my questions how did reagan get to 1983, especially march 1983? what made reagan reagan? and what did he bring to the white house with him? what was the end? his cold war strategy of peace through strength expressed, pursued as president, especially in two central speeches. at a moment, reagan both saw and helped to make. did he stay the course, so to speak? what, if anything, can we learn from this strategy for today and some these questions obviously will have to be for discussion here. and i hope throughout the conference. in a year that was in retrospect a key inflection point in the cold war march 83 marked a critical month for reagan. the strategic initiative, sdi is often dismissed as technologically or it is presented as either an aspiration or idiosyncratic element of defense buildup or a bargaining chip that he stubbornly to use in later cold war summitry. such interpretations devalue and ignore reagan's own that informs his visionary project. this thinking is best understood, especially in the proximate. by examining reagan's announcement of sdi in, his march 2

my questions, how did reagan get to 1983, especially march 1983? what made reagan reagan? and what did he bring to the white house with him? what was the end of his cold war strategy of peace through strength expressed in pursuit as president, special in two central speeches at the moment reagan both saw and help to make? did he stay the course, so to speak? what, if anything, can be learned from the strategy for today, and some of these questions obviously will have to be safe for discussion here and hope throughout the conference. in the year that was in retrospect a key inflection point in the cold war, march 1983 marked a critical month for reagan. this strategic defense initiative, sdi, is often dismissed as technologically unfeasible, or it is presented as either an aspirational idiosyncratic aliment of reagan's defense buildup, or as a bargaining chip that he stubbornly refuse to use them later cold war symmetry. such interpretations devalue and ignore reagan's own thinking that informs hisro visionary project. this thinking is best minister special and approximate

ronald reagan was. and that's the kind of man ed meese is, because in their office great patriot, you don't see this today. and i can also tell you, as chief of staff that, he never leaked. he despised the media because people all around were leaking. ronald reagan hated the media to nancy reagan even more than him but that's the way it worked. ronald reagan was a very compassionate man. he was extrovert narrowly intelligent. all the books i cite, whether whoever it is, the talk lock, you can go on. adam smith, he read all that stuff. they found it later in his personal home on a shelf. he knew he wanted to do when he came into office. he knew what he wanted to do with the soviet union. he knew what he wanted to do for the country. and he did it. and he left. it was a great, great man. and president. so here, because this is the place that honored ronald. and there's a bench out there right in the center spot, my parents name on it, they passed away in loving memory. they're overseas the sun when it com

ronald reagan? >> i can't ronald reagan is the third greatestst president. washington, lincoln, reagan. and i will tell you why. some of you are too young. some are too young to remember this but the economy was cratering, i mean cratering. we had inflation at 21% imagine that. we had massive unemployment it reflect 12% per there was no growth occurring in the country. we had a horrific recession with inflation. we had not had it before we were not sure what to do about it. people have lost hope in this country. and that were homeless that media showed it. this is another guy who believe in fundamental transformation. reagan had to build up the united states economy. and take on the soviet union which was on the move in our hemisphere, and central america, in europe, and africa because they sought weakness. they suck harder. carter brought in the eye radiant dictatorship that exist today they chased off the shah of iran and the comments on the move in nicaragua. the commonness on the move in cuba. i

and the way to reagan is clear. and right here the bullet hits right there and gets through that little gap. troy roberts: through the tiny gap created by the open door of the bulletproof car, hitting the president. an incredible fluke. it was hinckley's sixth and final shot. secret service agents raced him to george washington university hospital where doctors found the bullet dangerously close to president reagan's heart. reporter: judy, i'm sorry to interrupt. troy roberts: nbc cut into woodruff's report with the news. reporter: in front of me now are two bulletins that both say president reagan was shot in the chest. troy roberts: the president was rushed into surgery. meanwhile, the fbi was desperately trying to find out what happened. retired fbi agent thomas baker. we didn't know was this part of a conspiracy? was there going to be other people shot? troy roberts: the answers would be much stranger and more chilling than they could possibly imagine. and it turned out the clues were hiding in plain sight. a na

and in comes reagan. when reagan left office the soviet was basically dead here we had the greatest growth in economic history in american history.y. the economy grew so big and so fast without inflation that our economy grew 25% under ronald reagan. we have never seen anything like this in america. people were patriotic. people were excited. people felt great about their country again. we could do this. this country does work. he built up the united states military like it'd never been built up before. nobody even thought about shooting a paperclip at this country. nobody. and that's what it takes. we were at a very, very bad place and he reversed it in every respect. to defeat the soviet union, which no president could do before them, they all talked about containment. you with kissinger here recently. reagan said no, victory. we whene, they lose. and we won. 30 seconds. >> take your time. >> and have tost tell you just personally, i became chief of staff to ed meese. i don't know why but it was a bless

he is studying reagan. there are boxes and boxes at the nixon library that are labeled reagan research. nixon is studying reagan. and seeing that, wow, he has this ability to connect with audiences. what he is saying is not necessarily new but he makes it newsworthy. he is emulating kennedy and reagan. i really argue -- i conclude the first book with nixon rather than reagan. i think these changes that nixon helped to usher and pave the way for ronald reagan. the same thing with cable- television. there is a fascinating document in the reagan library. it is actually this very thick plan that is a plan for a presidential re-election cable channel. that this producer wants to produce. it is an entire cable channel that they will develop just to re-elect the president. it is very thorough. it says that this is going to be the most revolutionary thing since the 1960 television debate. reagan's team debated and they go back and forth on prices with this producer. ultimately, they rejected. i argue that is becaus

reagan. . ronald reagan ushered in the celebrity presidency. in the era of deregulation on the growth of cable, that has to be because of ronald reagan. that was my assumption going g into it. my research shows that reagan capitalized on these changing is cultural values these changing ways in which campaigns operated in the 1960s going to the primary trail , appealing t to people as fans. this, ultimately, created a political and cultural system ke in which he could say that he represented the people. his performance and ability to perform was part of his qualifications. b he makes the argument when he runs for governor in 1966. he calls himself the citizen politician. because he was an actor, he understood the people better and that is why he should win elections. at the time his acting background was controversial. the fascinating thing is that nixon helps make it not controversial. he is studying reagan. w there are boxes and boxes at the nixon library that are labeled reagan research. '

ronald reagan ushered in the celebrity presidency ronald reagan. the era of deregulate it and the growth of cable in the 1980s. that's got to be because ronald reagan. right. that was my assumption going into it. and research actually shows that reagan capitalized on these changing cultural values, these changing ways in which campaigns in the 1960s going to the primary, appealing to people as fans. this ultimately created a political and a cultural system in which he could say that he represented the people that his performance, his ability to perform with part of his qualifications. and so he makes that when he runs for governor in 1966 he calls himself citizen politician. that because he was an actor. he understood the people better and that's why he should win election at that time you know his acting background was still controversial but the really fascinating thing is that nixon helps make it not controversial. he he really he's studying reagan and there are boxes and boxes at the nixon library that are just labeled reagan research where nix

of president ronald reagan as well as our nation's former first lady nancy reagan.st lady of the unite states comes with a lot of attention and a lot of responsibility what about the role of second lady? for this position may not receive as much recognition it is no less important. in fact been the second lady can be an incredible opportunity to inspire change to make a difference in lives of others. this is a perfect description of our speaker tonight. a mother, an educator, an award winning watercolor artist. mrs. pence work brought attention to art therapy the sacrifices made by military service members and their families. now most people in her place to write a memoir sharing the stories good and bad of their life and times as first lady of indiana at the second lady united states but not caring pence. in fact in interview she specifically says her book is not a memoir. in a recent interview i south abc news she said this book is about encouraging the reader there are a lotin of great thins in our country. our country needs hope she said in that interview. peopl

what about reagan, the reagans, the movie actor? right. he actually appears in films. how does he use that to his advantage as president? well, i think reagan's long history of being on multiple screens, multiple platforms, because he starts as a radio announcer, then he becomes a movie star, then becomes a television star. then when he's doing work with g, he goes out and speaks to large audiences. so first of all, those trained reagan how to speak on multiple platforms. he knew how to speak on the radio. he knew how to convey himself on the silver screen. he knew what to do on television. so i think that helped him train himself as a good communicator. but it also introduced him to the american people. and when the democrats would say reagan likes acid rain or he wants to get rid of medicare, reagan with reagan's people would say, look, you know, ronald reagan, you've seen him on tv shows and movies for 60 years. and the american people, they also just thought, hey, i know this guy. he's not the mean guy they're depicting. and i think it presented reagan in a positiv

ronald reagan had a celebrity. presidency and that tested beef because of ronald reagan. that was my assumption going into it and this shows reagan capitalized on these changing cultural values these changing ways in which campaigns operated in the 1960s going to the primary appearing to people. he could say that he representative the people and his ability to perform as part of disqualification. so he makes that argument when he runs for governor in 1966. he calls himself the citizen politician and because he's an actor he understood and that's why he should run the election. his background was controversial but the fascinating thing that nixon helped make it noncontroversial. he is studying in their boxes and boxes of the nixon library where nixon is seeing that wow he has this ability to connect with audiences. what he is saying isn't necessarily new but he makes it newsworthy to these emulating kennedy in emulating reagan. i conclude the first book with nixon rather than reagan because i think these changes that nixon gushes and paves the way for ronald reagan. the sa

ronald reagan is his president. and i'm not just that, because i'm at the reagan library, which is obvious. it's he chose that bible. but mike started out as a democrat and when he was in high school, he was like democrat youth coordinator in bartholomew county. and when he went to college, he majored in history. he took classes on the constitution portion and he started listening to ronald reagan. and that's when he became a republican. and he loves tell the story. it might in his book. it's not in mine, but when we were running in 88, we went to a candidate school in washington and we must try to pay very good attention i guess we didn't win but we had the honor of going to the white house and all of the candidates got to sit down for like you know 20 seconds with the president get their photo they could take back to their campaign and mike said you know i i just want to tell him how grateful we are for what he did our country. and that's what he said when you sat down with him. he said, i just you to know how gra

what about reagan? reagan the movie actor. he appears in the film and how does the use that? >> i think reagan's long history of being on multiple platforms because he starts as a radio radio announcer and in the becomes a movie star in a television star and then he works with ge in space to large audiences. first of all they trained reagan how to speak on multiple platforms. he knew how to speak on the radio andhi he knew how to condt himself on the silver screen. he was trained as a committee cater to also introduce them to american people and reagan's people would say you know ronald reagan ended seen him on tv shows and movies and the american people thought i know this guy. he's not the main guy in the present a positive light because he was known to the american people and that helped him. >> do you think it helped him tell stories in way that was affected the american people because he understood the art of the story by being someone who acted in films? >> he would refer to movies when he was president when he saw the movie rambo and the twa flight had been hijacked. h

all this started with reagan and the people who followed reagan and the people who followed reagan andple who voted for reagan. >> host: what do you say to kids graduating college today and starting out in a career field, or kid you don't go to college and are starting out in the career field? is there any hope? >> caller: i say that the gen z i think is on the right track. i really do. i think they're going to turn -- i think they're going to turn this country into more of what the nordic countries are, which is a mix between capitalism and social welfare. i think that's what this country needs. and i think i mean some of them are going fartheran than that ad are into marxism not supportive of that, company do believe in democratic socialism where you haveav a basic safety net for everyone. you don't have homeless people, unhoused people. that started again with reagan. i've never seen an unhoused person ini my life until the second reagan administration, and i was wow, there somebody who doesn't have a house to go to every night? >> host: what else do you type into that safety net? h

when reagan was elected in 1980 and 84. be clear about this as i'm trying to present friedman's views but many people would argue that his views on government were not the right approach. >> ht: let's quote from a free to choose this is one o the conclusions at the end of the book. re as a people still free to choose whi we should go whete continue along the road weave been following to ever bigger government or to call a halt and change direction. >> the initiative and all of his work and at the public inteectual particularly in the last 30 year of his life after he retired from the university of chicago. if there is an inflation in the society that's going to be detrimental to an economy there for the first thing the government has to do is maintain a stable money supply. the second thing that an economy needs to do, the government needs to work with an economy to ensure that there are relationships and contracts to adhere to individuals. there was an important role to play in defense. he supported some social services, b

in your house, i love reagan.it doesn't matter. the guy is so inept, he associated it with narrative that government is inefficient and believed it. right after he says that quote, we're going to follow-up with every one of you to make sure that we're available to help you. i mean, he is so out of it, he doesn't know it, it is not a misquote, he doesn't understand. we understand as far as democrats and progressives are concerned, education doesn't matter. we've seen it over and over with rochelle walensky and randi weingarten making sure every metric went to close the school and because of teacher shortages, states started passing laws they no longer need college degrees and union pushing for removal of the requirement. you do not necessarily have to be proficient in reading, writing and math to be a teach are. what does that tell you? they were willing to pass the kids without them passing requirements to graduate from high school. they were willing to ush approximate out that group. they don't care if our kids a

, and someone wrote being here at the ronald reagan library what are the lessons of t president reagan tt we can apply to today's world? >> great question. that's a greatn question becaue we actually were talking about this because charlotte and mike just wrote another book. he had to write two books, that was his day with simon & schuster. the second book their wanted to be a book about faith and family. family. and he comes out november 14 and it's called go home for dinner. and charlotte was sharing with us that in the epilogue they talked about reagan and how he says that all call all those great moments start at the dinner table, or something like that. i think one of the things i loved about nancy, too, is that she, like it may not sound like a like a tonight but i am very private, and she was very private and she protected their life together. and if you take the tour here, or at the ranch, you take a tour of the ranch would you see she didn't let anybody pass that foyer, you know? that was their space, and is a ed meese even said once he didn't get pastir the foyer, tht is just

party of lincoln and the party of reagan. and then we need a new leader in the white house so that we can resume our march to a more perfect union. florida must lead the way. florida will have an incredible responsibility next year. electing the next president will require us to put our differences in the past and we have a lot of work to do ahead of us. susan and i are people of faith and we trust in the almighty god to direct the affairs of our nation. and it is important that we put our trust in him and we put our faith in his leadership and guidance for our country. and god knows we need his providential help today. thank you, florida, and may god bless america. thank you. >> ♪ >> please welcome business leader and north dakota governor doug burgum. >> ♪ gov. burgum: good morning, florida. let me begin with gratitude to the republican party of florida. christian, all your leadership, all of you that i met last night, all those county chairmen , and especially all of you that are here today. your dedication of your time an

we're going to come to you live from the reagan library in simi valley, california, the site of the reagan national defense forum. we will have experts on hand to discuss the top military and defense issues facing the country and the world right now as they are multiple. that is it for us today. thanks for joining us. i'm shannon bream, see you next "fox news sunday." ♪ ♪ ♪ mark: hello america, i am mark levin this is "life, liberty & levin". we have a fantastic show tonight. do you want to know why i'm not the host, here's my buddy pete hegseth, what are the nicest, smartest guys i know. every couple of years when i have a book i say why not have pete here who reads the book and understands the book and talk to me about the book and make it very intriguing and interesting. i'm going to step out of the host mode and turn the show over to pete, he won't steal it i promise but he'll come back for interviews. i want to thank you. >> i cannot steal it if i wanted to, what an honor. >> i appreciate you handing this over to you far less capable. i study this book and i read it cover to cover i w

when reagan was elected in 1980 and 84.ant to be clear about this as i'm trying to present friedman's views but many people would argue that his views on government were not the right approach. >> host: let's quote from a free to choose this is onef the conclusions at the end of were as a people still free to chooch w we should go her we continue along the road wave been following to ever b government or to call a halt and change direction. >> the initiative and all of his work and at the public intellectual particularly in the la 3years of his life after he retired from the university of chicago. if there is an inflation in the society that's going to be detrimental to an economy there for the first thing the government has to do is maintain a stable money supply. the second thing that an economy needs to do, the government needs to work with an economy to ensure that there are relationships and contracts to adhere to individuals. there was an important role to play in defense. he supported some social services, but his ba

and and then he was a leading endorser and supporter of reagan when reagan was selected in 1980 and 1984. his in 1980 and 84. i want to be clear about this as i'm trying to present friedman's views but many people would argue that his views on government were not the right approa. >> host: let's quote from a free to choose this is one of the conclusions at the end of e book. we are as a people s fe to choose which way we shoo whether we continue along the road we have been follo to ever bigger government or to call a halt and change direction. >> the initiative and all of his work and at the public intellectual particularly in the last 30 years of his life after he retired from the university of chicago. if there is an inflation in the society that's going to be detrimental to an economy there for the first thing the government has to do is maintain a stable money supply. the second thing that an economy needs to do, the government needs to work with an economy to ensure that there are relationships and contracts to adhere to individuals. there was an important role to play in defense. h

. - i know you admire ronald reagan. this program, "firing line," was once, obviously it was hosted by william f. buckley jr. for 33 years. and ronald reagan was a regular guest on buckley's program. one of the things that they talked about in one of their interviews was gerrymandering. take a look at this conversation from 1990. - what i think should be done is that there should be a bipartisan commission appointed every 10 years to redraw the districts to reflect, what were the changes in population and so forth? instead, when you leave it to the legislatures, it is a conflict of interest, because these are people now that are looking at their own district and so forth. and the result has been the gerrymandering is they will shape a district. granted, they will funnel as many republicans as they can, but into as fewer districts as possible. and then they're assured of the majority. and they've done this. and when i asked for a look, a map of the districts of the los angeles area, i got a package that looked like a nest

among reagan scholars, it is simply known as the speech before ronald reagan was thought of as a b level actor. after that he was thought of as one of the leaders of the republican party. he would be elected governor of california and president 16 years later. the other president is abraham house divided speech. you know when in in the same category rhetorical effectiveness as reagan and abraham lincoln that you're not doing too bad right now our goal here today is to analyze the effectiveness of that speech and figure out why it was so successful. now analyzing effectiveness is not as easy as it might seem to be. you know would think. well we'll just look at effect of the speech but in almost all cases with rhetoric there is no data. if the governor kelly of kansas gives a speech, there's probably going to be no polling, nothing that would tell us whether the speech was effective and if there is, say, six people write letters to the editor or she gets applause three times, it's very hard to tell what that means. was the audience being polite or was really a stirring speech? now, in othe

one thing he said, scarier part than him getting reagan wrong.f education more accessible, whoun was biden's department of education more accessible? it created an office to coordinate on book bans, that is not a book ban coordinator, that is a porn enforcer. it is pornography. porn enforcer in department of education, my words, that is who he wants more accessible, i don't think so. >> harris: all right, we'll be back in a moment. the chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam, who make- everyday products, designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that- i need a breakthrough card. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more. plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases. and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas- a brilliant reality! the ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours. >> last but not least, first lady jill biden just unveiled this year's white house christm

what about reagan though? the movie actor, right? he actually appears in films. how does he use that to his advantage as president? >> well, i think reagan's long history of being on multiple screens, multiple platforms because he starts as a radio announcer and then he becomes a movie star and a television star. when he was doing work with ge, he goes out to speak to large audiences. so first of all they train reagan on how to speak on the multiple platforms as he knew how to convey himself on the silver screen and what to do on television. so i think that has helped him train himself as a good communicator. but it also introduced him to the american people. when they would say he likes acid rain or wants to get rid of medicare, he would say look, you know ronald reagan, you've seen him on the tv shows and the movies for six years. and the american people, they also just said hey, i know this guy. he's not the mean guy they're depicting. it presents a reagan in a positive light because he was known to the american people. that's helped him get to the presidency.

listen. >> i think president reagan said "we're from the government, we're here to help!". >> he may want to have someone fact checked his next speech because ronald reagan was railing against the government. >> "the nine most terrifying words in the english language are: i'm from the government, and i'm here to help!" swimming next homeland security secretary may work us dominic there is a train in mexico writing on top and the media is proving to be a bunch of clowns a so-called reporter april ryan using valuable white house briefing time to brag about how she talked to stevie wonder. >> i had an in-depth conversation with stevie wonder last night >> i love stevie wonder. >> a serious question. he is very concerned about the black agenda falling on the wayside. is the president going to meet with stevie wonder? >> as far as a meeting with the president i am not aware of any meetings with mr. wonder. >>. [laughter] >> our own stupidity >> a lot of people want to meetings and that she has the best answer i don't know about any meetings but i will get back to you or kick it

when reagan was elected in 1980 and 84.ant to be clear about this as i'm trying to present friedman's views but many people would argue that his views on government were not the right approach. >> host: let's quote from a free to choose thiis one of the conclusions at the end of the book. we are as a ptill free t choose which way suld go road we have been folwing toe ever bigger government or to call a halt and change direction. >> the initiative and all of his work and at the public intellectual particularly in the last 30 years of his le after he retired from the university of chicago. if there is an inflation in the society that's going to be detrimental to an economy there for the first thing the government has to do is maintain a stable money supply. the second thing that an economy needs to do, the government needs to work with an economy to ensure that there are relationships and contracts to adhere to individuals. there was an important role to play in defense. he supported some social services, but his basic approa

ronald reagan famously told us freedom is never more than one generation away from existing. sometimes people remember that but forget the second part of the quote, the most important. freedom must be fought for and protected or we will spend our later years telling our children and grandchildren what it was like when america was free. all of you here are fighting for freedom. [applause] i am a proven governor and a proven global business leader. i'm a washington outsider. i actually know how to shrink government and improve services. as your president, i will bring out the best of america and i will improve every american life. thank you, florida gop. have a fantastic day. >> ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, governor chris christie. gov. christie: now it feels like home. thank you very much. let me first thank the chairman and everyone here. what a shock, you are for trump. i am going to fall over dead. now look, every one of those boos, every one of those catcalls, every one of those yells -- yes, sure -- will not solve one problem we face in this country, will not solve -- and w

. - i know you admire ronald reagan. this program, "firing line," was once, obviously it was hosted by william f. buckley jr. for 33 years. and ronald reagan was a regular guest on buckley's program. one of the things that they talked about in one of their interviews was gerrymandering. take aook at this conversation from 1990. - what i think should be done is that there should be a bipartisan commission appointed every 10 years to redraw the districts to reflect, what were the changes in population and so forth? instead, when you leave it to the legislatures, it is a conflict of interest, because these are people now that are looking at their own district and so forth. and the result has been the gerrymandering is they will shape a district. granted, they will funnel as many republicans as they can, but into as fewer districts as possible. and then they're assured of the majority. and they've done this. and when i asked for a look, a map of the districts of the los angeles area, i got a package that looked like a nest o

one was ronald reagan who tom clancy's novel, the hunt for red october. tom clancy was an insurance salesman and reagan mentioned it and tom clancy not only became a best-selling author that there is a hold tom clancy franchise and jack ryan is portrayed by half a dozen actors on various tv shows and movies. in some ways that was launched by ronald reagan. >> let's talk a little bit about movies. we just had a panel on presidents and movies. you right in the book that the presidents like to present an idealized version of themselves. that makes sense from a political perspective and you said that movies help to do this. trust me examples of what you mean by that. >> will not that franklin delano roosevelt was paralyzed by polio and in a wheelchair throughout his presidency. he was depicted in movies perhaps more than any other president. partly because they wanted to ingratiate themselves with the roosevelt administration and they depicted him on screen. no hollywood movie was roosevelt as president ever depicted in a wheelchair until a movie in 2001, 55

in fact, president ronald reagan almost upset the incumbent, gerald ford during that campaign. he was talking, a friend of mine, a former navy seal, was sending his reflections on rosalynn carter because he was part of her protective detail on some trips to africa. and he was saying, if you don't mind me looking down here, that on one occasion when president carter was going to south sudan, rosalyn pretended to be sick so she could tour the pyramids in sudan, and she was staying in khartoum. and so he went with her so she could tour the pyramids. and she was very active, including going into the well into the 2000s. in fact, her husband in 2009 did a swim workout with the navy seals while they were moving out, told rosalyn to not participate in that. but just to show you how active this this couple was really all the way until just recently, when sadly both entered into hospice. eric you know, it is also and we're going to be talking about politics and the impact on the nation and the political legacy and the achievements and the disappointments of the carter administration. bu