Presidents' Highs and Lows: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 1981. He had trounced his opponent, incumbent President Jimmy Carter by a margin of 489 to 49 in the electoral college, and had won 50.7% of the popular vote, compared with 41% for Carter. Reagan was sixty nine years old when he was inaugurated. In his inaugural address (which he had written himself), he addressed the country's economic malaise, arguing: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem." Many voters, including many former Democrats, had voted for Reagan because of their discontent over the state of the economy, including the rate of inflation and high interest rates. But many of these same people did not completely trust Reagan because of some of his hawkish rhetoric.
On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan was the victim of an assassination attempt. John Hinckley Jr. attempted to kill Reagan as he was leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were all wounded in the attack. Reagan was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off of a building before entering just below his left armpit and puncturing a lung. Despite being in serious condition, Reagan insisted on walking into the hospital before collapsing. It was feared that the country would be left with a severely incapacitated president, but Reagan recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. The failed assassination attempt increased Reagan's popularity, as most members of the public were impressed by his calmness and courage and even by his levity during the incident. He told his doctors that he hoped they were all Republican, and quipped to his wife Nancy, "honey, I forgot to duck." His approval rating rose to around 73%. His increased popularity provided critical momentum in passing his domestic agenda.
Reagan implemented new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics" by his critics, called for tax rate reduction to spur economic growth, as well as economic deregulation, and reduction in government spending. In his first term he did battle with public sector labor, famously threatening to fire air traffic controllers who were involved in an illegal strike, unless they returned to their jobs. . Over his two terms, the economy saw a reduction of inflation from 12.5% to 4.4%, and an average annual growth of real GDP of 3.4; while Reagan did enact cuts in domestic discretionary spending, tax cuts and increased military spending contributed to increased federal outlays overall, even after adjustment for inflation.
Reagan's economic policy originally led to concerns and criticism as the nation endured a period of recession. Unemployment was at historically high levels (about 7.5%) until the end of 1981, but continued into 1982, with rates especially high in many blue collar areas. In September 1982, Michigan led the nation with a 14.5% unemployment rate. Alabama was second with 14.3%; and West Virginia was third with 14.0%. The peak of the recession occurred in November and December 1982, when the nationwide unemployment rate was 10.8%, the highest since the Great Depression. Many blamed their President and in a poll released on January 31, 1983, Reagan's approval rating dropped to its lowest point, 35%.
Many wondered if Reagan would run for re-election in 1984, given his age and given the poor economy. But as 1983 and 1984 unfolded, things slowly got better. Interest rates lowered and this, coupled with lower tax rates, caused the economy to recover. From a high of 10.8% in December 1982, unemployment gradually improved until it fell to 7.2% on Election Day in 1984. Nearly two million people left the unemployment rolls. Inflation fell from 10.3% in 1981 to 3.2% in 1983. Corporate earnings rose by 29% in the July-September quarter of 1983, compared with the same period in 1982. Some of the most dramatic improvements came in industries hardest hit by the recession, such as paper and forest products, rubber, airlines, and the auto industry. By November 1984, voter anger at the recession seemed to evaporate.
In the 1984 election campaign, Reagan's campaign played up the recovery. A very popular television ad proclaimed that it was "Morning in America". Reagan was re-elected in an electoral and popular vote landslide. He won every state except for his opponent's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. He won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote.
Foreign affairs were at the center of most of Reagan's second term. Some of these events were high points for Reagan, who was seen as bringing about the end the Cold War. He had publicly called the Soviet Union an "evil empire". In a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan called out Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, someone he perceived as a new brand of Soviet leader, someone he believed he could work with. In his famous speech, he said "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Reagan engaged in talks with Gorbachev that resulted in the INF Treaty, which reduced both countries' nuclear arsenals. The Berlin Wall fell just ten months after the end of his term. Germany reunified the following year, and on December 26, 1991 (nearly three years after he left office), the Soviet Union collapsed.
Reagan's approval rating was at ones of its highest points following the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy on January 28, 1986, as Reagan demonstrated tremendous empathy as consoler-in chief for the nation. On the night of the disaster, Reagan delivered a speech, written by Peggy Noonan, in which he said: "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
Reagan also received public support for his tough stance against Libya. Relations between Libya and the United States had deteriorated and by 1982, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was considered by the CIA to be "our international public enemy number one".In April of 1986, when a bomb exploded in a Berlin discothèque, resulting in the injury of 63 American military personnel and death of one serviceman. Reagan cited "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed this "terrorist bombing," and he authorized the use of force against the country. In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the United States launched a series of airstrikes on ground targets in Libya. The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office." He added, "they counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong." The attack was condemned by many countries, including in United Nations General Assembly resolution 41/38. But a majority of Americans were pleased that their President had responded so decisively and so forcefully, and Reagan's approval rating rose to 71% in a Gallup Poll.
Reagan would suffer another decline in popularity in late 1986 and early 1987 as details of what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair became known. This arose after it became known that his administration had used proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War to fund the Contra rebels fighting against the government in Nicaragua. This had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress. Reagan said that he was unaware of the arrangement and opened his own investigation and appointed the Tower Commission, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft and Edmund Muskie) to investigate the matter. The commission could not find direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but criticized him for his disengagement from managing his staff, making the diversion of funds possible. A separate report by Congress concluded that "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have." Reagan's popularity declined from 67% to 46% in less than a week, the greatest and quickest decline ever for a president. The scandal resulted in fourteen indictments within Reagan's staff, and eleven convictions.
In spite of Iran-Contra, many Americans forgave Reagan, in part because of his mea culpa, and in part because the motivation was the release of American hostages. When Reagan left office in 1989, he held an approval rating of 68%, matching those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later Bill Clinton, as the highest ratings for departing presidents since such polls have been taken.
On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan was the victim of an assassination attempt. John Hinckley Jr. attempted to kill Reagan as he was leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were all wounded in the attack. Reagan was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off of a building before entering just below his left armpit and puncturing a lung. Despite being in serious condition, Reagan insisted on walking into the hospital before collapsing. It was feared that the country would be left with a severely incapacitated president, but Reagan recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. The failed assassination attempt increased Reagan's popularity, as most members of the public were impressed by his calmness and courage and even by his levity during the incident. He told his doctors that he hoped they were all Republican, and quipped to his wife Nancy, "honey, I forgot to duck." His approval rating rose to around 73%. His increased popularity provided critical momentum in passing his domestic agenda.
Reagan implemented new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics" by his critics, called for tax rate reduction to spur economic growth, as well as economic deregulation, and reduction in government spending. In his first term he did battle with public sector labor, famously threatening to fire air traffic controllers who were involved in an illegal strike, unless they returned to their jobs. . Over his two terms, the economy saw a reduction of inflation from 12.5% to 4.4%, and an average annual growth of real GDP of 3.4; while Reagan did enact cuts in domestic discretionary spending, tax cuts and increased military spending contributed to increased federal outlays overall, even after adjustment for inflation.
Reagan's economic policy originally led to concerns and criticism as the nation endured a period of recession. Unemployment was at historically high levels (about 7.5%) until the end of 1981, but continued into 1982, with rates especially high in many blue collar areas. In September 1982, Michigan led the nation with a 14.5% unemployment rate. Alabama was second with 14.3%; and West Virginia was third with 14.0%. The peak of the recession occurred in November and December 1982, when the nationwide unemployment rate was 10.8%, the highest since the Great Depression. Many blamed their President and in a poll released on January 31, 1983, Reagan's approval rating dropped to its lowest point, 35%.
Many wondered if Reagan would run for re-election in 1984, given his age and given the poor economy. But as 1983 and 1984 unfolded, things slowly got better. Interest rates lowered and this, coupled with lower tax rates, caused the economy to recover. From a high of 10.8% in December 1982, unemployment gradually improved until it fell to 7.2% on Election Day in 1984. Nearly two million people left the unemployment rolls. Inflation fell from 10.3% in 1981 to 3.2% in 1983. Corporate earnings rose by 29% in the July-September quarter of 1983, compared with the same period in 1982. Some of the most dramatic improvements came in industries hardest hit by the recession, such as paper and forest products, rubber, airlines, and the auto industry. By November 1984, voter anger at the recession seemed to evaporate.
In the 1984 election campaign, Reagan's campaign played up the recovery. A very popular television ad proclaimed that it was "Morning in America". Reagan was re-elected in an electoral and popular vote landslide. He won every state except for his opponent's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. He won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote.
Foreign affairs were at the center of most of Reagan's second term. Some of these events were high points for Reagan, who was seen as bringing about the end the Cold War. He had publicly called the Soviet Union an "evil empire". In a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan called out Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, someone he perceived as a new brand of Soviet leader, someone he believed he could work with. In his famous speech, he said "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Reagan engaged in talks with Gorbachev that resulted in the INF Treaty, which reduced both countries' nuclear arsenals. The Berlin Wall fell just ten months after the end of his term. Germany reunified the following year, and on December 26, 1991 (nearly three years after he left office), the Soviet Union collapsed.
Reagan's approval rating was at ones of its highest points following the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy on January 28, 1986, as Reagan demonstrated tremendous empathy as consoler-in chief for the nation. On the night of the disaster, Reagan delivered a speech, written by Peggy Noonan, in which he said: "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
Reagan also received public support for his tough stance against Libya. Relations between Libya and the United States had deteriorated and by 1982, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was considered by the CIA to be "our international public enemy number one".In April of 1986, when a bomb exploded in a Berlin discothèque, resulting in the injury of 63 American military personnel and death of one serviceman. Reagan cited "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed this "terrorist bombing," and he authorized the use of force against the country. In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the United States launched a series of airstrikes on ground targets in Libya. The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office." He added, "they counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong." The attack was condemned by many countries, including in United Nations General Assembly resolution 41/38. But a majority of Americans were pleased that their President had responded so decisively and so forcefully, and Reagan's approval rating rose to 71% in a Gallup Poll.
Reagan would suffer another decline in popularity in late 1986 and early 1987 as details of what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair became known. This arose after it became known that his administration had used proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War to fund the Contra rebels fighting against the government in Nicaragua. This had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress. Reagan said that he was unaware of the arrangement and opened his own investigation and appointed the Tower Commission, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft and Edmund Muskie) to investigate the matter. The commission could not find direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but criticized him for his disengagement from managing his staff, making the diversion of funds possible. A separate report by Congress concluded that "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have." Reagan's popularity declined from 67% to 46% in less than a week, the greatest and quickest decline ever for a president. The scandal resulted in fourteen indictments within Reagan's staff, and eleven convictions.
In spite of Iran-Contra, many Americans forgave Reagan, in part because of his mea culpa, and in part because the motivation was the release of American hostages. When Reagan left office in 1989, he held an approval rating of 68%, matching those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later Bill Clinton, as the highest ratings for departing presidents since such polls have been taken.