up next on a second look -- >> what ever else history may say about me when i'm gone, i hope it will record that i have dealed for your best hopes not your worse fears. that your confidence rather than your doubts. >> reporter: 25 years ago the presidency of ronald reagan came to an end. tonight we look at the key areas during his time in the white house. the economy, the middle east,

and the scandal that would mar his second term. it's all straight ahead on a second look. hello everyone and welcome to a second look. i'm frank somerville. tomorrow january 20th marks the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of george herbert walker bush as the 44th president of the united states. that also means that it's been a quarter of a century since the end of 1988 of ronald reagan's two terms as the 40th president. on that day, george watson began a three part series looking back at the reagan years. and here's part one of that series. upon rising to the leadership of their representative countries, winston churchill told the people of his country to expect blood, tears and sweat. when ronald reagan was first

sworn in as president of the united states he said americans must stand tall once again. that was what the country apparently wanted to hear. historians will rightfully want to take their time before evaluating the legacy of the reagan years. but one thing is certain, the man brought supreme confidence to the presidency and transferred that confidence to the people. richard nixon was a pitiful giant. not exactly high praise from the nation's leaders. ronald reagan became president when the house needed a symbol. if the president was now the theater of american government, ronald reagan was more than comfortable at center stage. >> if we look to the answer as

to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extend than has ever been done before. >> reporter: from the beginning reagan would restore america's confidence in itself and in government. ironic when you consider ronald reagan spent most of his political life harping on the evil of big government. american foreign policy was stagnating in a bog of humiliation. the latter began to turn around literally minutes after he was inaugurated. iran released 252 hostages held captive in iran for 444 days. in return the united states agreed to return $8 billion in frozen iranian assets.

but while the president enjoyed immediate success he also suffered an immediate set back. two months after his inauguration, john hinkley shot the president. at center stage with a bullet lodged inches from his heart. the president cracked a joke saying he hoped all his doctors were good republicans. reagan's popularity soared. >> they are in violation of the law and if they do not report to work within 48 hours they have forfeited their job and will be terminated. >> later reagan would put that popularity to the test. reagan fired most of the 1,300 controllers that were involved in an illegal strike. this stance would set the stage

for later events in his administrationment while reagan -- administration. while reagan was instilling confidence; his opponents were furious. in the fall of 1983 the marines invaded the tiny caribbean island of grenada. hundreds of citizens were evacuated and granada was overturned. >> today we have done what we had to do. if necessary we shall do it again. >> reporter: then war planes attacked libya. this came after a bombing of a disco that was popular with american soldiers. terrorism still haunted the reagan years. an american navy frogman was

killed. 29 others were held hostage for 39 years. hijackers took over the italian cruise ship. one american was killed. the hijackers were eventually taken to egypt and they were apparently being flown to safety aboard an egyptian airplane and president reagan ordered the plane land in egypt. it was apparent that reagan was putting aside the vietnam residue that showed america as a self-less nation. the united states was in the middle of a war zone and on its own it showed. in 1987 an iraqi airplane killed 37 u.s. sailors. then in the summer of 1978

while on duty, it was an iranian commercial flight. everyone was kill. through the good times and bad times president reagan has appeared for the most part to be unruffled. but his legacy will include notable failures from the economy to the mideast, to the iran contra affair. reagan continues his years with a look at prosperity. how the 40th president built a relationship with the soviet union.

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welcome back to a second look. tonight we're remembering the years when reagan was our president. george watson examined how the economy faired under president reagan and the controversy that closed out his time as

president. >> reporter: the condition of the u.s. economy is per happen -- is perhaps the biggest mixed bag to come out of the presidency. inflation is half as bad as what it was. unemployment is the lowest since the lindon administration. serving the nation's debt alone costs 152 million ár -- $152 billion a year. >> basically reflected on a budget deficit and trade deficit. >> reporter: there's no need to weigh any such positive- negative side to reagan's administration policy in the middle east. it was an out right failure.

>> these deeds are that the true nature of those want power driver us out of the area. >> reporter: 41 marines and sailors were killed when a terrorist drove a latent military truck into the area. the decision to open talks with the plo is a question that won't be answered until the bush administration. domestically the success or failure of the reagan administration depends on who you talk to. liberals will point out in dismay that reagan cut millions of the dollars from programs. conservatives will point out that most of roosevelts new deal and johnson's great society remain intact. and nothing has been done about abortion reform or school prayer. despite the fact experts predict it will increase 10

fold in the next five years, aids is not dealt with. all the reagan appointees have shown strong conservative leanings throughout the years. there was one incident that proved at least for a while to be stronger than teflon. born of a humanitarian desire to free americans, a scheme was put together to take funds sales and funneling them. reagan was never able to convince congress or the american people that he was right about his support for the country. the iran contra affair caused

the president's -- all told eventually more than 100 of his appointees were called to face some form of proceedings. as a tribute to his resiliency the president now prepares to leave office with one of the highest end of term approval ratings in history. one reason may be his role in the warming of relations between the united states and the soviet union. when we come back, the role that reagan played. remembering the events that made news in 1988. good. good answer.

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years. in part three of the series, he examined reagan's talk with the soviet union and what he had to say in his farewell address to the nation. >> reporter: ronald reagan passes in public to private life. he did so through artifice, charm, his own belief of what this country should be and the need to feel good about ourselves that seemed to permeate. he did it for all eight years an establishment in and of itself. but what besides longevity would be the center piece of the ronald reagan presidency. will it be the warming between the united states and soviet union. he pumped $2 trillion into the military. it would have been a persuasive

negotiating. the treaty calls for the dismantling of all russian missiles. the man who once called the soviet union the evil empire had done a turn around. early in his administration it was telling the country it could survive a nuclear war. hardly good news. >> what can we think about a yet so callusly and quickly commit a terrorist act. when the russians shot down a korean air carrier, his

statement would very scantily. who can forget reagan walking with the russian president. we saw these symbols throughout his time in office and carefully calculated moments designed to be reassuring as well as a spark to the country's collective sense of patriotism. we saw him in normandy. and now the curtain finally falls. >> we meant to change a nation

and instead we changed the world. >> reporter: as he said, parting is such sweet sorrow. for him the sweet was returning to california and the sorrow leaving washington. for the rest of the country the sweet was renewed self-can have in the easing of super power tensions. time and history will tell which prevailed. the sweet or the sorrow. i'm george watson for segment two. >> when ronald reagan he was 70. clearly still in love with his wife. >> the living quarter would have seemed a big and lonely spot without her waiting for me at the end of the day. >> reporter: in 1994, reagan issued a letter saying he had been diagnosed with alzheimer's

disease. it was a farewell letter. in the years after, they made appearances but his step was lost. waving at no one particularly. finally failing even to recognize his loving wife. >> ronny's long journey has final taken him to a distant place. where i can no longer reach him. >> reporter: that long ordeal is over. but until ronald reagan is finally layed to rest, nancy reagan can be found where you can find her any time in the last half century. standing by her husband. when we come back on a second look. george watson will recall the events that made the news in 1988.

well back -- welcome back everyone. today we're taking a look at when ronald reagan was in office. george watson had a recap of the events that make news in 1978 railroad -- >> reporter: how do we measure the true look of catastrophe. 1988 gave a number of opportunities for you to apply a yardstick to any sight of grief. hurricane gilbert was the biggest storm to ever hit the hemisphere. gilbert caused almost a million dollars damage in mexico and in its wake left hundreds of

people dead. was there ever a nation that had suffered as much -- as much as bengladesh. 25million were left homeless. the nation opened its arms and offered help to armenia. there a tremendous earthquake swallowed homes whole and claimed the lives of 5,500 people. at this writing the cause of the crash is still being investigated but we know that on a flight from london to new york, 255 people died.

23 people residents of lockerby died. 10 others are still missing. but there were also more tragedies in 1978. the graceful semitreu semi -- symmetry of an air show led to death for 70 people. disaster struck in the blustery darkness of the dead sea. a series of explosions ripped through an oil rigging platform. in nepal a storm caused panic as they watched a soccer match. 90 people are stomped to death as they try to make their way to locked gates. >> call it an accident of war. call it a case of mistaken

identity. call it a tragedy. 290 people, everyone on board a commercial flight that took off from insider end, killed when the plane was shut down by heat seeking mission fired by the u.s. cruiser. it mistook the airliner for a jet fighter. maybe some ironic consolation that the war between iraq and iran which created a awful environment for this tragedy ended only two weeks later. the environment was not immune to the heavy hand of disaster. fire destroyed 4 million acres of land in the western united states. 2.2millionacres in yellow stone national park alone. in the end zone, the park superintendent was optimistic saying all is not lost the park will come back. >> actually went there once. >> here in the bay area a leak at the shell oil refinery in

martinez at first glance appeared to be relatively small. but as the crude oil moved inland toward chicago, the enormity of the spill was finally realized. 444-gallons of crude oil would spill. at this point you might ask yourself, did anything good happen in 1988? the answer is yes. two california gray whales were trapped in the ice. with a third whale already missing and presumed growned, eskimos, marine mammal experts and concerned residents started to save the whales. they cut holes in the ice so the whales could breathe.

the rescuers marched to the sea cutting holes as they went. the whales following beneath the ice. finally a russian ice breaker crushed the way to sea. makes way for the whales until they made it to sea. as millions watched and waited, how many prayers were uttered, how many hopes were success. the 1986 tragedy of the challenger had to weigh heavily upon the minds of everyone. would this great ship discovery transcend the legacy of that disaster? >> three, two, one. zero, and lift off. lift off americans return to space as discovery clears the tower. >> in 1988, it did.

and that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week.

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