Cannon, Lou. Reagan. New York: Putnam, 1982.
Lou Cannon has covered Ronald Reagan for thirty-six years, first as a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, later as the White House correspondent for the Washington Post. He began with covering Reagan's first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and continued until Reagan's recent death in 2004. His other books on Reagan include Ronnie and Jesse: A Political Odyssey, Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio, President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power, and several others.
After following and working closely with Reagan, Cannon forms an obvious relationship and opinion of him. Cannon admits that he "like(s) and respect(s) Ronald Reagan while remaining skeptical that his actions will achieve the results he intends," (Cannon, 1981, 15). Cannon writes that he was at first skeptical of Reagan's abilities to perform as president; specifically with foreign policy and his economic theories. However, Cannon argues that Reagan's presidency may mirror his governorship, "he started ineptly but soon evolved into a competent governor who was willing to sacrifice ideology for political achievement," (Cannon, 1981, 15). Because this book was written during Regan's first year as president, Cannon is unable to record complete evidence to support his own theory, although he accomplishes this in his following books about President Reagan. Cannon, an obvious conservative supporter of Reagan, includes criticisms and shortcomings of Reagan as well as praise. Cannon does not let his personal relationship skew his writings and has thus become known as Reagan's definitive biographer.
Cannon's mission to provide an in depth biography of the nation's fortieth president and his ability to lead, begins by tracing Reagan's origins, his hopes and dreams, fears, achievements and failures. Cannon provides the reader with insight to Reagan's childhood and adolescent years and attempts to explain the beginnings of Reagan's motivations, optimism and determination. Cannon argues that much of Reagan's optimism, determination and political motivation spur from living through the Depression. Reagan sees the Depression as a national tragedy, not a personal one, and forever becomes enthralled with Presi...
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...f Reagan's life including those listed previously.
Reagan offers an insight into the former president's life and presidency prior to 1982. It is well written, providing colorful anecdotes which keep the reader's interest. The personal stories give vivid insight into Reagan's childhood, young adult life and early political career. Although intended to support the idea that Reagan was prepared and qualified for the presidency, Reagan is comprised of over four hundred pages describing Reagan as ill-equipped for the job. Cannon's overcompensation for detachment contradicts his argument that," He (Reagan) belonged in the White House. He had every right to dream heroic dreams," (Cannon, 1981, 411). Though the book is well researched and organized its evidence overwhelms its conclusion.
Reference:
Cannon, Lou. Reagan. New York: Putnam, 1982.
Cooke, Allistair, "Reagan." Review of Reagan, by Lou Cannon. New Yorker, March 14, 1983, 148.
Wilkie, Curtis, "Reagan," Review of Reagan, by Lou Cannon. New York Times Book Review, October 3, 1982.
In this fifth book in their series Killing, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard begin with the death of “the former leader of the free world, the man who defeated Soviet communism and ended the Cold War.” A fine tribute, but as the story of Reagan’s life unfolds, told through
Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." Presidential Studies Quarterly 36, no. 1 (03, 2006): 75-88. http://search.proquest.com/docview/215684612?accountid=8289.
... years in office. Even when President Reagan, didn’t make wise decisions, he took full blame for them, which made the American population trust him and gain more popularity. With his many major accomplishments in helping the American people, and putting them first, really helped in his favor. Reagan has built up the US military to what it is now because he believed that we needed to “restore America's ability to defend itself and fulfill its responsibilities as a trustee of freedom and peace in the world” (Wild Thing, January 21, 2006). President Reagan is man that has a heart and soul with America, and will fight for our freedoms and rights for as long as his lives. In 1994, President Reagan got Alzheimer’s disease, left public life, and died on June 5, 2004 from pneumonia. Reagan is still looked up to and is considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time.
President Reagan, at the time in the beginnings of his second term, had successfully maintained overall a high approval rating with the American people. He had won their trust and respect by being quite relatable to the average citizen (Cannon). He had planned that evening to give his State of the Union address, but instead postponed it. The tragedy that had unfolded just hours earlier demanded his complete attention (Eidenmuller 29).
Reagan touches the people of the United States because he expresses grief and sorrow in his speech. After the disaster, Reagan uses tone effectively to commemorate the deaths of the crew. “They had a special grace” or “your loved ones were loving and brave”(3) are examples of how Reagan sympathizes with the mourning families. This tone not only allows the families to grieve their losses, it also provides them with the opportunity to feel proud about their children’s accomplishments. Furthermore, Reagan uses tone to carry the people’s afflictions after the Challenger crash and change it into confidence. The people of the United States look at this crash as a failure, but Reagan turns it around when he says, “what happened today does nothing to diminish it”(6) and “we will continue to follow them” (5). Reagan’s use of tone allows him to inspire the United States to keep moving forward after the flop. This hope is what makes Reagan’s speech so successful. Tone and rhetorical appeals guide the speech but Reagan’s use of rhetorical devices is what makes the speech so successful.
Works Cited "American President Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. -. Web. The Web.
The election of 1980 brought the re-nominated Democratic candidate, Jimmy Carter, against the newly nominated Republican candidate, Ronald Reagan. While Carter ran a rather “gloom and doom” campaign, Reagan came into the election upbeat and with high hopes of rebuilding the military. Americans, weary of the liberal government, elected Ronald Reagan. Reagan came into the Presidency wanting to restore United States leadership in world affairs w...
10.) Gates, David. "A New Whack at the Borden Case." Newsweek, June 4, 1984: 12.
Jimmy Carter's one-term administration is associated with the occasions that overpowered it—expansion, vitality emergency, war in Afghanistan, and prisoners in Iran. After one term in office, voters unequivocally rejected Jimmy Carter's straightforward however melancholy standpoint for Ronald Reagan's telegenic positive thinking. In the previous two decades, in any case, there has been more extensive acknowledgment that Carter, in spite of an absence of experience, stood up to a few tremendous issues with unfaltering quality, valor, and optimism. Alongside his ancestor Gerald Ford, Carter must be given acknowledgment for restoring the equalization to the sacred framework after the abundances of the
...imes when we are faced with national tragedies we are left at a loss for words. We look upon our leaders to help us through these difficult times, to have all the answers. We listen to what they have to say with vulnerability and uncertainty of what’s to come next for our country. Reagan was aware of all these factors when he gave his famous address. He was aware that in order for any argument to be considered a powerful and successful one it needs to be thought through and take into consideration the outside factors that are affecting it. Reagan’s challenger argument was one that had a clear audience, distinct setting, and finally the argument had a definite and in this case necessary purpose. By Reagan utilizing these three elements and effectively combining them he created a memorable speech that is now widely considered a masterpiece of public communication.
Weinraub, Bernard “Reagan Postpones State of Union Speech.” The New York Times 29 Jan. 1986:A9.
I have decided to write my research paper on the topic of Ronald Reagan's Domestic and Foreign Affairs. The reason that I choose this topic was because I have always been personally interested in Ronald Reagan's time in office and the national crisis he had to deal with. Reagan was awesome when it came to foreign policy because he knew how to negotiate with foreign leaders and their countries to get what he wanted. There were several instances during his time in office that he had the chance to use his ability to get the country out of danger. Domestic Affairs is another part of Reagan's presidency that was very important. He was able to take the country, which seemed to be in an economic slump and turn their economic status around. The economic growth of the United States is still holding true today. There is only one question that I wanted to answer with this paper. Was Ronald Reagan an effective leader when it came to domestic and foreign affairs?
Lasky, Victor. (1979). Jimmy Carter the Man & the Myth. New York: Richard Marek Publishers
The fallowing passage is about Ronald Reagan and his heroic accomplishments that made his legacy. It contains specific information on how he accomplished the things he did, and covers why he is a hero in many peoples opinion.
When Ronald Reagan was a boy, his home was formed in a Christian faith lifestyle, his dad, however, was Catholic and his mom Protestant. Religion made a part and partially broke the family over a simple, yet complex difference. Nelle, his mother, though was more