treaty that got rid of Soviet mid-range nuclear missiles.
• On top of that I had to deal with a War on Terrorism.  With much reluctance I had to send an American bomber to attack Libya due to the fact that they took part in an injust attack on American soldiers.
• As I stressed in various speeches, we had manage our foreign military affairs carefully.  That was what I meant when I said, "We must stand by all our democratic allies. And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth."

 

Social

• I don't mean to put down my redecessor, President Carter, by saying this, but it was not until the first day of my term in office that the 52 remaining United States hostages were released from the embassy in Iran.  They were held there all throughout President Carter's term, but once I took office they were free.  Perhaps that was more due to his absence, but the event did take place during my time in office.

• As you may know. I hate nuclear weapons with a burning passion.  With the threat of Soviet missiles and weapons, I proposed a national defense system called the "Strategic Defense Initiative."  It was a space defense system that was thought to shield the US from nuclear missiles. However, it never was put into play and its denigrators called it the "Star Wars" because of its sci-fi like characteristic. Furthermore, the proposal of such a defense created more tensions between the USSR and the United States.

• Wanting to improve the relationship with the USSR, I formed a bond with Mikhail Gorbachev who therefore planted a new idea of openness for the Soviet Union.  This "openness" was called a 'glasnost.'  I think that this glasnost helped the USSR society.  

 

Economic

• In great fear that Iran- Iraq war would deplete oil in American, I intelligently sent naval forces to the Persian Gulf and therefore was able to continue the supply of oil to these wonderful United States.
• The trade deficit somewhat made the US budget worsen.  The US was buying more foreign goods than it was selling.  However, keeping to my firm stance on free trade and minimal government interference, I did not stop the entering of foreign markets into the US. (I NEVER break my promises)
• To go along with my stance on free trade and market, I signed an agreement with Canada to allow free trade with the US.  I also signed a legislation which which made foreign markets available to US goods.  

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

-As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces, I did my best to stop the spread of communism in the Western Hemipshere by supporting the Contras in their fight against the Nicaraguan communist government.  I also supported the government of El Salvador to fight the communist guerillas and led the US Invasion of Grenada when communist Cuba was attacking Grenada.  Finally, I gave my support to the Afghani rebels who were fighting against the Soviets.  

Chief Executive

-When it was time to select a new Justice for the US Supreme Court, I selected Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Justice.

-I used my role as Chief Executive to push reforms on the economy.  I cannot stress this enough but I staunchly support free economy and market.

Chief Diplomat

-My motto, "Peace through Strength."  Also, I negotiated with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to eliminate the use of deadly nuclear missiles.  (That's scary stuff!)

-Umm, not so good- I was unfortunately a part of the Iran-Contra Affair in which the government and I traded with Iranian terrorists weapons for the US hostages.  Some of the profits were also sent to support the Contras in Nicaragua. I understand that I promised not to affiliate with terrorists and I admit that it was a mistake.  However, I truly I wanted the hostages back home safely and wanted the spread of communism to die.  I may attribute it to my Alzheimer's.

Ceremonial Head of State

-When the seven Challenger astronauts died in 1986, I grieved with the nation and articulated the nation's grief the best way that I knew how.  I did tried extremely hard to reassure the nation in this time of distress.

Manager of the Economy

-I was able to cut taxes, spurt national growth and have unemployment at an all time-low!  

-Also, I made sure the government had minimal interaction with the economy.  I was a true advocate of the free market.

-However due to my tax cuts, and reduced government expenditure, I was able to spend more on strengthening national defense.  This lead to a slightly major deficit.....

Party Leader

-For three presidential elections I was nominated as the Republican candidate.  I guess you could say I had a great amount of support from my party.  

-I was an ambitious president with many goals such as cutting taxes, expanding national defense, reforming foreign policy, etc.  In order to accomplish these goals for the people, I tried to help a Republican dominance in Congress.  It was successful until the 1986 off-year election.  After that election, the Democrats took over Congress.

National Leader

-Not to sound cocky but people really liked me.  I was known as the "Great Communicator" because I would go on TV and ask for the support of the American people on a specific legislations.  I felt that through this communication, I was more in touch with the people of the United States.

-Some people believed me to a "Teflon-coated" president because even my mistakes never "stuck to me" and never influenced my popularity.

 

Quote Me on These:

On Assassination- "Honey, I forgot to duck."

On Change- "We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world."

On Acting- "Learn your lines, don't bump into the furniture—and in kissing scenes, keep your mouth closed."

On Economics- "Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber, and as deadly as a hit man."

On Government- "Government is a referee; it shouldn't try to be a player in the game."

On Work- "They say hard work never hurt anybody, but I figure why take the chance?"

On Trees- "A tree is a tree—how many more do you need to look at?"

On War- "People don't start wars, governments do."

 

 

Favorite Quote About Me by a Famous Historian:

• "Ronald Reagan is clearly to television what Franklin Roosevelt was to radio."--David R. Gergen 

 

Did you know...?

• My nickname as a kid was "Dutch" because when I was born, my father thought I looked like a fat little Dutchman.  It also didn't help that my mother made me a get a Dutch boy haircut as well.
• I worked as a life-guard when I was young.  While I was a life-guard, I saved 77 lives.
• I was shot by John W. Hinckley, Jr.  The bullet barely missed my heart and fortunately I survived.
• My favorite flavor of jelly bean is licorice

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

Ronald Reagan (Online Image) Available <http://www.patriotart.com/RonaldReagan1.jpg> 23 May 2008.

 

Negative Political Cartoon

Ronald Reagan. (Online Image) Available <http://library.thinkquest.org/J001570/hyrosencartoon4.jpg>.  23 May 2008.

 

Works Cited:

 

"Ronald Reagan Biography - The Presidency." Reagan 2020: Federalism and the new Conservativism. Patriot Post. 23      May 2008 <http://reagan2020.us/biography/ronald_reagan_presidency.asp>.

 

"RONALD REAGAN FACTS." Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration.

     The University of Texas At Austin. 23 May 2008 <http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/facts.html>.

 

"Ronald Reagan Quotes & Quotations." ThinkExist.com. Think Exist. 23 May 2008

     <http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/ronald_reagan />.

 

"Ronald Reagan." Microsoft® Student 2006 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2005.

 

"Ronald Reagan." The White House. 23 May 2008. The United States of America. 23 May 2008      

     <http://www.whitehouse. gov/history/presidents/rr40.html>.

 

"Ronald W. Reagan Quick Facts." MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework. Microsoft.

     23 May 2008 <http://encarta.msn.com/media_461577486_761560259_-1_1/

     ronald_w_reagan_quick_facts.html>.

 

"The American Experience: Reagan." PBS. Public Broadcasting Station. 23 May 2008

     <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/index.html>.

 

Huckshorn, Robert J. "Reagan, Ronald." The American Presidency. Grolier Online. 23 May 2008      <http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0329270-00>.

 

Wolf, Julie. "Ronald Reagan ." PBS. Public Broadcasting Station. 23 May 2008

     <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande04.html>.

     

Wolf, Julie. "The Iran-Contra Affair." PBS. Public Broadcasting Station. 23 May 2008

     <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande08.html>.

 YOU MUST USE ACADEMIC SOURCES!