side. after 13 days, reagan was released from the bethesda naval hospital. >> what are you going to do when you get home? >> sit down. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> four weeks after the assassination attempt the president received a hero's welcome at a joint session of congress. physically he was weakened. but politically, he was stronger than ever. >> thank you very much. >> his public approval rating soared into the 70s. virtually assuring the reagan agenda would proceed unobstructed. >> in nicaragua, the rebellion continues. >> the year before reagan's election socialist revolutionaries overthrew the government of samosa. the latest in a long line of u.s.-backed dictators. the rebels called themselves the sandinistas. >> reagan saw this as an attempt