On the Ronald #Reagan "Legacy"
So yeah, if you've been like me this week you've been watching TV, reading Al Jazeera's live blog and following every tweet out there about the revolution in Egypt. It's been a harrowing 13 days and counting for this nation, but their efforts have been rewarded with gradual results. I find it significant that this nation is finally working to throw off the shackles of 30 years of totalitarian rule now, because in this country, as we watch the people of Egypt struggle, some people are celebrating the centennial of a man who was our president 30 years ago, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
For some reason many Americans today seem to look back on the Reagan years with an odd, rose-tinted nostalgia. Perhaps it's the ketchup Ronnie claimed was a vegetable when funding was slashed for the nation's school lunch program that's tinting your view. I mostly recall 8 years of stagnating wages, no real economic growth, run-away spending, (That thing only Democrats do), Oliver North, Contras and Sandanistas, Iran being a nation our president did business with (on the sly) and calling men from Afghanistan "freedom fighters." Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times, increased the size of the federal government, and started the wave of corporate deregulation that has given us Monsanto owning patents on our food, 85% of our media being owned by 5 corporations, and sweeping deregulation legislation that has since allowed three major bank failures including the most recent 2008 financial crisis. Couple that with bureaucratic inertia that became a hallmark of the Reagan administration, and you have the real Reagan Legacy.
But enough of that! Let's take a stroll down memory lane and remember some other highlights of Ronald Reagan's presidency, shall we?
1981
1/21/81
At his first Cabinet meeting, President Reagan is asked if he intends to issue an expected Executive Order on cost-cutting. He shrugs. Then, noticing Budget Director David Stockman nodding emphatically, he adds, "I have a smiling fellow at the end of the table who tells me we do."
2/2/81
At his hearing to become Undersecretary of State, Reagan associate William Clark answers no to all of the following: "Are you familiar with the struggles within the British Labour Party?" "Do you know which European nations don't want U.S. nuclear weapons on their soil?" "Can you name the prime minister of South Africa?" "Can you name the prime minister of Zimbabwe?" All of the above questions were being addressed in the daily news at the time. Despite his lack of knowledge in current events, he is confirmed.
2/5/81
James Watt is asked at a Congressional hearing if he agrees that natural resources must be preserved for future generations. "Yes" he says, then adds "I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns."
5/21/81
White House Seeks Eased Bribery Act. Says 1977 Law Inhibits Business Abroad By U.S. Corporations - The New York Times The U.S. casts one of only three votes against a World Health Organization ethics code preventing the sale of American infant formulas to Third World countries, where their use with contaminated water has killed thousands of babies.
6/16/81
At his third press conference, President Reagan responds to the following:
· The Israeli attack on Iraq - "I can't answer that"
· Israels' refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty - "Well, I haven't given very much thought to that particular question there"
· Pakistan's refusal to sign the treaty - "I won't answer the last part of that question"
· Israeli threats against Lebanon - "Well, this is going to be one, I'm afraid, that I can't answer now"
· The tactics of political action committees - "I don't really know how to answer that."
When faced with skepticism about his administration's grasp of foreign affairs, the President declares "I'm satisfied that we do have a foreign policy."
6/30/81
"We love your adherence to democratic principle, and to the democratic processes." - George Bush, toasting newly re-inaugurated President Ferdinand Marcos, whose fondness for democracy is less celebrated by those who know him better.
7/23/81
"Heck, no. I'm going to leave this to you experts. I'm not going to get involved in details." President Reagan declining Treasury Secretary Donald Regan's invitation to join the negotiation session at which his tax-cut bill is being shaped.
8/6/81
White House Seeks To Loosen Standards Under Clean Air Act - The Washington Post
10/23/81
The national debt hits $1 trillion. (WOOHOO! USA! USA! USA! We're also months into one of the worst economic recessions the country has ever experienced at this point)
11/23/81
President Reagan vetoes a stopgap spending bill, thus forcing the federal government - for the first time in history - to temporarily shut down. Says House Speaker Tip O'Neill, "He knows less about the budget than any president in my lifetime. He can't even carry on a conversation about the budget. It's an absolute and utter disgrace."
1982
1/15/82
President Reagan phones The Washington Post to explain that when his new policy toward segregated schools was announced, he "didn't know at the time that there was a legal case pending." CBS quickly obtains a memo in which intervention in the Bob Jones University case was specifically requested, and on which Reagan had written, "I think we should."
1/19/82
At his seventh press conference, President Reagan:
· Claims there are "a million more working than there were in 1980," though statistics show that 100,000 fewer people are employed.
· Contends his attempt to grant tax-exempt status to segregated schools was to correct "a procedure that we thought had no basis in law," though the Supreme Court had clearly upheld a ruling barring such exemptions a decade earlier.
· Claims he has received a letter from Pope John Paul II in which he "approves what we've done so far" regarding U.S. Sanctions against the USSR, though the sanctions were not mentioned in the papal message.
· Responds to a question about the 17% black unemployment rate by pointing out that "in this time of great unemployment," Sunday's paper had "24 full pages of ... employers looking for employees," though most of the jobs available - computer operator, or cellular immunologist - require special training, for which his administration has cut funds by over 30%.
· Misstates facts about California's abortion law and an Arizona program to aid the elderly
· Responds to a question about private charity by observing, "I also happen to be someone who believes in tithing - the giving of a tenth," though his latest tax returns show charitable contributions amounting to 1.4%.
2/27/82
The Congressional Budget Office finds that taxpayers earning under $10,000 lost an average of $240 from last year's tax cuts, while those earning over $80,000 gained an average of $15,130.
3/1/82
Sen Bob Packwood (R-OR) claims President Reagan frequently offers up transparent fictional anecdotes as if they were real. "We've got a $120 billion deficit coming," says Packwood, "and the President says, 'You know, a young man went into a grocery store and he had an orange in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, and he paid for the orange with food stamps and he took the change and paid for the vodka. That's what's wrong.' And we just shake our heads."
3/16/82
"Is it news that some fellow out in South Succotash someplace has just been laid off, that he should be interviewed nationwide?" - President Reagan, complaining about coverage of the nation's economic suffering.
3/24/82
Agriculture official Mary C. Jarratt tells Congress her department has been unable to document President Reagan's stories of food stamp abuse, pointing out that the change from a food stamp purchase is limited to 99 cents. "It's not possible to buy a bottle of vodka with 99 cents" she says. Deputy White House press secretary Peter Roussel says Reagan wouldn't tell those stories "unless he thought they were accurate."
6/12/82
Regarding the 750,000 supporters who showed up for the largest disarmament demonstration in US history in Central Park, President Reagan opines that "the Commies are behind it."
10/9/82
Jobless Rate Is Up To 10.1% In Month. Worst In 42 Years. 11 Million Are Idle - The New York Times
10/19/82
During a White House meeting with Arab leaders, President Reagan turns to the Lebanese foreign minister. "You know", he says, "your nose looks just like Danny Thomas's." The Arabs exchange nervous glances.
11/25/82
The White House announces it is considering a proposal (conceived by Ed Meese) to tax unemployment benefits. This, says Larry Speakes, would "make unemployment less attractive."
12/04/82
U.S. Jobless Rate Climbs To 10.8%, A Postwar Record. 11.9 Million Out Of Work - The New York Times
12/09/82
"Sometimes I look out there at Pennsylvania Avenue and see people bustling along, and it suddenly dawns on me that probably never again can I just say "Hey, I'm going down to the drugstore to look at the magazines,'" - President Reagan discussing his feelings of confinement with a People reporter
12/16/82
"Sometimes I look out the window at Pennsylvania Avenue and wonder what it would be like to be able to just walk down the street to the corner drugstore and look at the magazines. I can't do that anymore." - President Reagan conveying one of his regrets to The Washington Post
12/18/82
"Sometimes I look out the window at Pennsylvania Avenue and wonder what it would be like to be able to just walk down the street to the corner drugstore and look at the magazines. I can't do that anymore." - President Reagan sharing a sudden thought with a radio interviewer
1983
1/19/83
President Reagan tells reporters about "the ten commandments of Nikolai Lenin...the guiding principles of communism," among them "that promises are like pie crust, made to be broken." Soviet scholars claim that no such commandments exist, and point out that Lenin's name was Vladimir.
4/18/83
Seventeen Americans and 46 Lebanese are killed when a truck bomb plows into the US embassy in Beirut.
6/29/83
President Reagan suggests that one cause of the decline in public education is the schools' efforts to comply with court-ordered desegregation.
7/26/83
In response to a question at his 19th press conference as to why there are no women on his 12-man commission on Central America, President Reagan says "Maybe it's because we're doing so much and appointing so many that we're no longer seeking a token or something."
8/2/83
Poverty Rate Rose To 15% In '82, Highest Level Since Mid-1960's - The New York Times
10/4/83
At a meeting with congressmen to discuss arms reduction, President Reagan (now in office for almost three years) says he has only recently learned that most of the USSR's nuclear arsenal is land-based.
10/19/83
At his 20th press conference, President Reagan is asked about the safety of US Marines in Beirut. "We're looking at everything that can be done to try and make their position safer," he says. "We're not sitting idly by."
10/23/83
A truck bomb at the US barracks in Beirut kills 241 Marines.
10/24/83
Larry Speakes calls speculation about a US invasion in politically torn Grenada "preposterous".
10/25/83
Claiming that US medical students are in grave danger, President Reagan launches an invasion of Grenada. Photos are released to the press showing President Reagan, clad in pajamas at 5:15 am, being briefed on the situation. Reporters are not allowed to cover the actual invasion.
11/7/83
For the second time in four months, George Bush breaks a Senate tie by voting to resume the production of nerve gas.
1984
1/27/84
"You find yourself remembering what it was like when on the spur of the moment you could just yell to your wife that you were going down to the drugstore and get a magazine. You can't do that anymore." - President Reagan telling Time magazine about being President.
1/31/84
President Reagan on Good Morning America, defending his administration against charges of callousness: "You can't help those who simply will not be helped. One problem that we've had, even in the best of times, is people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice."
2/2/84
"He may be ready to surrender, but I'm not." - President Reagan responding to Tip O' Neill's advocacy of a pullout from Beirut.
4/9/84
The day after his administration announced it would not recognize the World Court's jurisdiction over the U.S. mining of Nicaraguan harbors (which violated international law), President Reagan proclaims May 1 as "Law Day USA". "Without law," says the President, "there can be no freedom, only chaos and disorder."
4/26/84
William Casey apologizes to the Senate Intelligence Committee for keeping the Nicaraguan mining a secret. Barry Goldwater, among others, called it an "act of war".
5/22/84
Asked about the possibility of secret funds going to the contras, President Reagan declares, "Nothing of that kind could take place without the knowledge of Congress."
6/12/84
Discussing US-Soviet relations with GOP leaders, President Reagan announces, "If they want to keep their Mickey Mouse system, that's okay." "It's a change in his view," says an official. "It's not an evil empire. It's a Mickey Mouse system."
7/24/84
At his 26th press conference, President Reagan claims that "not one single fact of figure" backs up Democratic "demagoguery" that his budget cuts have hurt the poor. The next morning, a congressional study reports that cuts in welfare have pushed more than 500,000 people - the majority of them children - into poverty.
8/3/84
The Census Bureau reports that 35.3 million Americans were living in poverty in 1983 - an 18-year high rate of 15.2% of the population.
9/20/84
A suicide bomber drives into the US embassy annex in Beirut, killing two Americans. It is the third such incident in 19 months.
George Bush, explaining the evils of the Sandanistas: "The Sandanistas came in. They overthrew Somoza, killed him and overthrew him. Killed him, threw him out." - Somoza actually fled Nicaragua when he was overthrown, and was later assassinated in Paraguay.
9/26/84
President Reagan claims the latest Beirut bombing is the fault of Jimmy Carter, who he said "presided over the destruction of our intelligence capability." Carter responds that Reagan tends "to blame his every mistake and failure on me and others who served before him."
10/5/84
"I don't think he's read the report in detail. It's five and a half pages, double-spaced." - Larry Speakes responding to the question of whether President Reagan has read the House report on the latest Beirut truck bombing.
10/7/84
President Reagan engages in his first debate with Walter Mondale. He does so badly his wife confronts aides afterwards, demanding "What have you done to Ronnie?" Some "special moments":
· Talks about a law he signed in California as if it had been signed by his Democratic predecessor
· Reprises his "hit" line, "There you go again", only to have it thrown back at him with a sharp rejoinder by Mondale, whose handlers knew the President would use it.
· Blanks out completely in the middle of an answer, bringing up subsequent questions about his mental fitness
· Claims that the increase in poverty "is a lower rate of increase than it was in the preceding years before we got here," though in fact it is higher
· Explains that a good bit of the defense budget goes for "food and wardrobe", becoming the first US President to so refer to military uniforms
· Says "I'm all confused now." as he prepares to deliver his closing statement.
10/15/84
After Mondale makes an issue out of President Reagan's stated belief that nuclear missiles fired from submarines can be recalled, the President claims he "never said any such thing."
The Associated Press reports the existence of a CIA-prepared manual teaching Nicaraguan rebels how to, among other things:
· How to blackmail unwilling citizens into supporting their cause
· How to arrange the deaths of fellow rebels to create martyrs
· How to kidnap and kill (the manual uses the word "neutralize") government officials.
10/18/84
A senior administration official says President Reagan did not know about the CIA manual until "after it appeared in the newspaper yesterday."
1985
2/4/85
Sen. William Cohen and Sen. William Roth reveal that the Navy has been paying $640 each for toilet seats that sell to consumers for $25.
2/21/85
At his 28th press conference, President Reagan says he is not seeking the overthrow of the Sandinista regime - he'd be satisfied "if they'd say 'uncle'" to the contras and abdicate.
3/1/85
In an effort to wind contra aid, President Reagan says the Nicaraguan rebels are "the moral equival of our Founding Fathers." Historical novelist Howard Fast calls this "an explosion of such incredible ignorance that...he is not fit for public office of any kind."
3/21/85
At his 29th press conference, President Reagan explains that he has no intention of visiting a concentration camp site during his upcoming visit to West Germany. To do so, he explains, would impose an unpleasant guilt trip on a nation where there are "very few alive that remember even the war, and certainly none of them who were adults and participating in any way." A soldier who was twenty in 1940 would only be 65 at the time this was said.
4/11/85
The White House announces that President Reagan will lay a wreath at the Bitburg, West Germany, military cemetery housing the graves of both American and Nazi soldiers. It is quickly noted that there are, in fact, no Americans buried there.
4/16/85
As the contra aid vote approaches, President Reagan claims he "just had a verbal message delivered to me from Pope John Paul, urging us to continue our efforts in Central America." The Vatican quickly issues a denial.
4/18/85
While Michael Deaver is in West Germany searching for an "appropriate" concentration camp for the President to visit, President Reagan defends his visit to Bitburg by claiming the German soldiers "were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."
4/29/85
President Reagan defends the Bitburg visit as "morally right," adding, "I know all the bad things that happened in that war. I was in uniform for four years myself." President Reagan spent his time during World War Two in Hollywood, making training films.
5/5/85
After having visited the Bergen-Belsen death camp, President Reagan makes an eight minute stop at Bitburg. During the ceremony, he cites a letter from 13-year-old Beth Flom who, he claims, "urged me to lay the wreath at Bitburg cemetery in honor of the future of Germany." In fact, she urged him not to go at all.
5/8/85
Opponents of President Reagan's Nicaraguan policies heckle him at the European Parliament. "They haven't been there," he says. "I have." In actuality, he had not been there.
8/24/85
President Reagan tells an interviewer that the "reformist administration" of South African president P.W. Botha has made significant progress on the racial front. "They have eliminated the segregation that we once had in our own country," says the President, "the type of thing where hotels and restaurants and places of entertainment and so forth were segregated - that has all been eliminated."
8/25/85
The White House confirms reports that during his days as head of the Screen Actors Guild, President Reagan doubled as an FBI informant (T-10) whose area of expertise was Communist influence in post-World War II Hollywood.
11/13/85
"He's just so programmed. We tried to tell him what was in the bill but he doesn't understand. Everyone, including Republicans, were just shaking their heads." - Rep. Mary Rose Oskar (D-OH) on President Reagan's reaction to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget bill.
1986
2/11/86
With Ferdinand Marcos having stolen the election, President Reagan states that he is "encouraged" by evidence of a "two party system in the Philippines," even if only one is allowed to win.
3/3/86
President Reagan claims that victory for the Sandinistas would create "a privileged sanctuary for terrorists and subversives just two days' driving time from Harlingen, Texas."
6/11/86
During his 37th press conference, President Reagan:
· Responds to a question about abortion with an answer about an unrelated case
· Displays confusion about whether or not the SALT II treaty exists and about whether or not he plans to order construction of another space shuttle
· Claims that the government is providing 93 million meals a day to hungry Americans. That would amount to one in three people.
He later explains he spent too much time concentrating on which reporters to call on. "Next time, I'm going to concentrate not on who I'm calling on, but what I'm going to say."
10/5/86
Three American mercenaries die on a supply run to the contras when their cargo plane is shot down by Nicaraguan government forces. Survivor Eugene Hasenfus is captured in the jungle. The White House, the State Department, the Defense Department and the CIA all claim non-involvement.
10/9/86
Although President Reagan has stated that the downed cargo plane had "absolutely" no connection to the US government, Eugene Hasenfus-imprisoned in Managua-says his mission was supervised by the CIA.
10/10/86
Senator John Kerry suggests that the Foreign Relations Committee question Lt. Col. Oliver North, a National Security Council member reportedly close to the Nicaraguan rebels, in connection with White House involvement in the private arming of the contras.
10/11/86
President Reagan arrives in Reykjavik, Iceland, to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev for their first summit session.
10//12/86
The summit collapses amid mutual charges of intransigence and confusion about just which and how many weapons President Reagan suggested getting rid of.
11/3/86
In Lebanon, the pro-Syrian magazine Al Shiraa reports that the US has secretly been supplying arms to Iran.
11/4/86
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaker of the Iranian Parliament, says that former NSC adviser Robert McFarlane and four other Americans, carrying Irish passports and posing as members of a flight crew, recently traveled to Iran on a secret diplomatic mission to trade military equipment for Iran's help in curbing terrorism.
11/13/86
In an address to the American people on the Iran arms deal, President Reagan states: "For 18 months now, we have had under way a secret diplomatic initiative to Iran. That initiative was undertaken for the simplest and best of reasons: to renew a relationship with the nation of Iran; to bring an honorable end to the bloody six-year war between Iran and Iraq; to eliminate state-sponsored terrorism and subversion, and to effect the safe return of all hostages..."
"During the course of our secret discussions, I authorized the transfer of small amounts of defensive weapons and spare parts for defensive systems to Iran...These modest deliveries, taken together, could easily fit into a single cargo plane...We did not - repeat - did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we."
This last part was to deny the rumour that the US had traded arms for hostages, implying that it wasn't a swap because we didn't give them very much, and what we did give was for defense.
11/14/86
In the wake of world denouncement over President Reagan's speech, Donald Regan is asked if it isn't hypocritical to ask other nations not to ship arms to Iran while we do just that. 'Hypocrisy is a question of degree," he responds.
11/15/86
A Nicaraguan court sentences Eugene Hasenfus to 30 years in jail. The Sandinistas decide to release him to get home in time for Christmas.
In response to charges of incompetency, Donald Regan tells The New York Times "Some of us are like a shovel brigade that follow a parade down Main Street cleaning up. We took Reykjavik and turned what was really a sour situation into something that turned out pretty well."
11/19/86
At his 39th press conference, President Reagan describes the arms shipment as "really miniscule," again claiming that "everything that we sold them could be put in one cargo plane and there would be plenty of room left over." He also states four times that Isreal had no involvement in the Iran arms deal, but later makes a correction: "There may be some misunderstanding of one of my answers tonight. There was a third country involved in our secret project with Iran." He does not explain how something stated four times could be misunderstood.
11/21/86
The shredding machine in White House aide Oliver North's office jams.
12/1/86
In a Time interview, President Reagan:
· Calls Oliver North "a national hero"
· Dismisses the furor over the growing scandal as "a Beltway bloodletting"
· Blames the press for interfering with the release of more hostages "There is a bitter bile in my throat," he says. "This whole thing boils down to great irresponsibility on the part of the press."
12/6/86
President Reagan concedes that "mistakes were made," though he does not suggest who made them.
12/8/86
"If Colonel North ripped off the Ayatollah and took $30 million and gave it to the contras, then God bless Colonel North!" - Pat Buchanan addressing a pro-Reagan rally in Miami.
12/9/86
Oliver North and John Poindexter invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Says North, "I don't think there is another person in America that wants to tell this story as much as I do."
Click to view1987
1/9/87
The White House releases the finding - signed by President Reagan on January 17, 1986 - authorizing the sale of arms to Iran and ordering the CIA not to tell Congress. Also released is the 2 1/2 page memo justifying the policy, which the President had not read.
1/25/87
Four university professors are kidnapped in Beirut, bringing to 14 the number of Americans taken hostage under President Reagan, who once promised "swift and effective retribution" for such incidents. Several hostages have actually been in captivity longer than any under President Carter, who President Reagan frequently criticizes.
2/19/87
Retrieved computer messages show that Oliver North shared secret information with the Iranians. Says a source, "Ollie was running his own covert operation within the authorized covert operation."
2/20/87
"The simple truth is, 'I don't remember - period'" - President Reagan writing to the Tower Commission to set the record straight about whether he authorized the arms shipment in advance.
2/22/87
Oliver North's secretary, Fawn Hall - who has been granted immunity - admits helping her boss destroy documents last November.
3/4/87
President Reagan responds to the Tower Commission with a 12-minute speech in which he:
· Acknowledges that the Iran-contra affair "happened on my watch"
· Says nobler aims of long-term peace "deteriorated...into trading arms for hostages"
· Calls the deal "a mistake"
As for his "management style", the problem was that "no one kept proper records of meetings or decisions," which led to his inability to recall approving the arms shipment. "I did approve it," says the President. "I just can't say specifically when." He adds, "Rest assured, there's plenty of record-keeping going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Says Indiana senator Dan Quayle after the speech, "The Gipper's back."
4/1/87
A White House official admits that President Reagan has never discussed AIDS with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and has yet to read Koop's six-month--old report, which predicted 180,000 deaths from the disease by 1991.
4/9/87
President Reagan tells reporters the Soviet bugging of the US embassy in Moscow was "outrageous". When asked about the US bugging of the Soviet embassy in Washington, the President says further discussion "wouldn't be useful."
4/28/87
Benjamin Linder, an American volunteer working in Nicaragua, is shot to death by the contras.
5/3/87
The Iran-contra hearings get underway in Washington. The first witness, arms profiteer Gen. Richard Secord, claims the administration approved his pro-contra activities with Oliver North, who stood at attention while talking to the President on the phone. "I hope I'm finally going to hear some of the things I'm still waiting to learn," said President Reagan.
5/6/87
Less than 24 hours after Richard Secord implicates him in the Iran-contra scandal, William Casey, 74, dies of pneumonia.
5/12/87
Investigators discover that the $10 million solicited for the contras by Elliott Abrams from the Sultan of Brunei - which had been missing for nine months - was mistakenly deposited to the account of a Swiss businessman after Oliver North transposed two digits in his arms network's secret account.
5/17/87
Thirty-seven sailors are killed aboard the USS Stark when the ship - in the Persian Gulf to protect Iraq's ally Kuwait's oil tankers from Iranian attack - is hit by an Exocet missile fired (accidentally) by an Iraqi fighter jet.
5/27/87
CIA operative Felix Rodriguez (aka Max Gomez) testifies that Oliver North once said of a congressional investigating committee, "These people want me, but they cannot touch me because the old man loves my ass."
6/9/87
Describing Oliver North as "every secretary's dream of a boss," Fawn Hall defends him against charges of illegality. "Sometimes," she observes, "you have to go above the written law, I believe."
7/7/87
Lt. Col. Oliver North begins six nationally televised days of testimony before the Iran-contra committee.
7/8/87
Oliver North testifies that the late William Casey helped run the secret contra program.
7/9/87
On his third day of testimony, Oliver North states that he shredded documents in the presence of Justice Department officials.
7/10/87
Manucher Ghorbanifar denies Oliver North's story that they negotiated the Iran arms deal in a men's room.
7/23/87
John Poindexter is reported to have used the phrase "I can't recall" (or some variation thereof) 184 times during his five days of testimony.
7/29/87
During two days of testimony, Ed Meese used the phrase "I can't recall" (or some variation thereof) 340 times.
8/3/87
The Iran-contra hearing close.
9/30/87
President Reagan complains to the Washington Times that a Soviet "disinformation campaign" has made anti-Communism in the US "unfashionable." He speaks nostalgically of the good old days when Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee would investigate suspected subversives. "They've done away with those committees," says the President. "That shows the success of what the Soviets were able to do in this country."
11/18/87
The Iran-contra committee's final report says President Reagan bears ultimate responsibility for the scandal because he failed to carry out his oath to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Ed Meese is singled out for having "poorly served" the President - first, with his advice on the legality of the arms deal, and then when he "departed from standard investigative techniques" in conducting his probe.
12/3/87
President Reagan, in an interview with four news anchors, criticizes opponents of the arms treaty he is about to sign, although their objections are similar to the ones he himself raised against previous treaties. Far-right activist Howard Phillips denounces him as a "useful idiot for Soviet propaganda."
12/8/87
Before signing the arms treaty, President Reagan once again cites his favorite Russian proverb, "Doveryai, no proveryai - trust, but verify." An exasperated Mikhail Gorbachev says, "You repeat that at every meeting!"
1988
1/7/88
Bush Regularly Attended Meetings On Iran Sales - Records Indicate Knowledge Understated - The Washington Post
3/1/88
George Bush attacks Congress for cutting off aid to the contras, claiming it "pulls the plug out from under the President of the United States."
3/16/88
President Reagan claims Nicaragua has invaded Honduras - just as he claimed two years earlier - and send 3,200 US troops as a show of support. Even so, Congress pass no aid to the contras.
Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy, theft and fraud in connection with the Iran-contra scandal. North, who calls the indictment a "badge of honor", retires from the Marines to defend himself more freely. Says President Reagan of the indictments, "I have no knowledge of anything that was broken."
5/30/88
At a state dinner at the Kremlin, the President falls asleep during Gorbachev's toast.
5/31/88
In a speech to students at Moscow State University, President Reagan explains the American Indian situation: the US has "provided millions of acres" for "preservations - or the reservations, I should say" so the Indians could "maintain their way of life," though he now wonders, "Maybe we should not have humored them in that, wanting to stay in that kind of primitive lifestyle. Maybe we should have said, 'No, come join us. Be citizens along with the rest of us.'" For the record, Indians have been citizens since 1924.
7/3/88
When the U.S. battleship Vincennes mistakes Iran Air Flight 655 for a fighter plane and blasts it out of the sky, killing 290, President Reagan calls the incident an "understandable accident." Vincennes is one of the Navy's ultra-sophisticated computer-supported Aegis cruisers. Though reliable reports say the Soviet downing of KAL 007 was also inadvertent, he insists there is "no comparison" between the events. Says George Bush, "I will never apologize for the United States of America! I don't care what the facts are!"
9/14/88
"Landslide: The Unmaking of the President: 1884 - 88", by White House correspondents Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus, reveals that Reagan was so detached during the Iran-contra scandal that aides signed his initials to documents without his knowledge. Says an aide to Howard Baker of Reagan's underlings, "They told stories about how inattentive and inept the President was...They said he wouldn't come to work - all he wanted to do was to watch movies and television at the residence."
12/8/88
President Reagan holds his 44th and final news conference, for an average of one every 66.4 days. As he has at almost every previous one, he blames the Congress and previous Democratic Presidents for his budget deficits.
12/13/88
President Reagan delivers his farewell address on domestic policy, in which he continues to deny that his defense spending increases and tax cuts were in any way responsible for the $155 billion deficit, blaming instead an "iron triangle" of congressmen, lobbyists and journalists.
12/22/88
President Reagan - whose tenure has coincided with a huge increase in the homeless population - uses his last interview with David Brinkley to again claim that many of these unfortunates are homeless by "their own choice," as must be many of the jobless, since he again points out that the Sunday papers are full of want ads.
Ronald Reagan's son has recently made it publicly known (As if no one suspected while he was still in office) that his father was already suffering from dementia caused by Alzheimer's Disease while in office. I personally feel anyone who remembers Reagan today as a good president who used the office he occupied for 8 years to change the world for the better is also suffering from dementia. Whether you remember him like this:
Or like this:
The facts of his legacy are in plain sight for all to see. We're still suffering the effects today, and will be for a long time.
This time line was shamelessly cut and pasted from here