Last Act

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by Craig Shirley


  Thank you all.

  NOTES

  PREFACE

  1. Ardeshir Zahedi to Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA.

  2. New York Times, “Theater Directory,” June 5, 2004, B14.

  3. Dan Gilgoff, “Why Critics Are Still Mad As Hell,” U.S. News & World Report, June 21, 2004, 136, no. 22, 50.

  4. Steven V. Roberts, “Reagan’s Final Rating Is Best of Any President Since 40’s,” New York Times, January 18, 1989, A1.

  5. Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-worship and the Heroic in History (London, UK: Chapman and Hall, 1840), 34.

  6. Editorial, “The Reagan Legacy,” Wall Street Journal, January 19, 1989.

  7. Blaze, “Blaming Bush Is Getting Old; Let’s Blame Reagan,” March 2013, 6.

  8. Dan Balz, “Reagan Events Put Race on Brief Hold,” Washington Post, June 8, 2004, A6.

  9. Wesley Pruden, “The Virulent Venom of Frustrated Rage,” Washington Times, June 8, 2004, A4.

  10. Kevin Phillips, The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath (New York: HarperPerennial, 1991), xvii.

  11. Rich Lowry, “The New Decade of Greed,” Townhall, June 27, 2003, http://townhall.com/columnists/richlowry/2003/06/27/the_new_decade_of_greed/page/full.

  12. Pruden, “The Virulent Venom of Frustrated Rage.”

  13. Gilgoff, “Why Critics Are Still Mad As Hell.”

  14. Craig Shirley, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America (Wilmington, DE: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2011), 593.

  15. Ronald Reagan, “Remarks at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois,” February 6, 1984, www.reagan.utexas.edu/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getdoc&DocId=3662&Index=*efd0fee5343905cffa0f0158ab4a751e.

  16. Peter Hannaford, in discussion with the author.

  17. Ronald Reagan, “Remarks at a Conservative Political Action Conference Dinner,” February 26, 1982, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42213.

  18. Al Neuharth, “The Gipper Gave Us What Most Wanted,” USA Today, January 20, 1989, 15A.

  19. Heather Cox Richardson, “How the GOP Stopped Caring About You,” Washington Post, September 19, 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-gop-stopped-caring-about-you-how-the-republicans-became-selfish/2014/09/17/7fe87a70–3dc5–11e4–9587–5dafd96295f0 _story.html.

  20. David A. Stockman, The Triumph of Politics: How the Reagan Revolution Failed (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), 119.

  21. Shirley, Rendezvous with Destiny, 599.

  22. Onion, “Doctors Say Reagan’s Dementia Increasingly Hilarious,” September 23, 1997, www.theonion.com/articles/doctors-say-reagans-dementia-increasingly-hilariou,945/.

  23. Associated Press, “Benetton’s Latest Shocker: Reagan As AIDS Victim,” June 25, 1994.

  24. Lawrence K. Altman, “A Recollection of Early Questions About Reagan’s Health,” New York Times, June 15, 2004, F5.

  25. Martin Anderson and Annelise Anderson, Reagan’s Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster (New York: Crown Publishers, 2009), 2.

  26. Gilgoff, “Why Critics Are Still Mad As Hell.”

  27. Charles Krauthammer, “Scandal Time,” Washington Post, April 12, 1987, D7.

  28. Susan Page, “A ’Folklore’ President Who Led a Revolution,” USA Today, January 20, 2011, 1A.

  29. Letter from Ronald Reagan to Cal Thomas, January 5, 1990, Private Collection of Cal Thomas.

  30. Steve Johnson, “Coverage of Funeral Best When Anchors Kept Silent,” Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2004, 25.

  31. Washington Post, “Big-Ticket TV, By the Numbers,” April 29, 2011, C4.

  32. Lou Cannon, in discussion with the author, November 28, 2014.

  33. Steven V. Roberts, “Reagan’s Final Rating Is Best of Any President Since 40’s,” New York Times, January 18, 1989, A1.

  34. Calvin Woodward and Jeff Wilson, “High Pageantry and Talk of the Common Touch as Capital Mourns Reagan,” Associated Press, June 9, 2004.

  35. Stephen Hunter, “Reagan in Hollywood, Warming Up for Bigger Roles,” Washington Post, June 6, 2004, D1.

  36. Ronald Reagan, Reagan: A Life in Letters, eds. Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson (New York: Free Press, 2003), 837.

  37. Hunter, “Reagan in Hollywood, Warming Up for Bigger Roles.”

  38. Shirley, Rendezvous with Destiny, 337.

  39. Vernon Scott, “Hollywood Considers Reagan’s New Role,” United Press International, November 5, 1980.

  40. Ann Gerhart, “The Leading Man,” Washington Post, June 6, 2004, D1.

  41. Jay Tolson and Justin Ewers, “The Reagan Legacy,” U.S. News & World Report, June 21, 2004, 136, no. 22, 46.

  42. Ronald Reagan to Paul Michael Glaser, December 3, 1994, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA.

  43. Steven Petrow, “ ‘Fearbola’ Reminds Me of the Early AIDS Panic,” Washington Post, October 19, 2014, B1.

  44. Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infamous.

  45. Washington Times, “Today’s Talking Heads,” June 12, 2004, A3.

  46. Lewis L. Gould, “History in the Remaking,” Washington Post, June 13, 2004, B1.

  47. Mark Perry, “All the Presidents’ Books,” Washington Post, June 13, 2004, B3.

  48. Steve Johnson, “Coverage of Funeral Best When Anchors Kept Silent,” Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2004, 25.

  49. Editorial, “The Reagan Legacy.”

  50. Larry Kudlow, in discussion with the author, April 10, 2014.

  51. Ibid.

  52. Joseph Demakis, The Ultimate Book of Quotations (Lulu.com, 2011), 181.

  CHAPTER 1 MORTAL COIL

  1. Robert Higdon, in discussion with the author, May 30, 2014.

  2. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  3. Ronald Reagan, “9th Annual CPAC Conference,” February 26, 1982, http://reagan2020.us/speeches/The_Agenda_is_Victory.asp.

  4. Sherwin B. Nuland, How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter (New York: Vintage Books, 1994), 91.

  5. Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5110—National Alzheimer’s Disease Month, 1983,” September 30, 1983, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/93083D.htm.

  6. Alzheimer’s Association, “Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s,” www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp.

  7. Lou Cannon, in discussion with the author, March 27, 2014.

  8. Tom Raum, “Former President’s Health Said to Decline,” Associated Press, June 5, 2004.

  9. Roger Cohen, “On Omaha Beach Today, Where’s the Comradeship?” New York Times, June 5, 2004, A8.

  10. Evan Berland, “9/11 Family Members to Hear Audio Tapes at Closed-Door Briefing,” Associated Press, June 4, 2004.

  11. Linda Deutsch, “O.J. Simpson Says the Media Have Convinced the American Public He Is Guilty,” Associated Press, June 4, 2004.

  12. John O’Connor, Associated Press “Blagojevich Wants to Close Pontiac Prison,” Peoria (IL) Journal Star, June 5, 2004, A1.

  13. John Chase, “Cheney Goes to Bat for Ryan,” Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2004, 18.

  14. Louis Uchitelle, “Healthy Growth of 248,000 Jobs Reported in May,” New York Times, June 5, 2004, A6.

  15. Hillel Italie, “Left, Right Appear at Chicago Book Expo,” Associated Press, June 5, 2004.

  16. Rebecca F. Johnso
n, “Last Bee Is the Best Bee for Spelling Champ,” USA Today, June 4, 2004, 2A.

  17. Archives, “Knute Rockne’s ’Win One for the Gipper’ Speech,” University of Notre Dame, http://archives.nd.edu/research/texts/rocknespeech.htm.

  18. Patti Davis, The Long Goodbye (New York: Knopf, 2011), x.

  19. Robert Higdon, in discussion with the author, May 30, 2014.

  20. Charlie LeDuff, John M. Broder and Dean Murphy, “First a Private Farewell, Then a Public Outpouring,” New York Times, June 8, 2004, A23.

  21. Ronald Reagan, “Election Eve Address ’A Vision for America,’ ” November 3, 1980, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/11.3.80.html.

  22. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Unemployment Rate,” accessed December 15, 2014, http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet.

  23. Jonathan Weisman, “Bush, Kerry Chasing Oil Impossible Dream?” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, A9.

  24. Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, directed by Kevin Knoblock (Washington, DC: Citizens United Productions, 2009), DVD.

  25. Ronald Reagan, “Farewell Address to the Nation,” January 11, 1989, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1989/011189i.htm.

  26. Editorial, “The Reagan Years,” Washington Post, January 20, 1989, A26.

  27. Ibid.

  28. Ronald Reagan, “Republican National Convention Acceptance Speech,” July 17, 1980, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/7.17.80.html.

  29. Robert Higdon, in discussion with the author, May 30, 2014.

  30. Ronald Reagan, “Remarks to Administration Officials on Domestic Policy,” December 13, 1988, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/121388a.htm.

  31. Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5933—America Loves Its Kids Month, 1989,” January 12, 1989, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1989/011289d.htm.

  32. Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5893—Fire Safety at Home Day—Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery, 1988,” October 28, 1988, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/102888d.htm.

  33. Ronald Reagan, “Proclamation 5922—National Burn Awareness Week, 1989,” December 8, 1988, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/120888f.htm.

  34. Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan, November 11, 1988, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA.

  35. Ronald Reagan, Reagan: A Life in Letters, eds. Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson (New York: Free Press, 2003), 695.

  36. Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, Ronald Reagan: 100 Years: Official Centennial Edition (New York: Harper Design, 2010), 197.

  37. Peter Schifando and Jonathan Joseph, Entertaining at the White House with Nancy Reagan (New York: Harper Collins, 2007), ix.

  38. Gerald F. Seib and Dennis Farney, “GOP Conservatives, After 8 Years in Ascendancy, Brood Over Lost Opportunities, Illusory Victories,” Wall Street Journal, August 17, 1988.

  39. Ronald Reagan, “Remarks to Administration Officials on Domestic Policy,” December 13, 1988, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/121388a.htm.

  40. Jeraldine Saunders, “Today’s Horoscope,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, C11.

  41. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  42. Ibid.

  43. Ibid.

  44. Ibid.

  45. Ibid.

  46. Ibid.

  47. Ronald Reagan, The Reagan Diaries, ed. Douglas Brinkley (New York: Harper Collins, 2007), 692.

  48. Ibid.

  49. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  50. Edmund Morris, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan (New York: Random House, 1999), 652.

  51. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  52. Ibid.

  53. James Kuhn, in discussion with the author, September 3, 2014.

  54. Elisabeth Bumiller, “Between 2 First Families, A Complicated Rapport,” New York Times, June 9, 2004, A1.

  55. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  56. Ibid.

  57. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, July 31, 2013.

  58. Lou Cannon, in discussion with the author, March 27, 2014.

  59. Lou Cannon, “Bittersweet Trip for the Reagans,” Washington Post, January 21, 1989, A1.

  60. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  61. Thomas Ferraro, United Press International, January 20, 1989.

  62. Laurie Becklund, “Reagans Easing Into Private Life As Californians,” Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1988, 1.

  63. Ferraro, UPI, January 20, 1989.

  64. Ibid.

  65. Jim Hooley, in discussion with the author, August 1, 2013.

  66. Ibid.

  67. Ibid.

  68. Ibid.

  69. Ronald Reagan, “Announcement of Alzheimer’s Disease,” November 5, 1994, http://reagan2020.us/speeches/announcement_of_alzheimers.asp.

  70. Ronald Reagan, The Reagan Diaries, ed. Douglas Brinkley (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), 693.

  71. Mike Allen, “Bush ’Willing to Cooperate’ with Leak Probe,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, A11.

  72. Steven Ginsberg, “Bag Screening to Start in Union Station Lines,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, B1.

  73. Steven Pearlstein, “How Accenture Seized Tomorrow,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, E1.

  74. Nell Henderson, “Price Pinch Unlikely to Halt Economic Growth,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, E1.

  75. United Press International, “Rumsfeld: Al-Qaida active in Iraq,” June 5, 2004.

  76. Thomas Childers, “Monumental Struggle,” Washington Post, June 6, 2004, T10.

  77. Edmund Morris, “5 Myths about Ronald Reagan,” Washington Post, February 6, 2011, B2.

  78. Morris, Dutch, 210.

  79. Ira R. Allen, “Reagan Stump Speech Taking Shape,” United Press International, October 22, 1983.

  80. Michael K. Deaver, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 11–12.

  81. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, July 31, 2013.

  82. Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, Ronald Reagan: 100 Years: Official Centennial Edition (New York: Harper Design, 2010), 226.

  83. Ibid., 221.

  84. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, July 31, 2013.

  85. Dana Priest and Walter Pincus, “Tenet Resigns As CIA Director,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, A1.

  86. Evelyn Nieves, “ ‘Take Back America’ Aims at Left,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, A8.

  87. Colman McCarthy, “Reagan: Not His Age, His Staleness,” Washington Post, January 20, 1980, E5.

  88. Joel Achenbach, “Progressives, Preparing to Advance in One Direction,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, C1.

  89. Washington Post, “Nation In Brief,” June 4, 2004, A7.

  90. Washington Post, “Metro In Brief,” June 4, 2004, B3.

  91. Neil Irwin, “Businesses Look to Slow Rising Health Care Costs,” Washington Post, June 4, 2004, E3.

  92. New York Times, “Weather Report,” June 5, 2004, B16.

  93. Stuart Spencer, in discussion with the author, February 4, 2014.

  94. Special Report, ABC News Transcripts, June 5, 2004.

  95. Reagan Library Tour, C-SPAN, December 7, 1999, www.c-span.org/video/?153719–1/reagan-library-tour.

  96
. Tom Raum, “Former President Reagan’s Health Said to Decline,” Associated Press, June 5, 2004.

  97. Robert Jablon, “Former President Reagan’s Health Said to Be in Decline; Children at Bedside,” Associated Press, June 5, 2004.

  98. Robert Higdon, in discussion with the author, May 30, 2014.

  99. Patti Davis, The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us: Prominent Women Discuss the Complex, Humorous, and Ultimately Loving Relationships They Have with Their Mothers (New York: Hay House, 2009), 10.

  CHAPTER 2 THE DEATH OF THE HIRED MAN

  1. John Barletta, Riding With Reagan: From the White House to the Ranch (New York: Citadel, 2005), 208.

  2. Patti Davis, The Long Goodbye (New York: Knopf, 2011), xii.

  3. Ronald Reagan, “Farewell Address to the Nation,” January 11, 1989, www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1989/011189i.htm.

  4. Ed Meese, in discussion with the author.

  5. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, July 31, 2013.

  6. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, January 17, 2014.

  7. Joanne Drake, in discussion with the author, January 17, 2014.

  8. Peggy Grande, in discussion with the author, July 2, 2012.

  9. Mark Weinberg, in discussion with the author, April 4, 2014.

  10. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, July 31, 2013.

  11. Ibid.

  12. Ibid.

  13. CBS News Special Report, “Death of Former President Ronald Reagan,” CBS News Transcripts, June 5, 2004.

  14. Fred Ryan, in discussion with the author, March 5, 2014.

  15. CBS News Special Report, “Death of Former President Ronald Reagan,” CBS News Transcripts, June 5, 2004.

  16. Laurie Becklund, “Reagan Turns Raconteur at Jaycee Lunch,” Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1991, B1.

  17. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2649948/Reagan-set-tone-D-Day-observances.html.

 

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