Word to LIve by & Reagan Forum

Words to Live By "Inaugurations and Transitions"

On January 27, 1981, just six days after the inauguration, President Reagan welcomed all of the freed American hostages at the White House and greeted each of them individually.  Let’s listen to his remarks from that day.

A Reagan Forum "Connie Mack"

In this week’s A Reagan Forum we bring you Senator Connie Mack, who joined us in conversation on January 19, 2021 for his recent, Citizen Mack: Politics, an Honorable Calling. Cornelius McGillicuddy III, popularly known as Connie Mack, is a Republican politician who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (between 1983 and 1988) and two terms in the U.S. Senate (between 1989 and 2001) before announcing his retirement in 2000. Throughout his service in both the House and Senate, Connie Mack supported the passage of legislation related to health care, financial modernization, modification of the tax code, and public housing reform. A cancer survivor, Senator Mack was a strong advocate for cancer research, early detection, and treatment, co-founding the Senate Cancer Coalition.Fun fact?  His paternal grandfather was Connie Mack, former owner and manager of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Senator Mack discusses his new book, which former Vice President Dick Cheney calls “an account of his spiritual journey which is honest, humble, and explains much about the man and his life of service. Let’s listen.

A Reagan Forum "Mark Salter"

In this week’s A Reagan Forum we bring you American speechwriter Mark Salter, who joined us in conversation on December 7, 2020, for his brand-new book, The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain. Governor and Mrs. Reagan first came to know John McCain as a returning prisoner of war whose POW bracelet they had worn. That bracelet has been on display in the Reagan Library since its opening in 1991. In the years after, he became a deeply respected and cherished personal friend. Senator McCain was an inspiring risk-taker. Time and again, he demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice for his country and his beliefs. From his extraordinary courage in a Hanoi dungeon to his practice of putting principle over political expediency, he consistently modeled character and conviction. Mark Salter’s Luckiest Man is a deeply personal and candid remembrance of the late Senator John McCain from one of his closest and most trusted confidants, friends, and political advisors who worked with the Senator on several nonfiction books as well as on political speeches, and who also served as his chief of staff. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Mark Salter discusses his new book, which covers all the major events of McCain’s life while also introducing aspects of the man that the public rarely saw and hardly knew. Woven throughout this narrative is also the story of Salter and McCain’s close relationship, including how they met, and why their friendship stood the test of time in a political world known for its fickle personalities and frail bonds.  The capstone to Salter’s intimate and decades-spanning time with the Senator, The Luckiest Man is the authoritative last word on the stories McCain was too modest to tell himself and an influential life not soon to be forgotten. Let’s listen.

A Reagan Forum "HR McMaster"

LtGen McMaster was the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. He is currently the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, HR McMaster discusses his brand-new book, “Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free world” which is a bold and provocative re-examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that face the United States, and an urgent call to compete to preserve America’s standing and security. Let’s listen.

Words to Live By "Inaugurations and Transitions"

In November of 1979, militants in Iran seized 66 American citizens at the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 of them hostage for more than a year.  Negotiations to get the citizens returned safely to America were hard, as the US administration struggled to find anyone to negotiate within a meaningful fashion. On January 27, 1981, just six days after the inauguration, President Reagan welcomed all of the freed American hostages at the White House and greeted each of them individually.  Let’s listen to his remarks from that day.

A Reagan Forum "Dave Barry"

In this week’s A Reagan Forum, we bring you bestselling author and humorist Dave Barry, who joined us in conversation on December 1, 2020. According to his website, Dave Barry has been a professional humorist ever since he discovered that professional humor was a lot easier than working. For many years he wrote a newspaper column that appeared in more than 500 newspapers across the country, winning the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1988.  He has also written more than 30 books. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Dave Barry discusses his writing career and his love of dogs, not to mention the softcover release of his latest book, Lessons from Lucy, the Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog, in which Dave decides that his dog is aging better than he is, and it’s time to figure out why. Let’s listen.

Words to Live By "Inaugurations and Transitions"

January 20, 2021, otherwise known as Inauguration day.  But it’s also historic for another reason.  January 20, 2021 marks the 40^th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, making him the 40^th president of the united states. Let’s use this podcast to go back 40 years in time, and listen to President Reagan’s inspiring 1981 inaugural address. Let's listen.

A Reagan Forum "Veterans Day"

Although we’re two months past the event, we wanted to share with you today our November 11, 2020 Veterans Day Ceremony which was very special to us at the Reagan Foundation.  Veterans Day is always special to us – as it’s a day to thank our nation’s heroes for our freedom – but this year was even more special because it was the first in-person event we have held since the COVID19 shutdown of our campus.  We were only permitted to host 100 people on our campus, and those 100 people were made up of veterans, active military, and their families, and then the event was live-streamed to anyone else who wanted to watch. Our program had two keynote speakers – Congressman and former fighter pilot – Mike Garcia, and Congressman and former Navy Seal, Dan Crenshaw. Congressman Garcia represents California’s 25^th congressional district – which is home to the Reagan Library.  He’s also a highly decorated United States Naval officer and leader who served his country with distinction and is lauded as one of the most talented fighter pilots in the Navy. Congressman Crenshaw represents Texas’s 2^nd congressional district.  As a Navy Seal he served five overseas deployments, and during the third was struck by an IED blast in Afghanistan, destroying his right eye and leaving him almost blind in his left.  Yet he recovered and did two more deployments overseas, finally retiring in 2016 as a Lt Commander. Let’s listen.

Words to Live By "Honoring Heroes"

Ronald Reagan made a point of honoring American heroes—in ceremonies at the White House and on many other occasions. During his State of the Union Addresses, he began a tradition of extending the nation’s gratitude to ordinary citizens who met extraordinary challenges. He described heroes best during his first State of the Union address, which he delivered on January 26, 1982. Let’s listen.

Words to Live By "The Space Program"

With President Reagan’s staunch support, NASA put the Space Shuttle to work on 27 occasions during his administration alone, carrying people into orbit, launching, recovering and repairing satellites, conducting cutting-edge research and building the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. Let’s now listen to President Reagan’s radio addresses to the nation on the space program.