Most unfair match-up EVER: Reagan vs. Obama

Here's a brilliant video put together by Americans for Prosperity, featuring what might be the most unfair match-up in history, Ronald Reagan vs. Barack Obama:

Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address

Last year on Christmas Eve, I posted the video from President Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas address to our country, the end of his first year in office:

Happy Warrior Redux

Erick Erickson has an excellent post over at RedState this morning, calling Herman Cain a "happy warrior:"

Gotta Love Gingrich

There are two things that Newt Gingrich does extremely well: tell a good story, and give a direct answer to a question. I got to see him do both of those things on Wednesday evening in Lake Mary as the keynote speaker at the Seminole County Reagan Day Dinner, sponsored by the Ronald Reagan Republican Assemblies of Florida, Inc.

Before the dinner, Newt and Calista Gingrich took photos with everyone who was in attendance. State Representative Scott Plakon was nice enough to invite me and two other members of the Orange County Young Republicans to join his family at his table. Representative Plakon's very talented daughter Jeanne sang the national anthem and several other songs during the evening's program. (Check out this video of Jeanne singing at the 2009 Opening Session of the Florida House of Representatives.)

Gingrich's speech was mostly anecdotes about Ronald Reagan (ahem, it was a "Reagan Day Dinner," after all), some of Gingrich's own memories with the former President, but also many other great stories from throughout Reagan's life. Some highlights:

Last Night's Debate at the Reagan Library

Here we go again. The Republican presidential candidates squared off last night at the Reagan Library, so once again, I did an analysis of the trending topics on Twitter immediately after the debate ended. (Don't miss my previous posts on the New Hampshire debate and Ames debate.)

The only debate-related topic that was trending nationwide was "Did Ron Paul." Yes, you read that correctly. Unfortunately for Paul, the vast majority of the tweets for that topic were along the lines of "Did Ron Paul really just say that crazy thing?" Many of these tweets centered on Paul's comments that a border fence could also be used to keep Americans in, and that we should save money by taking away the air conditioning units from our troops in Afghanistan. Huh?

Marco Rubio speaking at the Reagan Library OH HECK YEAH

In case you missed the live webcast Tuesday evening, here's the video from Marco Rubio's incredibly inspiring speech at the Reagan Library:


YouTube | copyrightphotos | Senator Marco Rubio Live @ The Reagan Library August 23, 2011

Lots of red meat for conservatives in that speech, but here are two of my favorite quotes:

Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about allowing people to catch up.

Our rights don't come from our government. Our rights come from our God. Rights come from God.

Recycling Reagan

Check out this excellent National Review article by Jonah Goldberg:

National Review | Jonah Goldberg | The Reagan Playbook No Longer Applies

President Obama still tries to blame what he can — and what he can’t — on Bush, but that’s growing ever more lame. Increasingly, however, he’s also trying to claim the Reagan mantle for himself.

...In his prime-time debt-ceiling address, he quoted Reagan’s support for a debt-reduction deal in 1982 that included tax increases. Afterwards, Obama chided, “Those words were spoken by Ronald Reagan. But today, many Republicans in the House refuse to consider this kind of balanced approach.”

Translation: See, I’m a mainstream guy who agrees with Reagan. Meanwhile, these knuckle-dragging tea partiers are to the right of the most conservative president in our lifetimes. Come back, independents! Love me, moderates!

While Obama’s invocation of Reagan worked on a lot of liberal pundits, it was a clunker with conservatives. Of course, it’s doubtful Obama thought it would actually persuade the GOP. After all, the 1982 deal that raised taxes was one of Reagan’s greatest regrets. The Democrats promised to cut $3 in spending for every $1 in tax increases. They lied, a fact Reagan resented until he died.

...Indeed, one of the reasons the tea parties are so “outrageously” intransigent and uncompromising is that they’ve seen what compromise has gotten in the past. In other words, they’ve learned the lessons of history. 

I, too, have found it very interesting how Obama has attempted to co-opt the Reagan legacy for his own purposes, and how the media has encouraged this idiocy.

What Obama fails to realize is that Reagan's power wasn't in his specific policies, but rather a lot of it derived from his power as a communicator, and communication is much more than giving good speeches reading a TelePrompter well.

Reagan paid attention and listened to what the American people had to say, and then reflected that back to his audience when he spoke. He comprehended the hopes and dreams of the average American citizen better than perhaps any modern President, and imbued his speeches with a sincere understanding of those ideas. That's why he was the "Great Communicator." Unless Obama learns how to do this, he can invoke Reagan's name a million times but never have his power.

St. Patrick's Day with Ronald Reagan

Matt Lewis posted a great story at the Daily Caller this morning about how President Reagan celebrated St. Patrick's Day in 1988:

Sláinte!

The Daily Caller | A 'Ronald Reagan' St. Patrick's Day

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so I thought it would be fun to share with you the story of President Reagan’s surprise visit to Pat Troy’s Irish pub in Alexandria, Va.

The event, which occurred in 1988, was retold beautifully by Tom Purcell in 2003.

Here’s an excerpt:

When Troy was finished, he handed the president the microphone. The normally raucous crowd - remember, this was St. Patrick’s Day – became extraordinarily quiet. “They were spellbound,” said Troy. “I’ve never seen a large crowd that attentive in more than 20 years.”

Reagan spoke off the top of his head. He graciously thanked Troy for having him for lunch. He said it was his great surprise — that his advance men set it up, and he was thankful. He talked about his father, an Irishman.

“When I was a little boy, my father proudly told me that the Irish built the jails in this country,” he said, pausing expertly, “then proceeded to fill them.”
The crowd laughed heartily.

“You have to understand that for a man in my position, I’m a little leery about ethnic jokes,” he said. The crowd roared. “The only ones I can tell are Irish.”

He told a story about his visit to Ireland. He went to Castle Rock, the place where St. Patrick erected the first cross in Ireland.

“A young Irish guide took me to the cemetery and showed me an ancient tombstone there,” he said. “The inscription read: ‘Remember me as you pass by, for as are you are so once was I, and as I am you too will be, so be content to follow me.”

As Reagan paused, the crowd eagerly awaited his follow up.

“Then I looked below the inscription,” he said, “where someone scratched in these words: ‘To follow you I am content, I wish I knew which way you went.’”

The crowd roared loud and long, causing the president to deadpan to his advance men: “Why didn’t I find this place seven years ago?”

Here is a video of Reagan's visit to Pat Troy's Ireland's Own Pub:

YouTube | President Reagan visits Pat Troy's Ireland's Own Pub

The notes from the YouTube video:

President Ronald Reagan pays a surprise visit to Pat Troy's Ireland's Own pub in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. The President, accompanied by journalist James Kilpatrick, stopped by for lunch and a pint of Harp on Saint Patrick's Day in 1988.

If you come by the pub today you can see pictures and items from the President's visit, preserved in a table right next to the stage.

Hope all of you are having a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

The RNC is selling limited-edition green elephants, named "Patrick," of course

ICYMI - Reagan Super Bowl XLV Tribute

In case you missed it...

Here is the video that was shown before the Super Bowl to honor Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday:

YouTube | Reagan Foundation | Reagan Super Bowl XLV Tribute

"The National Football League salutes this great American, who played the game with honor and courage, and played to win, not just for America, but for free people everywhere.

Happy 100th birthday, Mr. President."

Nicely done.

Happy 100th Birthday President Reagan!

Ronald Reagan was the President of my childhood.  (I was born during Carter's term but fortunately too young to remember any of it.)  I remember seeing Reagan on TV and hearing his strong, sincere voice.  Partly because he is the first President I remember, and partly because he was such an inspirational leader, but he was and always has been my model for what a leader is supposed to be.

My grandfather was a staunch Republican, and donated to the GOP for years.  He gave me this button when I was a little girl:

Yes, I've been a Republican for a looooooong time :)

My all-time favorite Reagan speech is the one he gave on June 12, 1987, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.  This is the day when he made the famous demand, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"  It is important to remember that Reagan's speechwriters and advisers did not want him to be so aggressive and direct, and kept deleting these words from drafts of the speech, wanting him to instead offer more conciliatory words merely hoping for a peaceful resolution.  Wisely, Reagan rejected their advice and insisted that his words stay in the speech.  Today, more than thirty years later, those six words remain the most memorable he spoke that day.

Here is the speech, in its entirety, posted by the Reagan Foundation:

YouTube | ReaganFoundation | President Reagan's Address at the Brandenburg Gate - 6/12/87

The section where he requests that Gorbachev tear down the Wall starts at the 11 minute mark.  Note also the very next section of the speech, where he discusses how America's strong and unyielding stance forced the Soviets back to the negotiating table.  (Ahem...ahem...the current occupant of the White House would be well-advised to learn from this example.)

For more on Ronald Reagan, check out this excellent two part story from the L.A. Times (yes, really) with some great photos and video:

L.A. Times | Ronald Reagan's birth centennial, Part I: Politics came late in his life

L.A. Times | Ronald Reagan's centennial, Part II: An All-American American

Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address to the Nation

As we get ready to celebrate Christmas tomorrow, I thought a look back almost twenty years ago would be interesting. Here is President Ronald Reagan's Christmas address to our country at the end of his first year in office, 1981:

YouTube | Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address to the Nation

"The world is full of peril as well as promise. Too many of its people, even now, live in the shadow of want and tyranny."

In addition to commemorating the holiday season, Reagan also has tough, brave words regarding the brutal oppression of the Polish people by its Soviet-backed communist government. Reagan unequivocally condemns the actions of the Polish government, and offers support to the Solidarity movement which would be the driving force in bringing freedom to Poland.

The world owes Ronald Reagan a debt of gratitude for his courageous role in bringing about the end of the Cold War. As we face today new threats from terrorists, rogue nuclear nations, and an unstable world economy, I don't know if we can wait for another "Reagan" to come along and lead us through the troubles. But I do know that I have great faith in the American people, and the power of prayer, and I believe that we will get through this.

God Bless all of you this Christmas season.