Word to LIve by & Reagan Forum

Words To Live By – The Forgotten 11th Commandment

At the Republican presidential debates in 2011 held at the Reagan Library, Newt Gingrich commented, “Well, I’m frankly not interested in your effort to get Republicans fighting each other. You’d like to puff this up into some giant thing…” Yes, It seems that name calling and vicious attacks are standard operating procedure in today’s political arena. It’s almost as if candidates need hunting licenses as they seek their party’s nomination. It’s open season with barbs flying faster at fellow Republicans than macaroni in the school cafeteria. Back in 1985, the President reiterated his position in a news conference.

A Reagan Forum – Nikki Haley

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 14, 2022 for our in-person event with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for her new book, If You Want Something Done: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women, a book which celebrates the world’s most iconic women leaders woven among stories from her own childhood and political career. Nikki Haley is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 to January 2019. During this program she sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss If You Want Something Done.

Words To Live By - Baseball at the White House

During this season of primary politics and curious political antics, we are thankfully distracted by our great American pastime, baseball, where hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack still prevail in stadiums across the country. While our 40^th president spent more time on the track, in the pool, and on the gridiron, baseball was still a great love of his and an important part of his life. Even his father, Jack Reagan, played a little baseball around the late 1800’s in Bennett, Iowa. Starting in the early 30’s, Ronald Reagan became the play-by-play reenactment voice for the Chicago Cubs. As “Dutch Reagan” on Iowa’s WHO, he would receive game updates via telegraph and then, accompanied by sound effects, bring the action to life with a vivid description of the details. In one famous instance, the telegraph feed went down in the ninth inning of a tight ballgame, forcing the young announcer to improvise on the spot. So, with that story in mind, let’s listen to our 40^th president warmly welcome some of baseball’s finest to the White House.

A Reagan Forum - Dick Ebersol

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 3, 2022 for our in-person event with legendary sports executive Dick Ebersol for his new book, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night: My Forty Years of Laughter, Tears and Touchdowns in TV. From Saturday Night to Sunday Night is a memoir by the legendary television executive. Mr. Ebersol co-created Saturday Night Live with Lorne Michaels, created Friday Night Videos with Vince McMahon to bring professional wrestling to network TV, took over NBC Sports, created Sunday Night Football, which is still the #1 primetime show in America, and was responsible for Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta. During our event, Dick Ebersol sat down to discuss his book in conversation with his son, Charlie, an American television and film producer and director.

Words To Live By - Curse of the Midterm

It’s the season when we anticipate quite a bit of turnover brought about by the curse of the midterm election. 40 years ago, in 1982, Pew Research reported that just 36% of the public said they wanted to see Reagan run for re-election. Recall that Ronald Reagan came to the presidency in 1981 with a straightforward and well-articulated domestic agenda. He promised to cut taxes, curb government spending, and balance the federal budget or at least reduce the deficit. His well-crafted Inaugural Address identified the major themes the new President hoped would define his administration. But, by fall of 1982, the fruits of his labors had not fully bloomed. So, this Pew data preceded, by just a few months, the beginning of a great economic boom. As a result, the late summer and fall of 1982 were tough times for Ronald Reagan and many of those whom he supported. He took to the campaign trail and we thought you’d enjoy a few great excerpts from some of those 1982 stump speeches. Each one is tailored to the specific region and audience – it’s a challenge being president of 50 states with varied interests and objectives.

A Reagan Forum - Governor Doug Ducey

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to September 20, 2022 for our in-person event with Doug Ducey, the Governor of Arizona, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Within Arizona, Governor Ducey has eliminated overburdensome regulations, fostered the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reformed taxes every year he’s been in office. He has also positioned Arizona as a national leader in school choice and civics education. He is a former businessman and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery who today also serves as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

Words To Live By - The Queen and the President

In today’s podcast we’ll focus on President Reagan’s special relationship with her royal highness Queen Elizabeth the second. In 1982, the Reagans visited Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor, where the Queen and Ronald Reagan carried out a specially orchestrated ride through Windsor Great Park, trailed by more than 150 photographers and a Range Rover full of Secret Service agents. (Nancy Reagan, meanwhile, joined Prince Philip in a four-in-hand carriage for a tour of the estate.) In the second half of this podcast, we’ll cover their remarks when the Reagans later hosted Elizabeth and Philip at their home of Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara in 1983, where Her Majesty had her first experience of Tex-Mex cuisine, feasting on tacos, enchiladas, and what she referred to as “used” (i.e., refried) beans.

A Reagan Forum - Mark Esper

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back 10 days to September 19, 2022 when former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joined us in conversation for his latest book, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times. During the program, Dr. Esper sat in conversation with Reagan Foundation Institute Director Roger Zakheim to discuss the details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump administration – a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest in two generations, and a White House which broke accepted norms and conventions.

Words To Live By - Crime and Criminal Reform

It’s on the news every day – crime rates are escalating exponentially throughout the country. Well, when Ronald Reagan became our 40^th president, our country was experiencing the same surge in crime and in 1980 he said, “We need a renewed emphasis on, and an enhanced sensitivity to, the rights of victims. These rights should be a central concern of those who participate in the criminal justice system, and it is time all of us paid greater heed to the plight of victims.” So in this podcast, we’ll listen to the president’s thoughts on Crime and criminal justice reform, beginning with a radio address delivered 40 years ago on September 11, 1982.  In the second half of the podcast, we’ll move forward five years.

A Reagan Forum - Kellyanne Conway

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to September 15, 2022 for our in-person event with Kellyanne Conway, who was here to discuss her latest book, Here’s the Deal: A Memoir. Kellyanne Conway is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. During our event, she sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss Here’s the Deal, a book that takes you to the White House and beyond.