Actors - Reagan Administration

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	Actors - Reagan Administration

Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. It also liked to think of itself as supportive of business interests and being tough on crime. During its two term tenure, it saw the release of American hostages in Tehran, an attempted assassination, economic recovery, increases in military spending to fight the Cold War, and a tripling of the national debt. The administration declared a renewed war on drugs, but was criticized for being slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic. One of Reagan's most controversial early moves was to fire most of the nation's air traffic controllers who took part in an illegal strike.

Instead of détente, the administration confronted the Soviet Union through arms reduction treaties, increased military spending, and supporting anti-communist rebel groups. Proposed programs, such as the Strategic Defense Initiative sought to outspend the USSR. Many Reagan supporters credit the Reagan administration with winning the Cold War, although critics claim the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union may have been due to internal problems as well.

Some foreign interventions, such as the one in Lebanon, ended in failure, while others, such as the invasion of Grenada, were successful. Involvement in the Iran-Iraq War at times favored Iraq, believing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was less dangerous. The Administration also engaged in covert arms sales to Iran in order to fund anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The resulting Iran-Contra Affair became a scandal to which Reagan professed ignorance. A significant number of officials in the Reagan Administration were either convicted or forced to resign as a result of the scandal.

However, by the end of the Reagon Presidency, strong approval (64% of the nation) indicated that the administration had indeed recovered its image among the American public. This was mainly due to the Reagan Administration's perceived ability in delivering on its promise of strong economic growth after decades of stagflation and a troubled economy. As time grew, the reputation of the administration only continued to climb so much so, that most Americans today (mainly conservatives and moderates and to a lesser extent liberals) cite the Reagan years as a glorious time.

Presidency

Assassination attempt

On March 30, 1981, just 69 days into his Presidency, while leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC, President Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and MPDC officer Thomas Delehanty were shot by John Hinckley, Jr. Shortly before surgery to remove the bullet from his chest (which barely missed his heart) he remarked to his surgeons, "I hope you're all Republicans," and to his wife Nancy he jokingly commented, "Honey, I forgot to duck." Apparently he was quoting a remark made by boxer Jack Dempsey in 1926 explaining his loss of his heavyweight championship. After Dempsey lost to Gene Tunney, his wife Estelle Taylor asked him "What happened?" His reply was "Honey, I forgot to duck." Reagan often creatively quoted such witticisms.

Positions

As a politician and as President, he portrayed himself as being:

conservative
anti-communist
in favor of tax cuts
in favor of smaller government (with the exclusion of the military)
in favor of removing regulations on corporations
in favor of the use of force to protect U.S. interests
supportive of business interests, both large and small
tough on crime

Policies and decisions

He is credited with:

increasing spending on national defense and pursuing other policies which contributed to the end of the Cold War
deploying U.S. Pershing II missiles in West Germany in response to the Soviet stationing of SS-20 missiles near Europe
negotiating the INF Treaty and initiating negotiations with the Soviet Union for the treaty that would later be known as START I
proposing the Strategic Defense Initiative, a controversial plan to develop a missile defense system
re-appointing monetarists Paul Volcker and later appointing Alan Greenspan to be chairmen of the Federal Reserve, ending the high inflation that damaged the economy under his predecessors Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
lowering tax rates significantly (under Reagan, the top personal tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% in 7 years ) and leading a major reform of the tax system
providing arms and other support to anti-communist groups such as the Contras and the mujahideen
selling arms to foreign allies such as Taiwan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq (see Iran-Iraq War)
greatly escalating the "war on drugs"
ordering the April 14, 1986 bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in retaliation for an April 5 bombing of a West German nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen, in which the Libyan government was deemed complicit
signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which compensated victims of the Japanese American Internment during World War II
firing air traffic controllers when they went on strike

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