reagan family members, friends, misss, and gentlemen, i ronald reagan. i miss his dynamic blue eyes, the ones that twinkled when he saw the good in a tough situation or a cantankerous adversary, but that could also turn very steely, as they did when he stared down striking traffic controllers. i saw a man who stood tall in the face of wrong, like you did at berlin's brandenburg gate when he said, general secretary peace, if if you seek you seek prosperity for the soviet union and eastern europe, open this gate. mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. [applause] even as he battled darker forces in the world, he remained touched by what abraham lincoln described as the better angels of our nature. to his ear, the mystic chords of memory worth unifying verses that americans had sung about freedom and prosperity since the founding of this great land. as time goes by, as our national discourse grows more course and as increasingly harsh winds blow across the globe, and it seems that our leaders either won't or can't do the people's work at home, i .iss him even m

we work in the support of great leaders like presidents ronald reagan. -- president ronald reagan. [applause] >> thank you general. we meet here, on what he would describe as the 68th anniversary of his 39th birthday. we celebrate what can best be described as a great american story, whose early hero is him as a lifeguard saved the lives of 77 of his fellow citizens. he went on to college, where he worked part-time as a dishwasher, which he later described as the best job he ever had. he reached the heights of hollywood movie stardom. he took the reins of his new home state, serving two successful terms as governor as california. the reagan revolution had begun, leading to the presidential election that was the largest landslide in american history. here, this history is presented for all to see. this is not so much to look back, but to look forward. this library should not be about the success of the past, but about the promise of the future. his legacy is one of civility and respect. he fought hard and did his utmost to defeat his opponents, but never to destroy them. there was a

president reagan. we are proud to be in the presence of so many men and women of america's armed forces. thank you for your devotion. [applause] program, in honor of the 107th birthday of ronald wilson reagan, please rise for the playing of our national anthem and the invocation. ♪ ♪ >> join me if you would in a prayer. in his last presidential address to the nation, lord, the president referred to the shining city on the hill when he said, my friends, we did it. we were not marketing time. we made it -- we were not marketing time. we made a difference. you made the city for your -- we made the city freer. all in all not bad. lord god, may we not forget why he said it that way. we did it. we, the nation. we, the people. we, the family. we, americans. as the perils of the present call us to hope and trust in each other, help us to make the difference that makes a difference for this is who we are. we who are now blessed and empowered by your good and holy spirit. amen. please be seated. our next spe

there were not two ronald reagans or two nancy reagans. there just weren't. and when i first started with them, i thought there might be. i didn't quite believe that everything i had read about them was true either in terms of their relationship with each other or how they behaved. but you would be with them in their living room, and it was the same person that you has been with in the office earlier in the week. it was exactly the same guy. now, that's not to say he didn't understand what the role of the president was, that when it was time to take the stage and be the leader of the country, he could step up and be exactly what he was supposed to be. he understood that he was a symbol and that what people thought of him was often what they thought of the united states. but there were not two different people. what you saw was what you got. and, you know, they say you should never meet your hero because you'll inevitably be disappointed, but it wasn't true in this case. they were exactly the same. and they didn't put on an act. you could be in an elevator wit

reagans? >> there was a movie maybe red dawn and i cannot recall the discussion afterwards and i said something that seemed to favor the communist in the movie. i don't know why. maybe to be contrary in. i don't know what i said. but the president said in front of the group you sound just like those people in the movie. i said oh my god the president thinks i'm red. and everybody laughed. i didn't give it a second thought but the next day's speech comes and goes and back to normal then the next night saturday night before the movie started he said something rather silly about mark and the communists. i know he doesn't think that way. but i thought that was awfully nice of him to say. and i said later to mrs. reagan that was nice of him to say but he didn't have to do that. but she said we talked about that but ronnie thought it was important to say that in front of the whole group. it isn't fake or made up or four cameras or public consumption, it was just he was be back. >> one of his favorit

. -- ronald reagan. if you go to booktv.org, type in craig shirley and book, you can see all his past appearances on booktv. >> a look now at some of the authors recently featured on booktv's "after words," our weekly author interview program featuring best selling nonfiction books and guest interviewers. former "usa today" editor-in-chief joanne litman. tear rah westover -- tara westover. and former democratic senate of staffer ira shapiro shared his thoughts on partisanship in the senate. in the coming weeks on "after words," human rights campaign press secretary sarah mcbride will discuss her life as a transgenders person and lgbtq rights. james swanson retraces the events leading up to the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr. and this weekend economist brian kaplan argues against college for everyone. >> obviously, there is about a trillion dollars of government funding at all levels on the side of the status quo. very much we're keeping that in mind. this means that we have a very accessible

if ronald reagan was an inspiring president, nancy reagan was the consummate first lady, the cherished apple of his and his protector. their life together taught us about the power of a kind and loving relationship. a love affair to remember. it would be wonderful indeed to at them on the south lawn 1600 pennsylvania avenue once again, waiting to reporters and photographers as they confidently strode from marine handedthe white house, d, alwaysd in han smiling and optimistic. as much as we would like to, we can't bring them back. one thing we can do is remind our children and grandchildren, this country can achieve greatness with someone like one of reagan -- ronald reagan in the white house. the lessons of president reagan can give courage to americans who struggle to make sense of today's politics, based on the destructive belief it is better to yell let each other over our differences than to work together to find solutions to our common problems. that lessons can remind us words do have consequences. president reagan said what he meant. he meant what he said. were he alive today, i

reagan had nothing to do with it, it was the aclu. i hope this answers your question. >> let's get some fair = to talk about roosevelt for a second. if you want to get a sort of overview of his presidency. >> one thing i want everybody to understand is she was a superb first lady and i came to understand her and the trouble that she went through and how much she loved all of her sons and children including the first roosevelt to address the nation after the attack. it was eleanor roosevelt, national radio tonight at december 7 and talked to the nation about the upcoming crisis, that the japanese attack, about having four sons in uniform coming and it was a quite compelling speech about the call to duty and sacrifice. she herself was a remarkable woman. the fdr white house was full of fun all the time com, he was entertaining guests all the time, spencer tracy and any actor. he loved hollywood, he premiered a love of movies during his time in the white house. he went out on the sequoia as michael mentioned. he went fishing a loss. i im

a great question about ronald reagan, let's start over here. >> how much did ronald reagan's dementia or alzheimer's impact the second term in the white house, and do we have the proper safeguards today to prevent a situation in the future? they went to the clinic every year for a battery of tests. he passed every year for eight years and it wasn't diagnosed until five years after he left the presidency. and if you go back and look at the letter to gorbachev in 87, the three-page letter which is filled with detail, policy analysis or go online and look at the speech to the university of virginia law school students who went down to charlottesville and gave a speech and interacted for a good hour and a half, there's no sign of alzheimer's or dementia. he was with dozens of aides, cabinet officials, reporters, nobody saw any evidence whatsoever. he was tired, no doubt about it from after the seven long years. so we had missiles pointed at each other. any mistake or misunderstanding could lead to. john foster dulles o were in sorry, harry truman wrongfully said south korea wasn't a part

was reagan's appeal to this group? >> he understood them like nobody else in our lifetime. he used to say that the reason he could appeal to them is he really was them. that he grew up in a working class family beset by unemployment and alcoholism. he grew up in a small town where people helped each other, but you had to make it on your own, and he understood what average people aspired to and the fact that he had ambition that even as a movie actor placed him well beyond the economic dreams, you kn know, and achievements of anybody he grew up with. he never lost touch with his family and his working class roots. he understood what they wanted and what they needed. >> have those reagan republicans stayed with the republican party since ronald reagan? >> a lot of the reagan democrats, the people who brought -- he brought into the party have not stayed with the party. particularly if they're not strongly religious evangelicals, they went back to voting democrat in national election for most of the elections after the fal

fred because reagan one of red because p reagan won. he is running against a former southern governor, jimmy carter. going to a place like nashoba allows the republican candidate to connect with those voters and you see how republicans in that election are mobilizing, not just white working-class voters in the south, but also those old dixie who had not joined the party because they thought the party was to moderate. moderate. one of the things that happens in that campaign is there is a event in jackson, mississippi where the young congressman trent lott introduces the main speaker and it was strom heard the old presidential candidate of 1940 eight who, in 1964 switches his allegiance. -- strom thurmond. presidential candidate of 1948 who, in 1964, switches his allegiance. he is there in 1980 speaking on behalf of reagan. he encourages people to join the party and trent lott is introducing strom thurmond and says this country has just voted -- he is like, i'm proud of my state. invoted for strom thurmond 1948 and if other states had vo

is reaganism still a live in the republican party today? >> i think so. reagan's evolving philosophy of american conservatism had its roots in the enlightenment and the freedom of the individual. that's where recommend that conservatives ended up. so by 1980 and later the republican party was freedom resident organizing party was justice and oftentimes they conflict with each other. this is what the debates are really about. going back to the time of washington and the framers of founders. what is just a what is free. i believe reaganism is still a live the conservative movement. less on the republican party. it's open to question because the republican party was very much abraham lincoln's party is open to question if it will become donald trump's party. >> what's your take on this industry of republicans criticizing donald trump? >> i think it's healthy and vital. the discourse is healthy for both parties and they need to have these internal debates to see what they stand for. this is the beauty of the platforms used to be the week before the convention

reagan didn't. there is a common misperception at the time, later, and even today that reagan came into office focusing entirely on building up u.s. and allied strength, deferred negotiations until a new type of soviet leader emerged. in fact, reagan attempted early on to engage with brezhnev and timesccessors, and at giving real emphasis on the role of history in russian foreign policy. a russian role of history and the lives of the russians we were dealing with. in thinking through this letter 1984 "i in february , have reflected at some length on the tragedy and scale of soviet losses in warfare throughout the ages. truly, those losses, which are beyond description, must affect your thinking today. i want you to know that neither i nor the america people hold any offensive intentions toward you or the soviet people." when it came to policy decisions, just as importantly or even more importantly, reagan put out on the table zero option on intermediate nuclear forces treaties talks. he but that out

ronald reagan, not so much. but reagan understood somethingt that jimmy carter never grasped and that donald trump has yet to grasp. that is that an outsider present above all needs a consummate insider like jim baker, chief of staff the reagan had who knows capitol hill and also comfortable telling the president hard truths in until donald trump figures that out he won't be able to govern effectively, in my view one washington post headlinest this morning, trump turnover breaks white house record. 42% of staffers have left or changed jobs. jack in buckeye arizona, republican. your next speaker he first of all, thank you for taking my call. i'd like to methodically make a few comments before i ask your guest a question. let's look at what he says. number one, he's been there one mr. whipple went all negative on saying what his accomplishment are. getting rid of all regulation, executive orders and if you consider all of this great, it is great for all the people about 35 states on the map that i saw the voted fo

greatrthand, that is a example of how ronald reagan, what is the difference between ronald reagan and george wallace? the enemy black people. making the enemy the racial other. that is the politics of rage and george wallace. and the political innovation of ronald reagan -- and one of the things about reagan's political career -- yet this remarkable ability to take political policies and ideas that when said in our southern accident i george wallace or strom thurmond racism butblatant ronald reagan, in his humorous, kind of offhand way could sell the nation on conservativism. that ithe differences the not make government problem, it makes welfare the problem. the problem with welfare as it is designed to trap poor people. that is part of the rhetorical strategy and differentiation which was very important in thinking about how conservative republicans like ronald reagan succeeded. that is a great distinction. ?ny other questions ok. thank you so much. see you on monday. [applause] everycer: join us saturday evening as we join students and college classrooms to hear lectures on topics

vintage ronald reagan. pat: i am honored to have worked as the gipper's communications director many years later. but that was the candidate i was most afraid of in the republican primaries. it was the possibility ronald reagan would get into the race, given his personality, his conservative views, and the likability of him that he could really stand those goldwater delegates and pull the nomination away from richard nixon. i never believed rockefeller could get it after what he did to barry goldwater in 1954. -- 1964. republicans would have walked out if rockefeller had been nominated. host: explain the reagan candidacy or possible candidacy in 1960 eight. -- what was he thinking? 1968. was the on the ballot? was he a serious contender for the white house? barbara: what is fascinating for him, for that clip for to kill -- for that clip particularly, the facility had with the audience and as a speaker, and that goes back to his days as an announcer for baseball where he -- he was getting the baseball game o

of reagan's trade policy though. reagan and his core was anti-communist. reagan at a score wanted to be the soviet union and reagan at his court knew that free trade with china and mexico would strengthen alliances and strengthen the economy and make them more resilient with takeovers with what the soviets were attempting to do in central america in nicaragua and for trump to attack reagan on trade is a fundamental misunderstanding. >> host: the tucson festival of books is held on the campus of the university of arizona where book tv is live and we have been live all we can. we have several more hours of the best coming up and we are pleased joining us now is one of the authors speaking at the last panel and this is craig surely, his two most recent books are about newt gingrich and ronald reagan. craig surely, is her anything about the republican party their conversation they're having about it self when reagan was president for george w. bush wa. >> guest: it was more intellectual than. it was great debates in the

reagan, because the reagan revolution truly was a revolution against the established order. against the status quo. there is a dialect to american presidential history. every generation to there's an upheaval among the population against the established order. it starts with jefferson against adams and the sedition act and the nicholson jackson with bank of america. and then lincoln against the institutional slavery. to teddy roosevelt and the execution of the hetrust and franklin roosevelt with the institution of wall street. and then to reagan against the washington institution and -- the small part, also the banks but also anti-washington and regaining power to the american people. and donald trump ngfalls and th dialect in which makes 2016 election very interesting. donald trump himself, may not be a figure of history. you know it took andrew jackson hundred 50 years for a decent biography to be read by andrew jackson to be written by andrew sus injured. it may take 150th street decent biography to be written about donald trump. set aside all of the flaws, all these char

to ronald reagan. -- hard truths to ronald reagan. i see no evidence that that is happening in this white house and quite frankly john kelly is out of his depth politically. host: how do they run the white house on a daily basis versus how it's being run now? guest: well, you know, in a functioning white house that's firing on every cylinder, everything flows from an empowered white house chief of staff who executes the president's agenda. you cannot overestimate how important the job is. he's not only famously the gatekeeper who creates time and space for the president to think. he's also the honest broker of information who makes sure that every decision is teed up with accurate information on every side and will also make sure that only the toughest decisions get into the oval office. he is in charge of key medications and making sure that -- communication and making sure that everyone is on the same page. he's a so-called heatshield taking all the flak aimed at the present. executed person who the president's agenda and the person

reagan didn't. there's a common misperception at the time later and even today that reagan came into office focusing entirely on building up u.s. and allies strength, deferred negotiations until a new type of soviet leader emerged. in fact reagan attempted early on to engage with brezhnev and his successors yuri andropov and constantine chinyenko. and given the role of history in -- well, the role of history in the lives of the russians he was dealing with later he wrote to chinye in,ko in february of 1984 "i have reflected at something length on the tragedy and scale of those losses. surely they must affect your thinking today. neither i nor the american people hold any offensive intentions toward you or the soviet people when it came to policy decisions, i think reagan put out on the table zero option on intermediate nuclear forces treat y treaty. he put that out in 1981 and there was a wide perception that it was purely cynical because the u.s. and nato did not have pershing two. a lot of people

reagan, reagan was young. you saw the reagan there. that was a different reagan then i saw on the white house in 85. which was a must 20 years on. i think reagan would have gone for victory in vietnam, all-out bombing, american power i think there would have been no limits on going into laos or cambodia. -- t: he gives a speech in which he thelly comes out against johnson policy on the vietnam war. he speaks up in favor of peace and going to peace talks and the americanization of the war. some people think that if you just done that earlier, he was coming on strong at the end. in part because of johnson's decision. --also made a reference to in south vietnam. about the great book back channeling that was being done between the nixon campaign and the present about the peace talks. host: -- guest: is a matter of some controversy. host: george, from illinois. go ahead. caller: thank you, good morning. concerningestion tardiness innson's and 68.ng humphrey -- in 68. what if theg president had come out sooner? it was palpable. guest: indeed

know, i believe -- you because of the letters that andng and reagan -- nixon reagan -- which i have copies of -- there was a bohemian growth in 1967, where they talked and nixon told reagan, give me a fresh shot at the liberal establishment in new hampshire, and if i have not succeeded really well in wisconsin, then you come in. rockefeller tried to have a meeting with reagan in new orleans. he came up to his bedroom where he was staying, knocked on the door, and came in. reagan was calling nixon, saying we did not put this together. that is my belief, that he gave nixon that first shot but they were reagan people. they put him into oregon. he got 22% in oregon. and rockefeller got 5% of the vote in oregon in the primary. guest: but their hope was that rockefeller and reagan could perhaps drop an f to get votes away that if nixon did not win on the first ballot in miami beach, that maybe they could. guest: they started going to reagan. the rockefeller people would go to nixon. so we were a good second ballot. host: did richard nixon consumer ronald reagan as a running mate even though they

that is what ronald reagan had to do in 1980. mississippi goes republican in 1980 for the first time since reconstruction. the first time you have this republican government in mississippi after the civil war. and it is not easy -- if i put up 1980 electoral map it would of redo fred -- a sea because reagan won in a landslide. that was a late-breaking landslide. it was not clear, a divorced hollywood actor is going to be able to win the states of the south if he is going to defeat the southern governor. he is running against jimmy carter. so going to a place like neshoba county allows reagan to connect with those voters. and you see how republicans in the 1980 election are those old dixiecrats who had not joined the party butted then had not joined the republican party because they thought it was too moderate. they thought the party was really conservative. one of the famous things that happens in 1980, during that campaign, there is an event in lotton, mississippi, trent introduces the main speaker on behalf of the reagan campai

vintage ronald reagan. pat: i am honored to have worked as the gipper's communications director many years later. but, that was the candidate i was most afraid of in the republican primaries. it was in nelson rockefeller. -- it wasn't nelson rockefeller. it was the possibility ronald reagan would get into the race, given his personality, his conservative views, and the likability of him that he could really stand those goldwater delegates and pull the nomination away from richard nixon. i never believed rockefeller could get it after what he did to barry goldwater in 1954. -- 1964. republicans would have walked out if rockefeller had been nominated. host: explain the reagan candidacy or possible candidacy in 1960 eight. -- 1968. what was he thinking? was the on the ballot? was he a serious contender for the white house? barbara: what is fascinating for him, for that clip for to kill -- for that clip particularly, the facility had with the audience and as a speaker, and that goes back to his days as an annou

there was a deal caught at bohemian grove in 1967 where nixon and reagan talked and nixon told reagan, give me the first shot at romney and the liberal establishment in new hampshire and if by wisconsin i haven't succeeded well, then you come in. because there's a lot of exchange of rockefeller tried to have a meeting with reagan and came up to the bedroom where he was staying at a hotel, knocked on the door and came in. reagan was writing calling nixon saying we didn't put this together. that was my belief. he gave nixon the first shot and there was reagan people. he got 22% i think in oregon and we got 70%, and rockefeller got 5% of the vote out there in the primary, 28th of may. >> the hope was that they can draw enough delegates votes away that if nixon didn't win on the first ballot in miami beach -- >> if they started going to reagan, the rockefeller people would go to nixon, they started to go to rockefeller. so we were a good second ballot. >> did richard nixon consider ronald reagan as the running mate even if they were both from california. >> we had staff, up there in new y

a reagan conservative. [applause] i will start asking the authors and the impact they hope it would have. >> it is a joy to be with you all. i am a scholar of public opinion with the conversations that i have liar people getting things wrong or making the choices that they are? in my mind if you take that to the extreme we are not capable to have that democracy so instead of asking what are they getting wrong how are they understanding their world? so the book is focused on wisconsin but people in rural small towns research was in wisconsin and to listen to people so i wrote the book so look at what the small places in my state to understand the feeling that many people have about not being respected and overlooked how that comes from real experience hoping for something better i hope the impact it would have to understand this concern of feeling like you deserve more wanting better for yourself people would understand not from people deserved to be treated this so i want to have a broader understanding. >>

[impersonating ronald reagan] hello, general powell. this is ronald reagan. yes, sir. >> would you fix your tie, please? david: well, people wouldn't recognize me if my tie was fixed, but ok. just leave it this way. all right. ♪ david: i don't consider myself a journalist. and nobody else would consider myself a journalist. i began to take on the life of being an interviewer, even though i have a day job of running a private equity firm. how do you define leadership? what is it that makes somebody tick? we are here today at city college, a place that you graduated from a number of years ago. colin: thank you, david. david: why did you pick city college? colin: i was accepted at ccny. and i was accepted at nyu. and the reason i went to ccny is nyu was charging $750 a year. i couldn't handle that. family couldn't handle that, so i took ccny because it was free in because it was easy to get to and i had heard a lot about it. david: you grew up in the bronx? >> i was born in harlem about a mile from here. i grew up in the south bronx, the hunts point section. d

i think the political play addresses the reagan counterrevolution and it has come to the fore in the presidency of donald trump. you spend 40 years saying the government doesn't matter and you wind up with trump in the white house. there's a sense of crisis that we're all deep lly immersed in right now. the aids epidemic is a global pandemic. a little bit like the early '80s at any rate. it's become slightly invisible. you have to really read the newspaper to find it. >> andrew, you were barely a dplimer in anybody's eye when it first started. you were so young and you have this pivotal role as the star of this play. what do you think about the history of it and how do you sort of tune in with the politics of today? it is a political play. >> absolutely. i was conceived in new york in the '80s. so that's my connen with that period of time. i have a very virs ral connection to this city during this period. and i had the privilege of diving into the great work that tony has created and the still is absolutely vital for a functioning american democracy in society, as far as i'm concerne

reagan knew going in he would never agree to that. and when gorbachev demanded that, there was no going forward. resolve matters at the summit. if kju gets a source of something he never had before, denuclearization or destruction, it could work. it is useful to consult a 1980 book by richard nixon. the president arguably with the most successful summit in beijing in 1972. he devoted a chapter to presidential leadership. there is quite a lot on preparing for sum mitts. the key admonition, quote, but a president should go to a summit only if the stakes are worth the risks and the meeting is thoroughly programmed in advance. no president should go with an adversary unless he knows what is on the other side of the mountain. nicks op also wrote 10 rules he wished he could have carved into the wall of the oval office. the very first one of which is, quote, always be prepared to negotiate but never negotiate without being prepared. all of our ends rules are worth reading but none more than that first one. if president trump goes to meet wit

host: michele reagan? secretary reagan: well, that is not in my alley of what falls under the secretary of state's purview. know more and more people file their things online now. see that in our office, we're trying as hard as we can to reduce the amount of paper, people that like to come in and file things either a person or mail it in on paper form. both options are available. apologize to the caller, i'm up on what is being mailed out and not being mailed out. to file my taxes online. so i'll have to look next time actually get a form. libraries, i would think, should print your forms for free. ach library makes their own decisions, but a quarter a page, ask them to at least be printing those out where you don't have to pay. reagan, elected secretary of state in 2014, are you running for re-election this year? secretary reagan: i am. so this year, , primary for state offices and office and are in god willing, i'll be in the general in november. a lot of competition in this race, it is the state's secon

but sometimes the conservative even broke with ronald reagan. think it's important to understand that conservatism is timeless if you believe in individual rights, freedom, dignity, and privacy. it is derived from the enlightenment. but if you want to lower the amount of vitriol in the amount of yelling and screaming in hatred and nastiness out there is to get people back power and take it away from the elites of corporate america. [applause] >> i would recommend to bring back civility and respect her dark democracy that we establish better listening and encourage listening. by that will fully acknowledge that right now is not safe for everyone to listen to their opponents. for example the very obvious existence of racism in this country and because of that it's not safe for some people to listen to those who think there something less than human. but i think listening is important democracy. what a democracy is is a form of government in which we make decisions about each other and how to govern the lives of other people. if we do that with ver

i was with nixon then, and with regard to reagan, reagan was young. you saw the reagan there. that's a different raug theagani saw in the white house in '85. i think reagan would have gone for victory in vietnam and would have gone all-out bombing and used american power, and no limits on going into laos or cambodia. >> late september, vice president humphrey travels to salt lake city to do what? >> he gives a speech in which he finally comes out against the johnson policy on the vietnam war. and he speaks up in favor of peace and going to peace talks and de-americanization of the war. and some people think if he had just done that earlier, because as pat said, he was coming on strong at the end, in part perhaps because of johnson's decisions. but you also made a reference to president tu of south vietnam. >> that's a matter of some controversy. >> we're going to get to that. jordan from illinois, republican line. go ahead with your question. >> caller: thank you. good morning. i have a question of both concerning president johnson's tardiness in supporting hubert humphrey in

continued under reagan especially and it got my. defied over time it was really a robust concept to have lasers shooting things out of the sky from from outer space but the technologies had not yet been developed and they needed to be developed and that would have been part and parcel of the research and development costs that would have gone into and we had the companies to do that are some many of our companies our major defense companies today were involved like lockheed like martin marietta united technologies are not exact knowledge east t.r. deborah. these these are the major major firms that have been and continue to be engaged in this now as part of the missile defense agency today that's what it's called now that i remember in the day it was the s.d.i. oh this day it was it was about then it became the ballistic missile defense agency office and then clinton changed that to missile defense agency and that still exists today now that's what is being used to develop anti missile systems that's but it's a much more conventiona

waste a strong reagan person. trump is just a pointed leg of chief economic advisor, kudlow is fan taste k. steve morris is his business partner. they wrote the great trump tax cuts. and david perdue, the great senator from georgia is helping him. i predict that the republicans will win the midterm elections by a landslide and trump will be re-elected with the biggest landslide in history. host: joe. you say that because of the tax cuts. guest: i love the tax cuts. i have been a stock market investor for 50 years. my stocks have done great. so fired up, i haven't been able to sleep the last two nights. host: ok. joe, i'm going to leave it there. guest: i appreciate joe's optimism and enthusiasm. i think that -- i'm not opposed to the tax cuts. i should make that clear. but i do think that the average american voter is not quite as enthusiastic about them as joe and not quite as partisan as joe. and i think we're seeing that on the ground which is that even though people are -- the average family is going to see $1

i think the political play addresses the reagan counterrevolution and it has come to the fore in the presidency of donald trump. you spend 40 years saying the government doesn't matter and you wind up with trump in the white house. there's a sense of crisis that we're all deep lly immersed in right now. the aids epidemic is a global pandemic. a little bit like the early '80s at any rate. it's become slightly invisible. you have to really read the newspaper to find it. >> andrew, you were barely a dplimer in anybody's eye when it first started. you were so young and you have this pivotal role as the star of this play. what do you think about the history of it and how do you sort of tune in with the politics of today? it is a political play. >> absolutely. i was conceived in new york in the '80s. so that's my connection with that period of time. i have a very virs ral connection to this city during this period. and i had the privilege of diving into the great work that tony has created and the still is absolutely vital for a functioning american democracy in society, as far as i'm conc

economist arthur laffer has advised president reagan and margaret thatcher. recently he helped advise a tax bill. he talks about tax policy and the economy added an event hosted by the leadership program of the rockies. this is 50 minutes. i also had the privilege of introducing a great speaker that we have here for lunch. dr. art laffer. e is the author of trumpinomcs he is part of investment management firm utilizing diverse investment strategies. his economic acumen and theuence has earned him england of the father of supply-side economics. he was the rains behind the most recent tax cut bill that we have seen. who has gotten their thousand dollars bonus out of that? of laffer was a member president reagan's advisory board for both of his terms. he also advised margaret thatcher in the u.k.. he has years of experience and helped and has distinguish him in the business community. he has been widely acknowledged for his economic achievements. if you have not taught one, i believe there are several on sale next door. go check them out. please give a hand. we

children danced in the streets and reagan won the nomination. at that bill, we made one mistake in the 1981 act. we faced in the tax cuts. know they're going to cut tax rates next year, what do you do this year? you defer all of the income you possibly can. that is what happened. when we cut the tax rate in 1981, they didn't take effect until january 1 1983. in 1981 and 82, the u.s. went into a big spiral straight down. reagan's popularity which was in the 45% range when he won the election skyrocketed after he was shot to 75 or 80%. that's when we got the bill passed. then the popularity dropped like a stone. in november 1980 two, his favorables were 35%. the republicans lost seats in the house and senate. 1983, thatuary 1, tax cut hit. can any of you imagine what the growth rate what the real gdp growth rate was in the u.s. from january 1, 1983 to june 30, 1984? that's a year and a half. 18 months. the total growth in that year and a half? 12%. u.s. economy grew at an average annualized growth rate at 8% per and him for a year and a half. the

so i would old cold war years i worked for the reagan administration and reagan would often say to conservative republican supporters. i hate the evil empire my objective is to undermine the evil empire but not to talk to my russian counterpart given that a hazard or so little that could cause the u.s. to disappear would make no sense so i have to talk i have to negotiate i have to ask about how we can reach agreements so that we can see constrain our competition so one of the great lessons very hard to learn during the cold war was that two deadly adversaries still if the if the if the reality is that if we end up in a war i kill you. but also you killed me so if that's the circumstance then that's a choice either of us can make any day but it's a so choice for suicide it would be crazy to allow that to happen by accident or bump on the basis of some misperception or some misunderstanding so what communication is about even among deadly adversaries and what constraints are about in the arms control constraints is making sure that any catastrophe that occurs will be a deliberate catastrophe bec

administration or the reagan campaign at that point not to release the hostages and only after reagan had been elected strangely enough that day the hostages were released so that bill neglects to mention how pivotal regnum ministration was for breaking campaign was in making sure that those hostages were released it was called the october so. ride's the october surprise may have set the stage for the iran contra scandal of the one nine hundred eighty s. as reagan's white house cut deals with the iranian government to sell them arms in exchange for assistance in releasing american hostages including cia agents in lebanon on the proceeds from those arms sales relief diverted to the contra armies fighting to overthrow the socialist government in nicaragua when he betrayed america what he had done was far worse than nixon and watergate and here was reagan that way with it katharine graham he was one of the leaders of the conservative movement there to kill off she said no more watergate's because she said the country can't survive so when the iran contra broke there was no cooperation fr

reagan, he was younger. that is a different reagan then in 1985, which would have been 20 years on. i think reagan would have gone for victory in vietnam and all not awning and used american power and no limits in cambodia or laos. host: in late september, vice president humphrey travels to salt lake city to do what? guest: he gives a speech in which he finally comes out against the johnson policy on the vietnam war and he speaks in favor of peace and going to peace talks and the americanization of the war. some people think if he had just done that earlier because as pat said, he was coming out strong in the end on part because of johnson's decision, but he also referenced presidents -- the president of south vietnam -- and there is a great book about the back channeling being done between the nixon campaign and president of south korea about the peace talks. guest: that is a matter of controversy. guest: [laughter] host: george, illinois, go ahead. republican line. caller: good morning. i have a question of mr. buchanan and ms. perry concerning president johnson's tardiness in sup

press had made a deal with the reagan administration urged the reagan campaign at that point not to release the hostages and only after reagan had been elected strangely enough that day the hostages were released so that bill neglects to mention how pivotal regnum ministration was for breaking campaign was in making sure that those hostages were released it was called the october so. ries the october surprise may have set the stage for the iran contra scandal of the one nine hundred eighty s. as reagan's white house cut deals with the iranian government to sell them arms in exchange for assistance and releasing american hostages including cia agents in lebanon the proceeds from those on cells release diverted to the contra armies fighting to overthrow the socialist government in nicaragua he betrayed america what he had done was far worse than nixon and watergate and here was reagan that way with it katharine graham he was one of the leaders of the conservative movement there to kill off he said no more watergate's because she said the country can't survive it so when the iran contra broke

reagan was behind all that. but at times there were very specific measures; steel, smaller japanese cars, motorcycles. he felt that the u.s. was being treated unfairly, and as a result he had his negotiators negotiate agreements to, essentially, buy american industry the time to get their own act back together. stuart: do you think that president reagan would have approved of the way president trump conducts himself in office with his brash talk, his tweets? i know that tweets weren't around back in the 1980, but he's a tough-talking president, and he's right out there insulting his opponents. would president reagan have approved of that? >> well, stuart, i'd say you probably couldn't find two men more different with respect to their character, their personality and their style. ronald reagan was a gentleman, just a radically different style. but i have to say with respect to actually implementing policies, president trump's policies in many respects have been taking pages right out of the reagan playbook. and w

press had made a deal with the reagan administration urged the reagan campaign at that point not to release the hostages and only after reagan had been elected strangely enough that day the hostages were released so that bill neglects to mention how pivotal regnum ministration was for breaking campaign was in making sure that those hostages want released it was called the october so. ride's the october surprise may have set the stage for the iran contra scandal of the one nine hundred eighty s. as reagan's white house cut deals with the iranian government to sell them arms in exchange for assistance in releasing american hostages including cia agents in lebanon the proceeds from those on cells release diverted to the contra armies fighting to overthrow the socialist government in nicaragua when he betrayed america what he had done was far worse than nixon and watergate and here was reagan in a way with that katharine graham he was one of the leaders of the conservative movement there to kill off she said no more watergate's because she said the country can't survive that so when the iran co

but, still, one could say that whereas a reagan focused -- reagan's logos in a way went to the question of limited government and recovering limits on government. trump's goes to the integrity of the nation, to being one people, a people that is worthy of love, being americans first. and i think america first is, in a way, a distraction from the argument he's really making, because it's not -- it's not essentially -- it is not an isolationist argument and it's not essentially a foreign policy argument, it's an argument from the nature of political life or political right that a nation that -- that justice-like-like charity ought to begin at home. and there's nothing -- there's nothing radical about that, there's nothing new about that appeal. and yet, you know, in the early 21st century it comes across as strikingly courageous and different from the kind of political argument that one hears elsewhere. essential to putting americans first is putting the people's authority, their sovereignty over that of the government's, including that of the administrative state, and directing executive

ronald reagan and tip were fierce political opponents. this goes way back to those days. their heritage was their bond. when it came to ireland, the only thing they would argue about who was more irish. reagan was saying he was old enough to meet st. patrick. it is a real honor to have you here. [applause] the speaker: my own family is from a small town in ireland outside of the black mountains. my wife and extended family and i visited visited the town a few years ago and found the family farm that our family came from where ouro the abbey ancestors were married and buried and our cousin william o'shea farms the same place and they had a great ceremony and had the local tv and the abbott and will congresswoman o'shea was to kick things off and couldn't find a parking spot and all the festivals were waiting and he prayed out loud and said lord, if you find me a parking spot, i will give up drinking whiskey and go to church every sunday and at that moment, the clouds parted and the sun shown down on a parking spot and he said, never mind, i found one myself. [laughter] the

reagan on the weekend. stuart: like every friday night, saturday night, movie night with the reagans? >> pretty much, on friday nights and saturday nights at 8:00 o'clock precisely he would open the door of cabin, escort a small group in and watch movies. stuart: were you there? >> yes, i was. stuart: that must have been something. what's the movie war games, don't tell me that that affected mr. reagan's views on nuclear war? >> well, depends on how you define affected, the room was uncharacteristically quiet because it occurred to people that nuclear weapons could be launched by accident and i think weight on his mind and i say because he we wanted to rid the world of nuclear weapons and then it occurred to everybody that despite those efforts they could be launched accidentally and the movie had sobering effect. stuart: did mr. reagan had a favorite movie other than one of his own? >> in movie nights we talked iconic 1980 movies including oldies, hell cats of the navy and newt rock all american. stuart: i

off russia so we took the were ronald reagan and added the russians suffix o. v. to imply that a peace through strength attitude on the part of russia where the army is is well treated and strengthen where the patriotism of the country is reinforced where the country feels that it's on its feet stable secure and prosperous this actually is the kind of russia the united states should want and it's a more realistic aspiration than believing that russia is going to want to join the european union or you know become the new other lines or sweden i think russia is very different than a lot of european countries in its political outlook and its history but we can i think benefit from a strong russia that self-confident and at peace with its neighbors i'm not sure i agree with you about russia joining with europe i mean certainly russia is not going to be part of the european union but i think russia definitely sees itself as part of the european civilization with everything that in it entails including human rights the respect for the rule of law democratic instituti