ronald reagan is denying that so it is it becomes nancy reagan's job. it's important to her in doing that. she wants to make sure that it has the resources that it needs and she also finds other ways to make sure history remembers ronald reagan in a way that is true to ronald reagan. she does something that i found fascinating which is while on the one hand, conservatives ronald reagan becomes this icon. but she also knows that there is still this perception among the liberal scholars and historians that he was just an actor reading lines other people wrote for him. his value and belief in his own handwriting so you see he begins to publish his diaries, something very few presidents have ever done in keeping real-time diaries so people can see in his own hand at the crucial juncture. he publishes his letters and all the speeches that he was writing as he was getting ready to run for president and you can see in his own hand that these were his thoughts and values she didn't want it to be a monument just to the past but also to point to the future which

reagan? the president himself said of nancy i can't imagine life without her. at the same time nancy worked hard to advance her own important initiatives. she was an advocate for foster grandparents and a champion of the arts. she poured herself into restoring and remodeling the white house enhancing its elegance and beauty. at a time when elected officials had not only worked in relationships, but friendships across the aisle. democratic speaker tip o'neill praised her efforts on a visit to the executive residence saying the white house has never looked better. nancy reagan cared deeply about the health and well-being of her fellow americans. perhaps her best known initiative was leading america's campaign against drug abuse. it's a bit ironic that the woman who would never take no for an answer ask an entire nation to just say no. well stir still serving his first lady. mrs. reagan received a frightening diagnosis breast cancer through her own personal trial including her public decision to

reagan. in addition to working at the washington post, she has worked at time magazine and the los angeles times and is the recipient of many awards including for excellence in political reporting. asked four years ago by simon & schuster to write this biography, the book is finally being published tomorrow on april 13th, 2021. it's been called an exhaustive biography which chronicles the life of nancy reagan. it draws on interviews with reagan cabinet members, friends, and family members and shares how she became one of the most influential first lay days of the century. -- first ladies of the century. we invite you to join the conversation, joined by board of trustees kathy bush. >> good afternoon. i'm so pleased to welcome you today for this very special sneak peek at a much-anticipated biography on former first lady nancy reagan. the book "the triumph of nancy reagan" will be officially released tomorrow. karen has graciously agreed to make the reagan library one of her first stops on the

ronald reagan is denied that.ly becomes nancy reagan's job to make sure that what history sees of him is true to him, is true to his values. it is true to his vision. this library becomes extremely important to her in doing that. shoots to make sure it has the resources it needs she also finds other ways to make sure history remembers ronald reagan in a way that is true to ronald reagan. she is suspicious of all the r reagan or one of these that want to co-opt them, uses name and use his image for their own agendas. and she does something to that i found fascinating. which is that while on the one hand among the conservatives ronald reagan becomes an icon. not always in ways that make her comfortable. she resists when they want to knock fdr off the dime and put ronald reagan on it. but she also knows there is still this perceptionn of him among liberals. liberal scholars, liberal historians his opponents that he was just an actor. he wasus reading lines that othr people wrote for him. she decides the very best or

reagan battled that. the lesson of all eight years, which they learned while bait was there this is tougher than we thought to reform a bureaucracy. nixon tried and it is part of the watergate story. things have marched on and look back in hindsight and say reagan could have been bolder and attack harder but it turns out our own homegrown problems are tougher than dealing with a decrepit soviet union. john: we started with the question about the perfect conservative. was ronald reagan a perfect conservative? steven: stay close as a politician. stan evans is -- i thought about the title for the book because he was so check you medical and his views. john: that current work -- m danton evans, conservative wit. we have been talking these past two hours to steven hayward, the author of eight books, among them, and age of reagan follow the old liberal order. at age of reagan, the conservative counterrevolution, patriotism is not enough and most recently, the stan evans book. i with , apostle of freedom. >> how

reagan battled that. the lesson of all eight years, which they learned while bait was there this is tougher than we thought to reform a bureaucracy. nixon tried and it is part of the watergate story. things have marched on and look back in hindsight and say reagan could have been bolder and attack harder but it turns out our own homegrown problems are tougher than dealing with a decrepit soviet union. john: we started with the question about the perfect conservative. was ronald reagan a perfect conservative? steven: stay close as a politician. stan evans is -- i thought about the title for the book because he was so check you medical and his views. john: that current work -- m danton evans, conservative wit. we have been talking these past two hours to steven hayward, the author of eight books, among them, and age of reagan follow the old liberal order. at age of reagan, the conservative counterrevolution, patriotism is not enough and most recently, the stan evans book. i appreciate your time, spending it

president reagan was a fan he offered to gaspar. it was the age of reagan, and being a conservative was not only in, it was cool. not long before, reagan was the man considered too extreme for the nomination in 1976. and the same man who won reelection with 49 states in 1984 without ever breaking faith with the conservative cause how good we had it. as a proud arizonan, i think it's important to note that in 1964, berry gold water didn't lose that election. it just took 16 years to count the votes. there wasn't any question what the republican party stood for, president reagan showed us the way. bold colors, no palapas -- pale pastels meant no ambiguity. government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem. tear down this wall. respect for freedom and free enterprise and strong defense of american exceptionalism. today the answer to the question is what does the republican party stands for is harder to answer, but it's a question we must have a really good answer for because the republican party is a party worth

c., just a few months after ronald reagan was elected president. >> march 30th, 1981, 70 days into reagan's term. it's a nothing day. he's giving a speech at the washington hill. >> and nothing day that was about to turn into a day no one would ever forget. los angeles times reporter interviewed well over 100 people for his book -- rawhide, the secret service code name for president reagan. >> we're going to convince the city that the power begins and ends with the people. >> he gives a speech, he's walking out, it's 2:27 pm. >> i was part of the press pool, which is a small group of reporters who follow along in the motorcade. >> pbs news our anchor and managing editor was a white house correspondent for nbc news. >> he came out the door and was waving. i remember, he raised his arm to wave to people there. >> 15 feet away was a rogue line, which separated a small crowd of reporters and bystanders from the president. in that crowd, a sandy blonde hail 25-year-old named john hinckley junior. moments later -- [noise] >> it sounded like firecrackers. you knew in an instant that it couldn't be

president reagan was apparently such a fan he offered to guest star. it was the age of reagan.nd being conservative was not only in, it was cool. reagan was the man considered to -- too extreme for the nomination in 1976. and the same man who one reelection with 49 states and 1984 without ever breaking faith with the conservative cause. we did not know how good we had it. i think it is important to note in 1964 barry goldwater did not lose that election. it took 16 years to count the votes. [laughter] >> president reagan showed us the way. no pale pastels meant no ambiguity. a shining city on a hill. government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem. mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. in other words, love of country, fate, and family. respect for freedom and free enterprise. and strong defense of american exceptionalism. to date the answer to the -- today the answer to the question what does the republican party stand for is harder to answer but it is a question we must have a really good answer for because the republican party is a party worth fighting

so reagan inspired us to believe in our country and ourselves. and to go into public service to make this world a better place the 30 years prior to his presidency the iron bcurtain held back much of the world from experiencing true freedom reagan's faith in america with his fellow citizens to set the stage for the country's triumph over communism of the late 20th century and inspired a global revolution were dozens of nations chose and continue to choose freedom over tyranny. growing up on aes farm in rural southwest iowa i thought of my service in the context of my community. george washington once said i would rather be on my farm then the emperor of the world. montgomery county iowa is still my home. we didn't have much growing up what we had and lack of money my mother made up in love. my dad taught my brother and my sister and me the value of hard work service and sacrifice never in 1 million years did i ever think i would serve in the united states senate. i was goinge, to be a nurse or a farmer's wife. but god had other plans. it is an ag

and as reagan said, in almost every case, it has been a failure. the bureaucracy is as bloated as ever with less transparency and accountability. even the smallest change is a challenge. many of you may remember, iowans elected me with the commitment to make washington squeal. but after nearly 8 years, i often feel i am the one doing the squealing. skepticism of what happens in washington is not a new phenomenon, but for too long in republican politics, we failed to realize the strong undertones in our own electorate. president trump's "drain the swamp" slogan was simple. people congregated toward it because it resonated with them. they truly believe washington has either left them behind, or is out to get them. he tapped into the forgotten man and woman, like my brother and sister who for so long felt snubbed by coastal, out-of-touch elites. republicans, we must learn from this. and we must continue to celebrate everyday working families by getting washington off their backs, out of their businesses, and away from their families. in iowa, chuck gr

reagan carried new york state in the 1980 election. [music] >> rupert murdoch celebrates delivering new york to reagan. quicksand this is where the murdaughs wave it really comes into play. [music] >> roy kone, on behalf of murdaughs and murdoch himself, the extent invitations to the reagan team. while you come visit one of the papers, how about an interview for one of our star correspondents? and the short of it is that the reagan staff either drops the ball doesn't care, and they rebuffed him. at that time, murdoch is furious.so, roy kone in fact writes a couple letters to the reagan administration. and he writes: i had one interest when i first brought rupert murdoch and governor reagan together, and that was that at least one major publisher in this country would become and remain pro reagan. >> the anger is dripping off the page. >> that's so good. [music] >> and a deputy assistant to reagan himself writes back to say: i'm sure you are aware of continued high regard from mr. murdoch personally and our appreciation of the importanc

to reagan. really comes into play. >> roy cohn on behalf of murdoch, and murdoch himself, they extend invitations to the reagan team. "why don't you come visit one of the papers? how about an interview for one of our star correspondents?" and the short of it is that the reagan staff either drops the ball or doesn't care, and they rebuff him. at the time, murdoch is furious. so roy cohn in fact writes a couple of letters to the very inner sanctum of the reagan administration. and he writes, "i had one interest when i first brought rupert murdoch and governor reagan together. and that was that at least one major publisher in this country would become and remain pro-reagan." the anger is dripping off the page. and a deputy assistant to reagan himself writes back to say, "i'm sure you're aware of our continued high regard for mr. murdoch personally, and our appreciation of the importance of what he is doing." it's an incredible show of fealty. with every relationship with a politician, there is a qu

he did not know reagan that well. ronald reagan had been governor of california and ford, on capitol hill, didn't mix that much with governors. so, he didn't know ronald reagan that well. he certainly hoped that reagan would not challenge him. but, reagan had run in 1968, and had come close in 1968, and considered himself next in line. it was his turn for the -- and ford was in the way. and ford has come to his office in an odd sort of way. so, he needed to get out of the way and let reagan run. well, ford had hoped that he could find a way to persuade reagan to not run against him. and in that same month, in march of 1975, he and mrs. ford later that month fly out to california for an event, meet with the reagans, have dinner with them, small talk, in hopes of just, you know, trying to, in a soft way, persuade him not to run. mrs. ford wrote later that after they left that dinner that, they were both convinced ronald reagan was going to run. so, it was a testy relationship forged in that -- in that primary. but, it w

he did not know reagan that well. ronald reagan had come from california. ford on capitol hill did not mix that much with others. he did not know ronald reagan that well. reagan had run in 1968 and had come close and had considered himself next in line, it was his turn and ford was in way. ford had come to this in a way he needed to get out of the way and let reagan run. ford had hoped he could craft away to encourage reagan to not run against him. there in march of 1975 flew out to california met with with small talk in hopes of trying to end the software persuade him not to run. mrs. ford writes letter after they left that dinner they were both convinced ronald reagan was going to run. it was a testy relationship forged in that primary. but it was one there were strong indications ronald reagan might be vice president there's a headline a chicago newspaper touting that very thing. they talked about it and thought better of it. ford was supportive of a reagan during four years. i'm sorry it's eight years in the white house. >> great. couple more questions

reagan said, let's give up. and remember, he had built up all of our medium range missiles in europe in counter to the soviets buildup. he said, let's get rid of all of our short and medium range missiles. and gorbachev says, okay, reagan is great. and then gorbachev says, let's get rid of all of our long range missiles. in other words, everything, all our strategic nukes. and reagan says to shultz can we do that? and shultz says, yes, sir, president, we can. let's do it. so they're going to do it. and they already are working on a plan and the plan essentially would be that the us and the russians and the soviets we would reduce our nuclear weapons stockpiles down. right. about 200 to get us at parity with britain and france. israel india, china. then we lean on all of our allies and do everything we can to a global push for total disarmament and people say this is just impossible, but we outlawed biological weapons. and that doesn't mean that no one can ever cheat. but it means that it's absolutely illegal and

started it with reagan soundbites. looking at the big issues that reagan dealt with, the big issues we are dealing with today. so it all works out. i want to say hi to my friends. and i know i have other friends in the audience. but let's talk grant. >> -- eight or nine years ago -- about your first book, about the real challenges you had with your son, paul. a remarkable book. please tell us he's okay. >> yes, he's great. that book is called "special heart" -- >> hope -- oh, my gosh, what is it? i'm thinking grants, i'm thinking -- anyway, bottom line -- paul is doing fantastic. his last open heart surgery was in december. and paul is now an inch taller than me. he wears a size 13 shoe. he is a golfer, a basketball player. so thank you. >> [applause] >> bret, it seems in your books, your choices of precedence presidents to study, you look for inflection points. a moment in time where that particular president nearly changed the course of history. is that how you go after your subjects? >> when we started this -- and y

i started with reagan sound bites. the issues that reagan deal with that were big issues when we are dealing with the debt so it kind of all works out pretty well to say hi to my friends and i know i have friends in the audience. we are here to talk about grant. years ago you wrote your first book in the challenges you had with your son paul, remarkable but please tell me he's okay. >> he's doing great. that book is called special hearted journey of hope and courage. oh my gosh courage and love. i'm thinking grand and i'm thinking, anyway bottom line he is doing fantastic. he's had four open-heart surgeries and 10 angioplasties in this last one was in december and paul is now an inch taller than me. he's 6 feet tall. he is a golfer and a basketball player and he's doing fantastic so thank you very much. [applause] >> bret in your book you chose presidents to study that are oftentimes at an inflection point in their presidency. a moment in time in that particular president uniquely change the course of history. is that

ronald reagan was going to run. so it was a testy relationship, forged in that primary. but remember, in 1980, there were strong indications that ronald reagan might pick gerald ford as his vice president. a chicago newspaper, touting that very thing, they thought better of it, and they both decided that wasn't the right course, and ford was supportive of his four years, oh i'm sorry, it's eight years in the white house. so a couple of more questions on the q&a here. can you talk a bit more about his role in participation in the warren commission? >> if you tally up the amount of time that each of the seven commissioners gave to the warren commission, no one is going to top earl warren. he is going to have -- for some, a controversial pick, ford had a relationship with the fbi, and he was the, mouth eyes, and ears of the fbi, on that commission, it's nothing of that, there's no evidence of it. but forward and earl warren flew to dallas to question jack ruby after jack ruby killed oswald, and question him at length -

we were there, the famous reagan speech.lizabeth was the world war ii survivor, of course, worked during the blitz, worked in uniform. among the allies, she really had the most memorable involvement in the great war. >> yes. there's so many firsts with queen elizabeth. think of when she took -- when she came to the thrown. before she came to the thrown, they gave -- she was the heir, she gave that extraordinary radio address saying that her entire life, whether it be long or short, would be in the service of her people. from that in 1947, before taking the thrown, to 2014 when she was the first british monarch to send a tweet. it spans this entire incredible range of time and change. and she has been one constant throughout 70 years. it's just extraordinary. first prime minister was winston churchill, her last liz truss. i won't say last, she has proven resilient in the past but clearly this is a different situation now. never have we seen the family gathering in this way, an announcement like this coming from the palace. so

president ronald reagan that took out a whole class of nuclear weapons.t earn him in nobel peace prize. joe biden cited this achievement in his tribute, describing gorbachev as a man of remarkable vision. he said, the result was a safer world of greater freedom for millions of people. antonio guterres, the u.n. secretary-general, said the world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace. the e.u. commission president, ursula von de leyen, said gorbachev played a crucial role to end the cold war and bring down the iron curtain. it opened the way for a free europe. gorbachev had a huge impact on the course of world history. he deeply understood reforms were necessary and strove to offer solutions. many russians see him as the man who stood by as the soviet union disintegrated. >> his legacy is that he allowed for the peaceful collapse of the soviet union. he did not use massive force to keep eastern europe in the empire, and for that, he deserves credit. but it is not that this was someone who came in tryin

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ford, reagan and nixon were all in california at the same time. on the wall if that was true. >> you think she had a favorite? >> very revered -- well, she never said. but we can tell by the body language. we can tell by how she related to them. her first sitting president was dwight eisenhower. in the photographs we can tell a lot. she knew him as an adolescent growing up. he was in the england for the latter years of war. when he came to the white house, there's a wonderful photograph of the two of them at a dinner where she is bejewelled and beautiful and new queen, great curiosity about her. he's looking at her with great pride, grandfather would take, when a young granddaughter was beginning to blossom. and you can see that he's just beaming with pride. on his attire, is a sash carrying the medal of the order of merit, which is the highest honor an american can retain. she remembered that. her father had given it to him. they went to a picnic together at balmoral. she sent him a recipe how to make the scones he such praised and asked for. >>

bush is running to take on the reagan mantle. read my lips, no new taxes.olding the bag, with an assortment of staggering problems did >> when the president calls, some come running. all agree that this is an urgent problem. >> could they be bailed out without a tax increase? >> i don't think so. i think that is becoming the conclusion of most people. >> bush had to fill this smoking hole left by reagan and the only way to do that was to pass new legislation. we do start dipping into taxpayer money. >> senator say the only bailout will be for depositors, not bad anchors. >> no needs to worry about one nickel of their money. >> this legislation says, to tens of millions of s&l depositors, you will not be the them of other's mistakes. thank you very much. i am proud to sign this monster. >> essentially, george bush is covering the biggest overdraft in history. >> bush caves. he raises taxes. that kills them politically but saves america economically. >> listen carefully to this number. 500 billion dollars. that is the latest estimate of what the failure of hu

is >> not ronald reagan much not even three presidents who won new york. nope.blican worthy of your vote. they like senator romney but not presidential candidate romney. not a single republican candidate for president in highin -- my lifetime has been deemed worthy of your vote. 1984, ronald reagan was up for reelection, opening line of the times endorsement editorial read in part. we're for walter mondale, even though ronald reagan has done a good job, not than other people were for mondale. he lost 49 out of 50 states. winning annually his home state of minnesota, and that was close, electoral college count was 525 to 13. reagan won popular vote by nearly 20 percentage points, if you like unity, you should have loved 1984, i don't think we'll see a presidential candidate unify the nation like rig reagan did in 1994, even then the times and minnesota on the other side, we hear phrase anti-democratic a lot from the writers at "new york times," some might argue when you are the other side of 525 electoral votes, you might be anti-d democratic, i'll safe you the m

well, ronald reagan's most quoted author has a new book coming out. the theme is, quote, we live in a twilight zone beyond capitalism and freedom. and the book is called life capitalism. george, we appreciate your time on book tv. thank you so much, peter. always well, here on book tv, we want to introduce you to stephen kent. he has written a book called how the force can fix the world lessons on life, liberty and happiness from a galaxy far far away. mr. kent, that cover and some of the words you use in that title. sound familiar? what's this on? this is based on our star has dominated our cultural for almost four decades since it originally hit the theaters in 1977 and has given us sort of this

i'm a big ronald reagan fan. and so once up there, my book is about ronald reagan and what i think america needs new ronald reagan. i don't know who it but i think this would crazy things in the moment you have a new ronald reagan i move from the united i move from germany to the united states. reiner seidelman has written 26 books, the most recent is the power of capitalism. a journey through recent history across continents. thank you for joining us on c-span's book tv. good evening, everyone, and welcome to politics and prose. i'm brad graham, the co-owner of the store, along with my wife, lissa muscatine. and we're very excited to have with us this evening one of my favorite journalists, the ever entertaining mark leibovich, who's to talk about his revealing amuse and ultimately quite alarmed my new book, thank you for your service to donald trump's washington and the price of submission. mark has enjoyed a distinguished career in journalism with with

i'm a big ronald reagan fan. and so once up there, my book is about ronald reagan and what i think america needs new ronald reagan. i don't know who it but i think this would crazy things in the moment you have a new ronald reagan i move from the united i move from germany to the united states. reiner seidelman has written 26 books, the most recent is the power of capitalism. a journey through recent history across continents. thank you for joining us on c-span's book tv.

one of his biggest achievements was signing a disarmament treaty with you as president ronald reagan that took out a whole class of nuclear weapons. it earned him a nobel prize. jo by cited this achievement in his tribute describing gorbachev as a man of remarkable vision. he said the result was a safer world and greater freedom from millions of people. antonio garish, the un secretary general, said the world has lost a towering global leader. committed multi naturalists and tireless advocate for peace. you commission president ursula van de lion said gorbachev played a crucial role to end the cold war and bring down the iron curtain. it opened the way for a free your gorbachev had a huge impact on the course of world history. he deeply understood reforms were necessary and strove to offer solutions. many russians see him as the man who stood by the soviet union disintegrated. his legacy is dead. he allowed, or the peaceful collapse of the soviet union did not use massive force or keep eastern europe. ah, in the empire, and with that, he deserves credit. but it is not that this was s

mister thatcher and president reagan. but as my 2 colleagues are said, he on least forces and i agree is not, and i was not naive. he and leave courses by these let's say middle ran through forms that, that were dealing with even even today. and i that the paradox of how he's perceived in east and west is at 1st counseling, but it ends up really being a part of the same same change, same transformation, and european security that he help leave. and he does deserve credit for that. on the other hand, i think that we have to be very careful not to lie and eyes him. he was a communist. he was a reform communist to whatever you want to call it. but i would have to be careful to go back to the error and it coincided almost exactly with the beginning of my foreign service career. so i remembered very clearly that he was not a democrat, as people often said, even this week he was not a democrat. he was a believer in a better soviet union as possible. and marcia said, and that's something you had for us in the west at the time, w