1 00:00:03,294 --> 00:00:04,504 -[Ronald] Where do you want me? -[man] You're right. 2 00:00:04,546 --> 00:00:05,964 [man] No, you're gonna sit right there. 3 00:00:06,006 --> 00:00:09,926 [indistinct conversations] 4 00:00:09,968 --> 00:00:11,177 [Ronald] Hello, Robert. 5 00:00:11,219 --> 00:00:12,512 [indistinct chatter continues] 6 00:00:12,554 --> 00:00:15,598 [man] Mr. Vice President. Good to see you. 7 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:20,520 [indistinct chatter continues] 8 00:00:20,562 --> 00:00:22,480 dramatic music plays 9 00:00:25,692 --> 00:00:28,695 [camera shutter clicks] 10 00:00:28,737 --> 00:00:34,784 [indistinct chatter continues] 11 00:00:37,954 --> 00:00:39,706 [man] Mr. President, how could so much be going on 12 00:00:39,748 --> 00:00:42,542 inside your White House without you knowing about it, sir? 13 00:00:49,257 --> 00:00:52,052 [man] Mr. President, as a result... 14 00:00:52,093 --> 00:00:53,511 [chuckles] 15 00:01:04,606 --> 00:01:07,567 [woman] Well, don't you think it's-- 16 00:01:07,609 --> 00:01:09,069 [laughs] 17 00:01:09,110 --> 00:01:12,822 [applause] 18 00:01:17,077 --> 00:01:20,914 [applause continues] 19 00:01:20,955 --> 00:01:22,499 I'm Dorothy Ridings, 20 00:01:22,540 --> 00:01:23,958 President of the League of Women Voters, 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,878 the sponsor of tonight's first presidential debate 22 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,256 between Republican Ronald Reagan, 23 00:01:30,298 --> 00:01:32,300 and Democrat Walter Mondale. 24 00:01:32,342 --> 00:01:35,261 And now let us begin the debate 25 00:01:35,303 --> 00:01:37,388 with the first question, Mr. Wieghart. 26 00:01:37,430 --> 00:01:39,599 Mr. President, in 1980... 27 00:01:39,641 --> 00:01:41,226 [Baker] When the red light went on the camera, 28 00:01:41,267 --> 00:01:43,895 he was superb. 29 00:01:43,937 --> 00:01:48,316 And so I was always one who was in favor of his debating 30 00:01:48,358 --> 00:01:49,818 because I thought he was so good. 31 00:01:49,859 --> 00:01:52,445 I mean, he didn't have facts and figures. 32 00:01:52,487 --> 00:01:54,447 He wasn't a policy wonk. 33 00:01:54,489 --> 00:01:56,574 But he could take the temperature 34 00:01:56,616 --> 00:01:58,952 of the American people pretty damn well. 35 00:01:58,993 --> 00:02:01,121 The system is still where it was 36 00:02:01,162 --> 00:02:05,625 with regard to, uh...the... 37 00:02:05,667 --> 00:02:09,087 uh...with regard to the-- the, uh... 38 00:02:09,129 --> 00:02:11,047 progressivity, as I've said. 39 00:02:11,089 --> 00:02:13,091 Well, the first debate was a fucking disaster. 40 00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:15,635 And the guy that knew it was a disaster was Ronald Reagan. 41 00:02:15,677 --> 00:02:18,930 So there are a host of other figures 42 00:02:18,972 --> 00:02:21,641 that reveal that... 43 00:02:21,683 --> 00:02:26,104 the, uh, the--the grant programs 44 00:02:26,146 --> 00:02:30,859 are spending a third more on all of the...uh... 45 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:34,195 well, all of the programs of human service. 46 00:02:34,237 --> 00:02:37,198 We...We have... 47 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,701 We have more people receiving food stamps... 48 00:02:39,742 --> 00:02:41,870 [Ron Jr.] I was watching it on television, 49 00:02:41,911 --> 00:02:43,788 and I began to, you know, think, you know, 50 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:45,832 "Whoa, what--what is happening? 51 00:02:45,874 --> 00:02:48,459 This--he doesn't-- this is not my familiar father 52 00:02:48,501 --> 00:02:50,128 here on the TV in this debate." 53 00:02:50,170 --> 00:02:51,838 And a lot of people started talking then 54 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:53,381 about what's wrong with him? 55 00:02:53,423 --> 00:02:56,217 Is he too old to be president? Does he have Alzheimer's? 56 00:02:56,259 --> 00:02:58,887 So this was a discussion that was sort of widespread 57 00:02:58,928 --> 00:03:00,263 in the country. 58 00:03:00,305 --> 00:03:02,557 [man] One case study was Mrs. Reagan's reaction 59 00:03:02,599 --> 00:03:04,142 to the first debate with Walter Mondale, 60 00:03:04,184 --> 00:03:06,769 and the president's fumbling performance. 61 00:03:06,811 --> 00:03:10,523 She was upset, and everybody knew it. 62 00:03:10,565 --> 00:03:12,317 -And rightly so. -How so? 63 00:03:12,358 --> 00:03:15,361 I mean, what did she-- did she chew people out 64 00:03:15,403 --> 00:03:16,696 or what... I mean, what went on? 65 00:03:16,738 --> 00:03:18,323 Oh, I'm not gonna get into that. 66 00:03:18,364 --> 00:03:19,365 You-- you'd have to ask her that. 67 00:03:19,407 --> 00:03:22,035 -I was upset. -Because? 68 00:03:22,076 --> 00:03:26,289 Because I thought they'd gone about it all wrong. 69 00:03:26,331 --> 00:03:27,874 And they had. [chuckles] 70 00:03:27,916 --> 00:03:29,375 In terms of preparing the president? 71 00:03:29,417 --> 00:03:31,628 Yes. Yes. They overloaded him. 72 00:03:31,669 --> 00:03:34,380 He know--He--He-- he knows all those things. 73 00:03:34,422 --> 00:03:37,550 They don't have to overload him. 74 00:03:37,592 --> 00:03:39,177 -And were they... -[Spencer] He screwed up. 75 00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:42,722 It was not because these facts were put in his head. 76 00:03:42,764 --> 00:03:45,225 It's because he did not do his homework. 77 00:03:45,266 --> 00:03:49,896 Weekend before the debate, three of us went to Camp David. 78 00:03:49,938 --> 00:03:54,192 I brought the debate book, which was six inches thick, 79 00:03:54,234 --> 00:03:55,860 put it on a credenza. 80 00:03:55,902 --> 00:03:57,570 He was supposed to start doing his homework. 81 00:03:57,612 --> 00:03:59,322 I go to my cabin. 82 00:03:59,364 --> 00:04:01,741 I get a phone call, "Hey, you wanna watch a movie?" 83 00:04:01,783 --> 00:04:03,284 He says, "What do you wanna watch? 84 00:04:03,326 --> 00:04:07,705 Bedtime for Bonzo " I said, "No." "Why?" 85 00:04:07,747 --> 00:04:11,584 I said, "Listen, any time the lead actor's a gorilla, 86 00:04:11,626 --> 00:04:13,503 it's a crappy movie." 87 00:04:13,544 --> 00:04:18,258 He walks in the bedroom, pissed. Nancy's over there like this. 88 00:04:18,299 --> 00:04:21,719 She goes, "Stu, he loves Bedtime for Bonzo. 89 00:04:21,761 --> 00:04:24,764 You're on thin ice." [laughs] 90 00:04:24,806 --> 00:04:27,558 I said, "Okay. I'll watch the goddamn picture." 91 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,563 [film reel whirring] 92 00:04:32,605 --> 00:04:34,565 [Spencer] The whole weekend, I watched the debate book. 93 00:04:34,607 --> 00:04:37,110 It didn't move. 94 00:04:37,151 --> 00:04:40,196 Two days later, he screws up the debate. 95 00:04:40,238 --> 00:04:42,532 I knew it. He knew it. 96 00:04:42,573 --> 00:04:44,450 [applause] 97 00:04:44,492 --> 00:04:46,786 Nancy made her feelings very clear, 98 00:04:46,828 --> 00:04:51,124 as only she could, that her husband didn't win 99 00:04:51,165 --> 00:04:54,502 with the quality of his arguments. 100 00:04:54,544 --> 00:04:57,338 [applause] - He had to win by being 101 00:04:57,380 --> 00:04:59,799 so familiar and friendly 102 00:04:59,841 --> 00:05:03,720 that the facts wouldn't matter. 103 00:05:03,761 --> 00:05:06,597 He was a performer at heart. 104 00:05:06,639 --> 00:05:11,102 Having a wife who was able to buck him up 105 00:05:11,144 --> 00:05:14,772 and tell him that he-- he'd do fine in the next debate, 106 00:05:14,814 --> 00:05:17,150 that was really important for that second debate. 107 00:05:17,191 --> 00:05:19,652 [man] I recall yet that President Kennedy 108 00:05:19,694 --> 00:05:21,654 had to go for days on end with very little sleep 109 00:05:21,696 --> 00:05:24,073 during the Cuba missile crisis. 110 00:05:24,115 --> 00:05:26,492 Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able 111 00:05:26,534 --> 00:05:28,494 to function in such circumstances? 112 00:05:28,536 --> 00:05:30,121 Not at all. 113 00:05:30,163 --> 00:05:32,457 [Rollins] We kept him very relaxed the second time. 114 00:05:32,498 --> 00:05:34,667 All he had to do is not stand up there and drool, 115 00:05:34,709 --> 00:05:36,419 and he'd been just fine, and he-- 116 00:05:36,461 --> 00:05:37,795 and he had this humorous line. 117 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:41,341 I will not make age an issue of this campaign. 118 00:05:41,382 --> 00:05:45,803 I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, 119 00:05:45,845 --> 00:05:48,014 my opponent's youth and inexperience. 120 00:05:48,056 --> 00:05:51,351 [laughter] 121 00:05:51,392 --> 00:05:53,186 [Rollins] That was over. The race was over. 122 00:05:53,227 --> 00:05:55,396 I said, "Fuck. Get that on the air, baby. 123 00:05:55,438 --> 00:05:57,023 That's--That's the game." 124 00:05:57,065 --> 00:06:00,151 [Alter] The line was so powerful 125 00:06:00,193 --> 00:06:03,363 that everybody forgot the fact that he had just kind of spilled 126 00:06:03,404 --> 00:06:08,242 the beans about an illegal operation in Nicaragua. 127 00:06:08,284 --> 00:06:10,703 We have a gentleman down in Nicaragua 128 00:06:10,745 --> 00:06:14,332 who is on contract to the CIA, 129 00:06:14,374 --> 00:06:18,628 advising supposedly on military tactics the, uh, Contras. 130 00:06:18,669 --> 00:06:21,172 Mr. President, you are implying then 131 00:06:21,214 --> 00:06:24,175 that the CIA in Nicaragua is directing the Contras there? 132 00:06:24,217 --> 00:06:25,718 I'm afraid I misspoke 133 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,221 when I said, uh, a CIA head in Nicaragua. 134 00:06:28,262 --> 00:06:30,515 There's not someone there directing all this activity. 135 00:06:30,556 --> 00:06:32,058 Uh, there are, as you know... 136 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:36,562 [Alter] Reagan accidentally revealed a covert operation, 137 00:06:36,604 --> 00:06:38,898 but hardly anybody noticed. 138 00:06:38,940 --> 00:06:41,192 A couple of years later, 139 00:06:41,234 --> 00:06:43,820 that would be close to the center of the scandal 140 00:06:43,861 --> 00:06:47,365 that nearly ended the Reagan presidency. 141 00:06:48,950 --> 00:06:51,244 [Stahl] Our job with presidents 142 00:06:51,285 --> 00:06:53,496 is to hold their feet to the fire. 143 00:06:53,538 --> 00:06:56,541 I was encouraged to be very tough at the White House. 144 00:06:56,582 --> 00:07:01,045 But when Reagan came in, my boss has changed direction. 145 00:07:01,087 --> 00:07:04,757 They were taking out things that sounded like criticism, 146 00:07:04,799 --> 00:07:06,801 removing them. 147 00:07:06,843 --> 00:07:10,721 Everybody was afraid to contradict him. 148 00:07:10,763 --> 00:07:13,599 The media was gentler on Reagan 149 00:07:13,641 --> 00:07:16,727 because of public opinion, I think. 150 00:07:16,769 --> 00:07:21,983 [Wiley] Reagan knew exactly how to play on the feelings 151 00:07:22,024 --> 00:07:24,068 of the American public. 152 00:07:24,110 --> 00:07:26,863 He could use his personality and his effectiveness 153 00:07:26,904 --> 00:07:31,117 as a communicator to say, "Don't look at the truth. 154 00:07:31,159 --> 00:07:33,077 Look at what I'm telling you." 155 00:07:33,119 --> 00:07:34,954 Before we begin, 156 00:07:34,996 --> 00:07:36,747 I know we never have enough time or anything, 157 00:07:36,789 --> 00:07:38,124 but I think it's appropriate. 158 00:07:38,166 --> 00:07:40,042 Could you listen to a bit of poetry? 159 00:07:40,084 --> 00:07:42,879 -Yes. [chuckles] -This is from Kipling. 160 00:07:45,506 --> 00:07:47,967 It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation 161 00:07:48,009 --> 00:07:49,802 to call upon a neighbor 162 00:07:49,844 --> 00:07:51,971 and to say, "We invaded you last night. 163 00:07:52,013 --> 00:07:53,639 We are quite prepared to fight, 164 00:07:53,681 --> 00:07:56,309 unless you pay us cash to go away." 165 00:07:56,350 --> 00:07:58,144 [Baker] President Reagan's management style 166 00:07:58,186 --> 00:08:01,814 was to hire people that he had confidence in, 167 00:08:01,856 --> 00:08:04,775 delegate responsibility to them, 168 00:08:04,817 --> 00:08:08,654 and give them the authority to perform. 169 00:08:08,696 --> 00:08:11,741 [Powell] The president was very clear 170 00:08:11,782 --> 00:08:13,659 that he expected us to get the work done. 171 00:08:13,701 --> 00:08:16,996 He wasn't somebody who would spend all his time dialing in 172 00:08:17,038 --> 00:08:18,915 or digging into what you're doing. 173 00:08:18,956 --> 00:08:22,168 He gave us great flexibility, 174 00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:25,129 sometimes too much flexibility, and it got him in trouble. 175 00:08:25,171 --> 00:08:29,383 Today I am announcing the following reassignment 176 00:08:29,425 --> 00:08:33,387 of responsibilities among two of my most senior advisors. 177 00:08:33,429 --> 00:08:37,183 I intend to appoint Donald T. Regan 178 00:08:37,225 --> 00:08:39,685 as Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President 179 00:08:39,727 --> 00:08:41,479 effective upon the date... 180 00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:43,814 [Tumulty] When Don Regan becomes Chief of Staff, 181 00:08:43,856 --> 00:08:46,776 Nancy is not happy. 182 00:08:46,817 --> 00:08:48,694 Along with Baker's departure 183 00:08:48,736 --> 00:08:51,531 is the departure of Michael Deaver, 184 00:08:51,572 --> 00:08:54,992 who was a long-time advisor. 185 00:08:55,034 --> 00:08:58,037 These were Nancy Reagan's eyes and ears. 186 00:08:58,079 --> 00:09:02,250 They were her early warning system in the West Wing. 187 00:09:02,291 --> 00:09:06,963 [indistinct chatter] 188 00:09:11,842 --> 00:09:13,219 [birds chirping] 189 00:09:13,261 --> 00:09:17,014 Don Regan, Gordon told me he's golfed-out. 190 00:09:17,056 --> 00:09:18,641 He's golfed-out? Well, I-- I'm-- 191 00:09:18,683 --> 00:09:20,017 I've got a couple of little things 192 00:09:20,059 --> 00:09:21,811 up here he could do. -[laughs] 193 00:09:21,852 --> 00:09:24,689 He could clear some brush, a little variety. 194 00:09:24,730 --> 00:09:26,816 How is he gonna clear a golf-- brush with a golf club? 195 00:09:26,857 --> 00:09:29,193 [chuckling] 196 00:09:29,235 --> 00:09:32,196 He could do a little riding, exercise some horses. 197 00:09:32,238 --> 00:09:34,282 Mm-hmm. 198 00:09:34,323 --> 00:09:35,950 He should have a change of pace. 199 00:09:35,992 --> 00:09:37,994 -Mm-hmm. -[chuckles] 200 00:09:38,035 --> 00:09:40,079 -Don't you think? -Yeah. 201 00:09:40,121 --> 00:09:44,375 Okay. You tell him. [laughs] 202 00:09:44,417 --> 00:09:45,835 -[man] So help me God. -So help me God. 203 00:09:45,876 --> 00:09:47,420 -Congratulations, sir. -Thank you. 204 00:09:47,461 --> 00:09:49,589 Thank you very much. Just call me "Chief." 205 00:09:49,630 --> 00:09:51,924 [laughter] 206 00:09:51,966 --> 00:09:53,843 [Baker] Don Regan, I don't think, 207 00:09:53,884 --> 00:09:56,596 after he replaced me as Chief of Staff, 208 00:09:56,637 --> 00:10:00,766 ever really understood that this Chief of Staff's job 209 00:10:00,808 --> 00:10:04,186 is primarily a staff job, not a chief job. 210 00:10:04,228 --> 00:10:06,564 How are we doing with the immigration issue? 211 00:10:06,606 --> 00:10:08,858 [Rollins] He didn't give Nancy much reverence. 212 00:10:08,899 --> 00:10:10,276 As a matter of fact, he made the comment, 213 00:10:10,318 --> 00:10:11,944 "I'm not hired to be the fucking Chief of Staff 214 00:10:11,986 --> 00:10:14,113 to the First Lady." 215 00:10:14,155 --> 00:10:18,075 Her political antenna were far more sensitive 216 00:10:18,117 --> 00:10:19,660 than President Reagan's were. 217 00:10:19,702 --> 00:10:24,290 Happy birthday, dear Donald 218 00:10:24,332 --> 00:10:26,459 [Ron Jr.] You could call my father gullible 219 00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:29,795 to a certain extent. He was trusting of people. 220 00:10:29,837 --> 00:10:32,465 She was not. My mother was not. 221 00:10:32,506 --> 00:10:37,511 That was not her default position--trust in people. 222 00:10:37,553 --> 00:10:40,348 [Spencer] Nancy had a great deal of power with her husband, 223 00:10:40,389 --> 00:10:44,518 but she had to hide it in different roles. 224 00:10:47,355 --> 00:10:50,483 [Baker] When we would have an important thing to schedule, 225 00:10:50,524 --> 00:10:53,694 I would go to Dever and I'd say, "Now what about doing this 226 00:10:53,736 --> 00:10:55,154 on such and such a day?" 227 00:10:55,196 --> 00:10:56,656 He said, "Let me check. I'll get back to you." 228 00:10:56,697 --> 00:11:00,951 That happened a few times, and I started thinking, hmm. 229 00:11:00,993 --> 00:11:02,745 I knew we were checking with Nancy, 230 00:11:02,787 --> 00:11:06,666 but I didn't know we were checking with an astrologer. 231 00:11:06,707 --> 00:11:08,292 Are you serious, Ms. Quigley? 232 00:11:08,334 --> 00:11:09,794 What do you mean, am I serious? 233 00:11:09,835 --> 00:11:12,254 I mean, the wife of the President of the United States 234 00:11:12,296 --> 00:11:14,340 would call Joan Quigley 235 00:11:14,382 --> 00:11:17,009 and would talk to her for a couple of hours 236 00:11:17,051 --> 00:11:19,637 on the telephone. -Yes. 237 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:25,142 And would talk about what time a treaty should be signed or-- 238 00:11:25,184 --> 00:11:28,479 Yes, but I'm a very good technical astrologer, 239 00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:30,189 and I know how... 240 00:11:30,231 --> 00:11:32,525 [Kelley] The Reagans dealt with many astrologers 241 00:11:32,566 --> 00:11:37,154 for many years, but the most famous became Joan Quigley. 242 00:11:37,196 --> 00:11:40,491 [Ruth Quigley] When Nancy wanted a new astrologer, 243 00:11:40,533 --> 00:11:44,578 she called Merv Griffin 'cause she and Merv were great pals. 244 00:11:44,620 --> 00:11:46,372 And he said, "Oh, well, the one that always tells me 245 00:11:46,414 --> 00:11:48,499 the right things is Joan Quigley." 246 00:11:52,253 --> 00:11:53,587 [Kelley] Nancy Reagan relied on Joan Quigley. 247 00:11:53,629 --> 00:11:58,718 She would call her sometimes eight times a day 248 00:11:58,759 --> 00:12:03,681 for almost everything, down to unbelievable details, 249 00:12:03,723 --> 00:12:07,184 including the takeoff and landings times 250 00:12:07,226 --> 00:12:10,479 for Air Force One. 251 00:12:10,521 --> 00:12:14,900 It was astrology that charted their way. 252 00:12:14,942 --> 00:12:17,737 But nobody knew that at the time. 253 00:12:20,406 --> 00:12:23,534 [Ruth] Joan timed all of the press conferences, 254 00:12:23,576 --> 00:12:25,911 the State of the Unions. 255 00:12:25,953 --> 00:12:32,042 She defused so many difficult situations for them. 256 00:12:32,084 --> 00:12:35,921 She would say, "Make no foreign pronouncements on this day," 257 00:12:35,963 --> 00:12:39,925 or when Ronald Reagan wanted to arm twist a congressman, 258 00:12:39,967 --> 00:12:42,595 Joan could tell him when to do it. 259 00:12:43,137 --> 00:12:45,431 [Spencer] People have always asked me on that question 260 00:12:45,473 --> 00:12:48,267 of astrology and Nancy, "What about the husband?" 261 00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:50,311 He and I had the conversation. 262 00:12:50,352 --> 00:12:52,772 That's her thing. Leave her alone. 263 00:12:52,813 --> 00:12:54,148 [applause] 264 00:12:54,190 --> 00:12:57,151 [Tumulty] For her, astrology was a crutch. 265 00:12:57,193 --> 00:13:00,863 Nancy did not have religion to fall back on, 266 00:13:00,905 --> 00:13:04,617 and Ronald Reagan had a very deep religious faith. 267 00:13:04,658 --> 00:13:10,289 He truly believed that God had a plan for him. 268 00:13:10,331 --> 00:13:15,461 [cheers and applause] 269 00:13:16,337 --> 00:13:18,881 Religious America is awakening 270 00:13:18,923 --> 00:13:21,967 perhaps just in time for our country's sake. 271 00:13:22,009 --> 00:13:23,761 [applause] 272 00:13:23,803 --> 00:13:26,722 [Alter] Reagan's religious background 273 00:13:26,764 --> 00:13:30,726 and conservative ideas really resonated with a group 274 00:13:30,768 --> 00:13:34,605 of right-wing evangelical Christians 275 00:13:34,647 --> 00:13:39,276 who decided to get more heavily involved in politics, 276 00:13:39,318 --> 00:13:43,781 and Reagan saw that as an opportunity. 277 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:47,159 [Spencer] And Christian right, then termed a Moral Majority, 278 00:13:47,201 --> 00:13:49,787 it was a very large voting bloc. 279 00:13:49,829 --> 00:13:54,291 And on a lot of the issues, social issues particularly, 280 00:13:54,333 --> 00:13:57,711 we had an inside track. 281 00:13:57,753 --> 00:14:01,966 Reagan and I would go out to pay our allegiances to Falwell. 282 00:14:02,007 --> 00:14:05,761 The reverend's thing was Roe vs. Wade. 283 00:14:05,803 --> 00:14:08,597 When we left, I said, "Mr. President, 284 00:14:08,639 --> 00:14:10,474 are you gonna give serious thought 285 00:14:10,516 --> 00:14:13,686 to reversing Roe vs. Wade?" 286 00:14:13,727 --> 00:14:16,689 He turned to me with that big Irish smile, and he says, 287 00:14:16,730 --> 00:14:18,858 "Stu, do I look insane?" 288 00:14:21,151 --> 00:14:23,195 Well, he got politically close, 289 00:14:23,237 --> 00:14:26,198 as close as we could get away with, 290 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,827 and we got a lot of money out of 'em. 291 00:14:29,869 --> 00:14:32,371 [woman] Claiming to receive $400,000 a week 292 00:14:32,413 --> 00:14:34,874 in contributions, the Moral Majority movement 293 00:14:34,915 --> 00:14:37,710 believes that all of America's problems are the byproduct 294 00:14:37,751 --> 00:14:42,548 of moral decadence and runaway Democratic liberalism. 295 00:14:42,590 --> 00:14:44,258 [Ron Jr.] To some extent, at least, 296 00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:46,427 my father did let the genie out of the bottle 297 00:14:46,468 --> 00:14:48,053 with the link between the Republican Party 298 00:14:48,095 --> 00:14:49,513 and the evangelical right-- 299 00:14:49,555 --> 00:14:51,891 the unholy alliance that we see now. 300 00:14:53,726 --> 00:14:57,104 [Shearer] Ronald Reagan didn't go to church a lot, 301 00:14:57,146 --> 00:14:59,481 and for him to then embrace the Moral Majority, I think, 302 00:14:59,523 --> 00:15:03,360 was pure political opportunism, which he did well. 303 00:15:03,402 --> 00:15:05,029 [man] What's happened? 304 00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:06,363 Twenty million Americans have herpes, 305 00:15:06,405 --> 00:15:09,158 incurable venereal disease. 306 00:15:09,199 --> 00:15:10,492 Many more have AIDS, 307 00:15:10,534 --> 00:15:13,621 incurable and in most cases fatal. 308 00:15:13,662 --> 00:15:17,541 God was angered, and God has judged a society. 309 00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:22,755 suspenseful music plays 310 00:15:40,481 --> 00:15:41,523 What? 311 00:15:50,824 --> 00:15:51,951 [laughter] 312 00:16:15,516 --> 00:16:18,477 There was a lot of willful blindness 313 00:16:18,519 --> 00:16:21,480 to--to what was happening all around them. 314 00:16:23,524 --> 00:16:25,776 [Ron Jr.] I don't mean to be making excuses for him 315 00:16:25,818 --> 00:16:29,989 because it's not defensible, but when he took office, 316 00:16:30,030 --> 00:16:31,782 there was no such thing as AIDS. 317 00:16:31,824 --> 00:16:34,076 It existed, obviously, but nobody knew what it was. 318 00:16:34,118 --> 00:16:36,161 There was this mysterious illness that seemed 319 00:16:36,203 --> 00:16:39,081 to be affecting mostly gay men and IV drug users. 320 00:16:39,123 --> 00:16:42,376 Not big Republican, you know, constituents. 321 00:16:43,836 --> 00:16:46,630 They had gay friends, but he probably 322 00:16:46,672 --> 00:16:49,425 would have put them in a different category. 323 00:16:49,466 --> 00:16:51,552 You know, not our kind of gay people. 324 00:16:53,053 --> 00:16:56,849 [Kelley] It is hypocritical because with Nancy, 325 00:16:56,890 --> 00:16:58,851 everybody around her 326 00:16:58,892 --> 00:17:00,477 that helped her, 327 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:04,148 and made her look good and feel good was gay. 328 00:17:04,189 --> 00:17:07,526 But because the politics of the time, 329 00:17:07,568 --> 00:17:09,528 she kept that façade. 330 00:17:11,697 --> 00:17:15,534 [Shearer] When he came to Yale University in 1967, 331 00:17:15,576 --> 00:17:17,745 end of the first year as governor, 332 00:17:17,786 --> 00:17:21,415 I asked Reagan whether he thought homosexuals 333 00:17:21,457 --> 00:17:24,501 had the right to serve in government. 334 00:17:24,543 --> 00:17:26,754 Well, I think we're getting into an area now 335 00:17:26,795 --> 00:17:31,383 where we can debate, uh, what is an illness 336 00:17:31,425 --> 00:17:32,801 or whether it is an illness or not. 337 00:17:32,843 --> 00:17:34,553 I happen to subscribe to the belief 338 00:17:34,595 --> 00:17:36,555 that it is a tragic illness. 339 00:17:36,597 --> 00:17:38,724 [Shearer] And then he kind of thought and he said, 340 00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:40,893 "And it should be illegal." 341 00:17:40,934 --> 00:17:43,353 [man] I would like to ask you if you also think 342 00:17:43,395 --> 00:17:45,064 that certain other tragic illnesses 343 00:17:45,105 --> 00:17:48,233 like tuberculosis, cancer, mental illness, 344 00:17:48,275 --> 00:17:51,528 and heart disease should also be considered illegal? 345 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:58,160 We recognize this as a form of illness and neurosis. 346 00:17:58,202 --> 00:17:59,787 As a result of that illness, 347 00:17:59,828 --> 00:18:01,789 they are not content to simply suffer 348 00:18:01,830 --> 00:18:05,417 the illness themselves but they seek to get others 349 00:18:05,459 --> 00:18:07,711 who'll catch the ailment. 350 00:18:07,753 --> 00:18:10,547 And from that standpoint, yes, I believe that we have right 351 00:18:10,589 --> 00:18:13,467 to a protection with regard to the practice 352 00:18:13,509 --> 00:18:16,637 that follows such an illness. 353 00:18:20,182 --> 00:18:24,311 People knew very little about homosexuality. 354 00:18:24,353 --> 00:18:26,438 In the summer of 1981 355 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,565 when the first cases were identified, 356 00:18:28,607 --> 00:18:31,443 we were seen as an inherent danger. 357 00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:34,446 This was the transition from homosexuality 358 00:18:34,488 --> 00:18:37,366 being on a list of biblical vices 359 00:18:37,407 --> 00:18:39,618 to being a person you need to be afraid of, 360 00:18:39,660 --> 00:18:41,787 a person who is an inherent threat to society, 361 00:18:41,829 --> 00:18:43,580 to your family. 362 00:18:43,622 --> 00:18:46,041 It felt like there was a bull's eye on our back. 363 00:18:46,083 --> 00:18:49,586 It really felt like we were targeted. 364 00:18:49,628 --> 00:18:51,547 [man] What is your response to those who say 365 00:18:51,588 --> 00:18:55,050 that only a small, unsavory group of people is affected by it? 366 00:18:55,092 --> 00:18:57,803 To say that only a small unsavory group of people 367 00:18:57,845 --> 00:19:00,013 are affected with it is really... 368 00:19:00,055 --> 00:19:03,267 is outlandish because we know that the virus 369 00:19:03,308 --> 00:19:06,979 can and is infecting a variety of people in the population. 370 00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:09,690 And to say because someone has a particular lifestyle 371 00:19:09,731 --> 00:19:12,234 that they're unsavory, I think is objectionable. 372 00:19:12,276 --> 00:19:15,612 It just seemed that Reagan 373 00:19:15,654 --> 00:19:18,031 was being fed or accepting 374 00:19:18,073 --> 00:19:20,868 that this was a bad thing 375 00:19:20,909 --> 00:19:25,622 because of the people involved and not because of the virus. 376 00:19:27,249 --> 00:19:29,793 I was very frustrated. 377 00:19:29,835 --> 00:19:33,630 We're seeing an emerging catastrophe, 378 00:19:33,672 --> 00:19:35,841 and he wanted nothing to do with it. 379 00:19:39,011 --> 00:19:41,180 [Alter] It was a political calculation 380 00:19:41,221 --> 00:19:45,184 that his evangelical base did not want him to deviate 381 00:19:45,225 --> 00:19:47,269 from their premise which is that 382 00:19:47,311 --> 00:19:49,521 AIDS was God's revenge. 383 00:19:49,563 --> 00:19:51,190 You ever get the feeling sometimes 384 00:19:51,231 --> 00:19:54,443 that if we let this be another Sodom and Gomorrah, 385 00:19:54,484 --> 00:19:57,779 that maybe we might be the generation 386 00:19:57,821 --> 00:19:59,531 that sees Armageddon? - Yes. 387 00:20:02,659 --> 00:20:05,537 Reagan believed that he was President 388 00:20:05,579 --> 00:20:08,665 because he was called to be President. 389 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:13,629 He saw himself as placed at that time in history 390 00:20:13,670 --> 00:20:17,382 to move the world away from Armageddon. 391 00:20:17,424 --> 00:20:19,718 [indistinct chatter] 392 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,597 [Adelman] This notion of Armageddon scared the dickens out of him. 393 00:20:23,639 --> 00:20:25,766 So whenever the president talked about Armageddon, 394 00:20:25,807 --> 00:20:27,726 basically we would just slough it off 395 00:20:27,768 --> 00:20:30,229 or, you know, not answer it. 396 00:20:30,270 --> 00:20:32,105 What do you do about Armageddon? 397 00:20:32,147 --> 00:20:34,066 [projector whirring] 398 00:20:34,107 --> 00:20:36,401 [Alter] From Goldwater in 1964 399 00:20:36,443 --> 00:20:41,823 through the 1980 campaign, he was a hawk's hawk. 400 00:20:45,285 --> 00:20:46,912 [explosion ] 401 00:20:46,954 --> 00:20:51,208 [Alter] But then a movie changed his mind. 402 00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:54,002 [Adelman] It was Reagan's viewing 403 00:20:54,044 --> 00:20:56,672 of The Day After-- made him anti-nuclear. 404 00:20:56,713 --> 00:21:00,425 He had an image of that in his mind-- 405 00:21:00,467 --> 00:21:03,595 that's what the world's gonna look like if we fail. 406 00:21:05,138 --> 00:21:08,225 That was a massive shift in his political position. 407 00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:11,561 [Ronald] My fellow Americans, 408 00:21:11,603 --> 00:21:14,773 let me share with you a vision of the future which offers hope. 409 00:21:14,815 --> 00:21:17,025 It is that we embark on a program to counter 410 00:21:17,067 --> 00:21:19,444 the awesome Soviet missile threat 411 00:21:19,486 --> 00:21:21,780 with measures that are defensive. 412 00:21:21,822 --> 00:21:23,907 -Well, what is it? -The inertia projector. 413 00:21:23,949 --> 00:21:25,659 It's a device for throwing electrical waves 414 00:21:25,701 --> 00:21:27,119 capable of paralyzing alternate 415 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,329 and direct currents at their source. 416 00:21:29,371 --> 00:21:30,956 All right, Hayden. 417 00:21:30,998 --> 00:21:33,458 Focus that inertia projector on 'em and let 'em have it. 418 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:34,960 [engine droning] 419 00:21:35,002 --> 00:21:37,087 [man] By any name, Star Wars or SDI, 420 00:21:37,129 --> 00:21:39,172 it is an anti-missile system which already carries 421 00:21:39,214 --> 00:21:41,967 a $26 billion development price tag. 422 00:21:42,009 --> 00:21:44,136 It is not proven, may not be feasible, 423 00:21:44,177 --> 00:21:46,847 and Congress has yet to agree to pay for it. 424 00:21:46,888 --> 00:21:49,141 [man] Mr. President, would this not create, 425 00:21:49,182 --> 00:21:52,019 instead of an offensive arms race, a defensive arms race? 426 00:21:52,060 --> 00:21:55,689 Well, would that be all bad? Uh... 427 00:21:55,731 --> 00:21:58,692 If you've got everybody building defense, 428 00:21:58,734 --> 00:22:01,653 uh, then nobody's gonna start a war. 429 00:22:01,695 --> 00:22:04,948 And, uh, that's maybe part of the idea. 430 00:22:04,990 --> 00:22:06,992 [Scheer] It was based on a movie that he was in 431 00:22:07,034 --> 00:22:10,954 with a laser beamed apparatus. 432 00:22:10,996 --> 00:22:13,290 It never was gonna happen. 433 00:22:13,332 --> 00:22:15,167 It's a cockamamie idea 434 00:22:15,208 --> 00:22:17,419 that was a fantasy from beginning. 435 00:22:17,461 --> 00:22:18,503 [rings] 436 00:22:18,545 --> 00:22:24,301 dramatic music plays 437 00:22:27,804 --> 00:22:29,181 [cheers and applause] 438 00:22:29,222 --> 00:22:31,850 [McFarlane] Ronald Reagan carried a belief 439 00:22:31,892 --> 00:22:34,853 that the other side ought to know 440 00:22:34,895 --> 00:22:37,147 that they're not dealing with a patsy here. 441 00:22:37,189 --> 00:22:40,817 He was conveying a moral judgment about 442 00:22:40,859 --> 00:22:43,695 what he thought about the Soviet Union. 443 00:22:43,737 --> 00:22:47,157 He really felt that this was an evil empire. 444 00:22:52,913 --> 00:22:55,332 [woman] Soviet television had the announcement 445 00:22:55,374 --> 00:22:56,917 this morning that President Andropov 446 00:22:56,958 --> 00:22:59,086 had died after a long illness. 447 00:22:59,127 --> 00:23:01,463 Today we've learned of the death of the head of state, 448 00:23:01,505 --> 00:23:04,383 Konstantin Chernenko, 449 00:23:04,424 --> 00:23:05,550 and I've sent my condolences... 450 00:23:05,592 --> 00:23:10,847 to the Soviet leadership and people 451 00:23:10,889 --> 00:23:13,141 [Shearer] For the first five years, 452 00:23:13,183 --> 00:23:16,812 Reagan didn't directly deal with the Communists. 453 00:23:16,853 --> 00:23:19,022 Reagan's interaction with the Russians changed 454 00:23:19,064 --> 00:23:21,733 because the Russians changed. 455 00:23:21,775 --> 00:23:25,070 Gorbachev was a younger, more modern guy. 456 00:23:25,112 --> 00:23:28,365 And so Gorbachev reached out, 457 00:23:28,407 --> 00:23:31,743 and Reagan did respond. 458 00:23:32,869 --> 00:23:34,246 [Spencer] He was willing to deal, 459 00:23:34,287 --> 00:23:36,081 make the deals that had to be made 460 00:23:36,123 --> 00:23:38,917 as long as our country wasn't hurt. 461 00:23:40,252 --> 00:23:42,087 And he lucked out. 462 00:23:42,129 --> 00:23:46,258 Gorbachev came along, who had the same frame of mind. 463 00:23:46,299 --> 00:23:49,261 [woman] In Warsaw today, Soviet leader Gorbachev, 464 00:23:49,302 --> 00:23:51,930 said he sent a personal letter to President Reagan, 465 00:23:51,972 --> 00:23:54,224 a letter which could lead to a summit. 466 00:23:54,266 --> 00:23:56,268 It's, uh, different than things 467 00:23:56,309 --> 00:23:58,770 that we've heard in the past leaders in the Soviet Union. 468 00:23:58,812 --> 00:24:00,230 -[man] How is that? -[man] Thank you. 469 00:24:00,272 --> 00:24:02,065 That's enough. 470 00:24:02,107 --> 00:24:04,234 Well, it's just about the first time that anyone 471 00:24:04,276 --> 00:24:08,905 has ever proposed to actually eliminating nuclear weapons. 472 00:24:08,947 --> 00:24:13,118 To Reagan's credit, with the help of his wife, 473 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:15,537 when Gorbachev came on the scene, 474 00:24:16,455 --> 00:24:19,124 he realized that he could change course, 475 00:24:19,166 --> 00:24:22,377 shed that old image of the Cold War era, 476 00:24:22,419 --> 00:24:26,631 and take advantage of this historic opportunity. 477 00:24:27,174 --> 00:24:29,551 [Joan Quigley] I talked to Nancy for two or three hours, 478 00:24:29,593 --> 00:24:33,305 convincing her that Gorbachev was a kind of man 479 00:24:33,346 --> 00:24:36,808 that was not only tough but intelligent, 480 00:24:36,850 --> 00:24:39,394 open to new ideas, and that he had vision 481 00:24:39,436 --> 00:24:40,812 like Ronald Reagan did, 482 00:24:40,854 --> 00:24:43,106 and that these two men 483 00:24:43,148 --> 00:24:45,734 have a fantastic chemistry between them. 484 00:24:46,234 --> 00:24:48,487 [Ruth Quigley] When Nancy called Joan, she said, 485 00:24:48,528 --> 00:24:51,531 "Gorbachev, from his chart, was an intellectual, 486 00:24:51,573 --> 00:24:54,493 and he was a man that loved ideas 487 00:24:54,534 --> 00:24:57,287 and could be influenced." 488 00:24:57,329 --> 00:25:00,624 Gorbachev had gotten to where he was 489 00:25:00,665 --> 00:25:02,918 through the assistance of older men. 490 00:25:02,959 --> 00:25:06,838 And Ronnie was 20 years older than Gorbachev, 491 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:08,757 so there would be that sort of 492 00:25:08,798 --> 00:25:11,551 subconscious respect for someone older. 493 00:25:11,593 --> 00:25:15,096 I also affected definitely the relationship 494 00:25:15,138 --> 00:25:17,682 between the superpowers because of my reading 495 00:25:17,724 --> 00:25:20,602 of Gorbachev's horoscope. 496 00:25:20,644 --> 00:25:24,981 And I...the minute I read it, I knew that I had to change 497 00:25:25,023 --> 00:25:27,442 the evil empire attitude before he... 498 00:25:27,484 --> 00:25:30,362 they had their first summit, and I went about that. 499 00:25:30,403 --> 00:25:33,698 [Ruth Quigley] Joan convinced Nancy that 500 00:25:33,740 --> 00:25:36,993 if Ronnie kept an open-mind, using his super salesmanship 501 00:25:37,035 --> 00:25:39,329 on Gorbachev, it would work. 502 00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:42,666 [Kelley] In a sense, it was harmless. 503 00:25:42,707 --> 00:25:44,376 On the other hand, 504 00:25:44,417 --> 00:25:50,006 this is the man who has his hand on a nuclear button, 505 00:25:50,048 --> 00:25:52,092 and his actions 506 00:25:52,133 --> 00:25:55,387 are being dictated by astrologers. 507 00:25:56,972 --> 00:25:58,723 [Ronald] We have serious problems 508 00:25:58,765 --> 00:26:01,059 with the Soviet positions on a great many issues, 509 00:26:01,101 --> 00:26:04,062 and success is not guaranteed. 510 00:26:04,104 --> 00:26:06,523 But if Mr. Gorbachev comes to Iceland 511 00:26:06,565 --> 00:26:08,650 in a truly cooperative spirit, 512 00:26:08,692 --> 00:26:10,527 I think we can make some progress. 513 00:26:11,570 --> 00:26:13,029 That's my goal. 514 00:26:13,071 --> 00:26:14,906 That's my purpose in going to Iceland. 515 00:26:21,454 --> 00:26:25,542 [Adelman] After the first morning of the Reykjavik Summit, 516 00:26:25,584 --> 00:26:27,919 we were summoned into the room within a room 517 00:26:27,961 --> 00:26:29,337 in the U.S. Embassy. 518 00:26:29,379 --> 00:26:33,758 It had a kind of vault-like entrance, 519 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,553 and so it was absolutely secure. 520 00:26:36,595 --> 00:26:37,887 Reagan start to tell us that Gorbachev 521 00:26:37,929 --> 00:26:41,266 really wants to do this. 522 00:26:41,308 --> 00:26:43,059 And Reagan, from his memory, 523 00:26:43,101 --> 00:26:46,104 gives us some numbers that are in his head. 524 00:26:46,146 --> 00:26:47,772 After about five minutes 525 00:26:47,814 --> 00:26:50,942 of absolute agony of groping around, 526 00:26:50,984 --> 00:26:52,944 he goes into his suit pocket 527 00:26:52,986 --> 00:26:54,738 and he takes out a piece of paper, he said, 528 00:26:54,779 --> 00:26:56,781 "Oh, Gorbachev handed me this." 529 00:26:56,823 --> 00:26:58,783 So we all dived for the paper and we found out, 530 00:26:58,825 --> 00:27:02,871 holy cow, this guy really wants to use this weekend 531 00:27:02,912 --> 00:27:04,956 to get something done in arms control. 532 00:27:08,251 --> 00:27:10,587 Gorbachev says, "Yes, we made great progress, 533 00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:14,966 but you know what? It's all tied to canning SDI." 534 00:27:17,177 --> 00:27:19,095 [Shultz] President Reagan rejected that. 535 00:27:19,137 --> 00:27:20,972 This man has strong opinions 536 00:27:21,014 --> 00:27:24,351 but he understands why he has the opinion. 537 00:27:24,392 --> 00:27:28,980 So that means he's gonna stick to something that he decides on. 538 00:27:30,690 --> 00:27:33,234 [Adelman] Reagan told us that he had made a pledge 539 00:27:33,276 --> 00:27:35,904 to the American people to see SDI through. 540 00:27:35,945 --> 00:27:37,280 None of us had ever heard the pledge. 541 00:27:37,322 --> 00:27:39,157 That was the first time... 542 00:27:39,199 --> 00:27:41,159 but you know, it was a part of his imagination 543 00:27:41,201 --> 00:27:43,828 that he must have done it or should have done it, 544 00:27:43,870 --> 00:27:45,664 and that he wasn't gonna give it up. 545 00:27:48,208 --> 00:27:50,835 [man] Do you think he missed an opportunity back then? 546 00:27:50,877 --> 00:27:52,754 Yes. I think he did, 547 00:27:52,796 --> 00:27:56,341 'cause in retrospect we know that SDI doesn't work, you know? 548 00:27:56,383 --> 00:27:59,511 So he wouldn't have been giving up anything actually. 549 00:27:59,552 --> 00:28:01,596 I think, you know, we could be living in a world 550 00:28:01,638 --> 00:28:04,974 with many fewer nuclear weapons right now 551 00:28:05,016 --> 00:28:08,186 if he just had, you know, given in on that. 552 00:28:08,228 --> 00:28:10,021 But he thought he was... 553 00:28:10,063 --> 00:28:11,981 he thought Gorbachev is trying to hustle him. 554 00:28:13,108 --> 00:28:15,151 [man] After three hours and 42 minutes 555 00:28:15,193 --> 00:28:17,237 of that last meeting, disappointment. 556 00:28:17,278 --> 00:28:19,656 Ronald Reagan, his jaw set grimly, 557 00:28:19,698 --> 00:28:22,701 and an unsmiling Mikhail Gorbachev walked out, 558 00:28:22,742 --> 00:28:24,119 telegraphing failure. 559 00:28:27,122 --> 00:28:28,373 [Shultz] So in the end... 560 00:28:30,667 --> 00:28:33,211 ...we are deeply disappointed... 561 00:28:34,754 --> 00:28:36,965 ...at this outcome. 562 00:28:39,092 --> 00:28:44,973 [Ruth Quigley] In January 1986, Ronald Reagan was really moving 563 00:28:45,014 --> 00:28:47,892 into a very bad period, astrologically. 564 00:28:47,934 --> 00:28:49,394 When Nancy called Joan, 565 00:28:49,436 --> 00:28:51,813 she could see the horrible aspects gathering 566 00:28:51,855 --> 00:28:55,233 for poor Ronald Reagan, 567 00:28:55,275 --> 00:28:58,319 and Joan had to do what she could to minimize it. 568 00:28:58,361 --> 00:29:01,906 So she didn't let him have press conferences 569 00:29:01,948 --> 00:29:04,617 because those could have assassinated him 570 00:29:04,659 --> 00:29:06,703 in a different way. 571 00:29:06,745 --> 00:29:09,581 Ronald Reagan held fewer 572 00:29:09,622 --> 00:29:14,252 than one press conference every other month. 573 00:29:15,837 --> 00:29:20,133 That's not accountability. 574 00:29:20,175 --> 00:29:23,636 That is hiding from the press. 575 00:29:23,678 --> 00:29:25,764 [Tom Brokaw] It is taking shape as one of the most 576 00:29:25,805 --> 00:29:27,682 controversial foreign policy developments 577 00:29:27,724 --> 00:29:29,768 of President Reagan's years in office. 578 00:29:29,809 --> 00:29:32,228 The reports of a secret White House operation 579 00:29:32,270 --> 00:29:34,856 to ship Iran military supplies 580 00:29:34,898 --> 00:29:38,109 in exchange for help in freeing three American hostages. 581 00:29:38,151 --> 00:29:39,944 [man] Mr. President, do we have a deal going 582 00:29:39,986 --> 00:29:43,031 with Iran of some-- of some sort? 583 00:29:43,072 --> 00:29:43,740 - [man chuckles] [camera shutter clicking] 584 00:29:43,782 --> 00:29:45,200 No comment. 585 00:29:45,241 --> 00:29:47,452 [man] Mr. President, the Iranians are saying 586 00:29:47,494 --> 00:29:49,287 that if you'll release some of those weapons, 587 00:29:49,329 --> 00:29:51,623 they'll intercede to free the rest of the hostages. 588 00:29:51,664 --> 00:29:53,124 Will you? 589 00:29:53,166 --> 00:29:55,460 Good evening. President Reagan is about to hold 590 00:29:55,502 --> 00:29:57,629 his first formal news conference since August. 591 00:29:57,670 --> 00:29:59,964 Mr. Reagan holds these sessions so infrequently 592 00:30:00,006 --> 00:30:01,591 that when he does, just the fact 593 00:30:01,633 --> 00:30:03,718 he's meeting with reporters becomes news. 594 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:04,928 But with all the controversy 595 00:30:04,969 --> 00:30:07,138 swirling about secret arms deals, 596 00:30:07,180 --> 00:30:10,809 this one promises more newsworthy than usual. 597 00:30:10,850 --> 00:30:15,104 I have a few words here before I take your questions. 598 00:30:15,146 --> 00:30:16,815 Just some brief remarks. 599 00:30:19,192 --> 00:30:22,320 18 months ago, as I said last Thursday, 600 00:30:22,362 --> 00:30:24,531 this administration began a secret initiative 601 00:30:24,572 --> 00:30:27,659 to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 602 00:30:27,700 --> 00:30:29,786 However, to eliminate the widespread 603 00:30:29,828 --> 00:30:31,663 but mistaken perception 604 00:30:31,704 --> 00:30:34,499 that we have been exchanging arms for hostages, 605 00:30:34,541 --> 00:30:37,335 I have directed that no further sales of arms 606 00:30:37,377 --> 00:30:40,338 of any kind be sent to Iran. I further... 607 00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:42,674 [Rollins] It all started with the hostages. 608 00:30:42,715 --> 00:30:44,843 And the first rule is you never let the president 609 00:30:44,884 --> 00:30:48,513 be talked to by the families of the hostages. 610 00:30:48,555 --> 00:30:51,015 Don Regan got tired of listening to the sister 611 00:30:51,057 --> 00:30:53,184 of one of the hostages. 612 00:30:53,226 --> 00:30:55,436 And finally one day, he just put him through to Reagan. 613 00:30:55,478 --> 00:30:58,189 It became not about the big picture. 614 00:30:58,231 --> 00:31:00,608 It became the picture of what would take to get them home. 615 00:31:00,650 --> 00:31:03,027 And now I'll take your questions. Helen? 616 00:31:03,069 --> 00:31:05,196 Mr. President, in the recent past, 617 00:31:05,238 --> 00:31:07,991 there was an administration whose byword was 618 00:31:08,032 --> 00:31:10,159 "Watch what we do, not what we say." 619 00:31:10,201 --> 00:31:12,036 How would you assess the credibility... 620 00:31:12,078 --> 00:31:15,874 [McFarlane] The President had empathy for the hostages 621 00:31:15,915 --> 00:31:17,876 to a fault. 622 00:31:17,917 --> 00:31:23,089 I briefed the President along with the risks. 623 00:31:23,131 --> 00:31:24,716 And before long, 624 00:31:24,757 --> 00:31:27,051 to show evidence of our good faith, 625 00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:30,221 was the transfer of weapons. 626 00:31:30,263 --> 00:31:32,348 Mr. President, you have stated flatly, 627 00:31:32,390 --> 00:31:34,017 and you've stated flatly again tonight 628 00:31:34,058 --> 00:31:37,103 that you did not trade weapons for hostages, 629 00:31:37,145 --> 00:31:39,063 and yet the record shows 630 00:31:39,105 --> 00:31:41,941 that every time an American hostage was released, 631 00:31:41,983 --> 00:31:45,069 there had been a major shipment of arms just before that. 632 00:31:45,111 --> 00:31:48,281 Are we all to believe that was just a coincidence? 633 00:31:48,323 --> 00:31:51,576 Chris, the only thing I know about major shipments of arms... 634 00:31:51,618 --> 00:31:52,577 [Ron Jr.] I came back to the White House, 635 00:31:52,619 --> 00:31:55,288 and I was very blunt with him. 636 00:31:55,330 --> 00:31:57,290 "What are you talking about? 637 00:31:57,332 --> 00:31:59,459 You need to admit what has on here." 638 00:31:59,500 --> 00:32:02,545 But he had convinced himself 639 00:32:02,587 --> 00:32:05,089 this wasn't really an arms for hostage deal. 640 00:32:05,131 --> 00:32:07,091 That he was simply making an overture 641 00:32:07,133 --> 00:32:09,594 to more moderate Iranians, 642 00:32:09,636 --> 00:32:12,597 and that a side benefit of that 643 00:32:12,639 --> 00:32:14,432 would be the freeing of the hostages. 644 00:32:14,474 --> 00:32:17,518 But you wanted to say to him, 645 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,106 "You're not saying things that jive with reality here." 646 00:32:22,148 --> 00:32:23,775 Sir, if I may, the polls show 647 00:32:23,816 --> 00:32:26,694 that your credibility has been severely damaged. 648 00:32:26,736 --> 00:32:28,446 Can you repair it? 649 00:32:28,488 --> 00:32:30,406 What does it mean for the rest of your presidency? 650 00:32:30,448 --> 00:32:31,950 Well, I imagine I'm the only one around 651 00:32:31,991 --> 00:32:34,285 who wants to repair it, and I didn't do-- 652 00:32:34,327 --> 00:32:37,121 have anything to do with this-- damaging it. 653 00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:41,125 [Tumulty] After Reagan comes out in this press conference, 654 00:32:41,167 --> 00:32:44,504 the poll numbers plummet. 655 00:32:44,545 --> 00:32:47,757 It's a real key turning point. 656 00:32:48,883 --> 00:32:51,302 For the first time ever, 657 00:32:51,344 --> 00:32:54,013 the American people do not believe 658 00:32:54,055 --> 00:32:57,016 that Ronald Reagan is being straight with them. 659 00:32:57,058 --> 00:32:59,268 dramatic music plays 660 00:32:59,310 --> 00:33:01,980 Republicans and Democrats alike are calling it a crisis, 661 00:33:02,021 --> 00:33:04,649 some call it a scandal, others a tragedy. 662 00:33:04,691 --> 00:33:06,609 Today's startling revelation 663 00:33:06,651 --> 00:33:09,153 that up to $30 million dollars 664 00:33:09,195 --> 00:33:11,739 from the secret arms deal with Iran 665 00:33:11,781 --> 00:33:14,158 ended up in the hands of anti-government forces 666 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:15,451 in Nicaragua, the Contras. 667 00:33:18,287 --> 00:33:22,291 [McFarlane] Covert activities are difficult enough to maintain 668 00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:25,503 the operational security of one of them, 669 00:33:25,545 --> 00:33:27,422 and you certainly don't want to mix 670 00:33:27,463 --> 00:33:31,509 two separate covert operations together. 671 00:33:32,677 --> 00:33:35,346 [James] [laughs] They broke the law, okay? 672 00:33:35,388 --> 00:33:37,557 They violated the Boland Amendment. 673 00:33:38,725 --> 00:33:40,685 I know this is very self-serving, 674 00:33:40,727 --> 00:33:42,895 I don't think it would have happened if I were there. 675 00:33:42,937 --> 00:33:44,897 There is a growing public perception 676 00:33:44,939 --> 00:33:47,400 that something is very wrong in the White House 677 00:33:47,442 --> 00:33:49,485 when it comes to foreign policy. 678 00:33:49,527 --> 00:33:51,195 A president who says he knew nothing 679 00:33:51,237 --> 00:33:53,072 of the first arm shipments to Iran 680 00:33:53,114 --> 00:33:55,992 until after the fact, and perhaps most important, 681 00:33:56,034 --> 00:33:58,870 serious questions about who is running 682 00:33:58,911 --> 00:34:01,372 the foreign policy of the United States. 683 00:34:01,414 --> 00:34:03,583 We are told that three military men 684 00:34:03,624 --> 00:34:06,252 used to carrying out orders from their superiors 685 00:34:06,294 --> 00:34:08,046 failed to tell the commander-in-chief 686 00:34:08,087 --> 00:34:09,547 what they were up to. 687 00:34:09,589 --> 00:34:12,216 NSC Advisor Admiral John Poindexter, 688 00:34:12,258 --> 00:34:13,718 Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, 689 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,179 and former National Security Advisor 690 00:34:16,220 --> 00:34:18,723 Colonel Robert McFarlane. 691 00:34:18,765 --> 00:34:24,395 I don't intend this to be somehow in justification, 692 00:34:24,437 --> 00:34:26,898 but I knew that if I had stayed around, 693 00:34:26,939 --> 00:34:30,234 if I had intervened emphatically, 694 00:34:30,276 --> 00:34:32,528 I could have prevented this, I think. 695 00:34:32,570 --> 00:34:34,697 [man] So far, Colonel North's testimony 696 00:34:34,739 --> 00:34:37,075 means trouble for the White House in two ways-- 697 00:34:37,116 --> 00:34:40,161 his image as a one-man band overachiever 698 00:34:40,203 --> 00:34:42,038 was useful for the White House 699 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:44,290 because it meant he wasn't part of the organization. 700 00:34:44,332 --> 00:34:46,542 Today, he dispelled the image 701 00:34:46,584 --> 00:34:48,920 of an out-of-control lieutenant colonel, 702 00:34:48,961 --> 00:34:51,089 and he said he assumed the president knew a lot 703 00:34:51,130 --> 00:34:52,298 about what was going on. 704 00:34:52,340 --> 00:34:54,092 That doesn't help Mr. Reagan. 705 00:34:54,133 --> 00:34:55,885 He was being put in this terrible position 706 00:34:55,927 --> 00:34:57,762 and had put himself in this--in this, uh, 707 00:34:57,804 --> 00:34:59,931 in this terrible position, 708 00:34:59,972 --> 00:35:05,812 that Poindexter and company had been going behind his back. 709 00:35:05,853 --> 00:35:07,396 [Tumulty] Nancy Reagan begins to realize 710 00:35:07,438 --> 00:35:10,858 that impeachment is a real possibility here. 711 00:35:10,900 --> 00:35:16,572 She is singlehandedly organizing the rescue effort. 712 00:35:16,614 --> 00:35:21,786 She decides that Don Regan has got to go. 713 00:35:22,662 --> 00:35:25,123 [Rollins] And she made it happen. 714 00:35:25,164 --> 00:35:27,583 She took him out at the knees. 715 00:35:27,625 --> 00:35:29,293 Chris, what's the latest on the strain 716 00:35:29,335 --> 00:35:30,962 reported between Mrs. Reagan 717 00:35:31,003 --> 00:35:32,964 and White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan? 718 00:35:33,005 --> 00:35:35,383 Well, Tom, a source very close to Mrs. Reagan 719 00:35:35,424 --> 00:35:37,718 told me today that she purposely-- 720 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:39,595 Mrs. Reagan purposely leaked the story 721 00:35:39,637 --> 00:35:41,639 that she's no longer talking to Donald Regan, 722 00:35:41,681 --> 00:35:44,142 to try to force Donald Regan out of the White House. 723 00:35:52,358 --> 00:35:53,943 I think this is one 724 00:35:53,985 --> 00:35:56,821 that has been bandied about in the press. 725 00:35:56,863 --> 00:35:58,322 That is fiction, 726 00:35:58,364 --> 00:36:00,366 and I think it is despicable fiction. 727 00:36:00,408 --> 00:36:02,785 And a lot of people ought to be ashamed of themselves. 728 00:36:02,827 --> 00:36:04,537 But the idea that she's involved 729 00:36:04,579 --> 00:36:06,998 in governmental decisions and so forth 730 00:36:07,039 --> 00:36:09,667 in all of this and... 731 00:36:11,544 --> 00:36:13,462 being kind of a dragon lady, 732 00:36:13,504 --> 00:36:14,922 there is nothing to that and no one who knows her well... 733 00:36:14,964 --> 00:36:16,299 [Thomas] Well, you know who said it. 734 00:36:16,340 --> 00:36:17,717 ...would ever believe it. 735 00:36:17,758 --> 00:36:20,052 [Thomas] You know who said "Dragon lady"? 736 00:36:20,094 --> 00:36:22,513 Your Chief of Staff. 737 00:36:22,555 --> 00:36:24,140 [Regan] No, no, Helen, I didn't say that. 738 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:26,976 [laughter] 739 00:36:27,018 --> 00:36:30,354 [Stahl] I came to believe that in the second term, 740 00:36:30,396 --> 00:36:33,858 Nancy Reagan was taking the reins behind the scenes, 741 00:36:33,900 --> 00:36:38,029 and directing more and more policy. 742 00:36:38,070 --> 00:36:40,364 And I also saw 743 00:36:40,406 --> 00:36:43,534 the president would dip in and out of attention. 744 00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:46,537 I met with the president 745 00:36:46,579 --> 00:36:47,997 and he's just standing there, 746 00:36:48,039 --> 00:36:50,708 not paying any attention at all. 747 00:36:50,750 --> 00:36:52,793 And he could hardly talk. 748 00:36:52,835 --> 00:36:55,546 And I thought, "What's going on with the president?" 749 00:36:55,588 --> 00:36:58,758 And the press secretary, to jolt him out of this, 750 00:36:58,799 --> 00:37:03,679 screamed very loudly, "Her husband is a screenwriter." 751 00:37:03,721 --> 00:37:05,973 And honestly, he popped--I'm not kidding, 752 00:37:06,015 --> 00:37:09,268 his neck tightened, the age spots disappeared. 753 00:37:09,310 --> 00:37:14,148 He popped up and wanted to talk about movies and there he was. 754 00:37:14,190 --> 00:37:15,691 I never could diagnose it. 755 00:37:15,733 --> 00:37:17,902 So I never said anything. 756 00:37:19,737 --> 00:37:22,073 [Ron Jr.] As his son, I just thought, 757 00:37:22,114 --> 00:37:25,368 hmm, something just a little bit off here. 758 00:37:25,409 --> 00:37:26,577 I don't know what it is. 759 00:37:26,619 --> 00:37:28,246 It could just be that he's getting older. 760 00:37:28,287 --> 00:37:31,749 He's now in his 70s, and you tend to slow down a bit. 761 00:37:31,791 --> 00:37:34,919 But there's something just a little odd here. 762 00:37:36,462 --> 00:37:41,092 [Tumulty] All these people who dismissed Nancy Reagan 763 00:37:41,133 --> 00:37:45,763 as an empty-headed fashionista socialite, 764 00:37:45,805 --> 00:37:51,435 suddenly see her exercising a lot of power 765 00:37:51,477 --> 00:37:53,938 at a time when her husband 766 00:37:53,980 --> 00:37:57,942 seems incapable of getting his own footing. 767 00:38:01,779 --> 00:38:05,574 [Spencer] Got a phone call from Nancy Reagan and Ken Duberstein 768 00:38:05,616 --> 00:38:08,536 who was assistant Chief of Staff at the time. 769 00:38:08,577 --> 00:38:11,289 They said, "We like you to come back 770 00:38:11,330 --> 00:38:13,416 and talk to the president 771 00:38:13,457 --> 00:38:16,961 and try to help us work our way through this problem." 772 00:38:18,879 --> 00:38:21,465 [Adelman] We started questioning the president. 773 00:38:21,507 --> 00:38:23,592 Every which way of Sunday, 774 00:38:24,802 --> 00:38:26,387 to figure out whether or not 775 00:38:26,429 --> 00:38:28,889 he was telling the truth to the American people. 776 00:38:28,931 --> 00:38:32,893 And what did he know and when did he know it. 777 00:38:32,935 --> 00:38:35,730 [Parvin] You got a very historic sense 778 00:38:35,771 --> 00:38:39,233 that this is how... 779 00:38:39,275 --> 00:38:42,653 presidencies can fall. 780 00:38:42,695 --> 00:38:44,905 Are you saying the president made mistakes? 781 00:38:44,947 --> 00:38:46,824 Yes, the president made mistakes. 782 00:38:46,866 --> 00:38:49,285 I think that's-- that's very plain English. 783 00:38:49,327 --> 00:38:50,995 The president did make mistakes. 784 00:38:51,037 --> 00:38:53,831 I believe that, uh, the president was 785 00:38:53,873 --> 00:38:57,293 poorly advised and poorly served. 786 00:38:57,335 --> 00:38:59,920 [Alter] Nancy tries to do anything she can 787 00:38:59,962 --> 00:39:01,672 to try to straighten this out. 788 00:39:01,714 --> 00:39:06,427 The new objective is to change the narrative. 789 00:39:06,469 --> 00:39:08,804 [man] Mr. President, what do you think have to do 790 00:39:08,846 --> 00:39:10,890 to restore your credibility? 791 00:39:13,017 --> 00:39:15,311 Ask me that question after the speech tonight. 792 00:39:15,353 --> 00:39:17,396 [Thomas] So you're not going to apologize tonight 793 00:39:17,438 --> 00:39:19,398 to the American people? 794 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:20,900 Tune in. 795 00:39:22,902 --> 00:39:24,445 [Nancy] You'll be great. 796 00:39:24,487 --> 00:39:26,155 I'm gonna break a leg. 797 00:39:26,197 --> 00:39:27,239 No, what--No. Good luck. 798 00:39:27,281 --> 00:39:29,116 [laughs] 799 00:39:29,158 --> 00:39:31,327 [Parvin] The big question was whether the president 800 00:39:31,369 --> 00:39:35,748 would admit he traded arms for hostages. 801 00:39:35,790 --> 00:39:38,667 The problem was that he didn't, in his heart, 802 00:39:38,709 --> 00:39:41,170 believe that he did. 803 00:39:41,212 --> 00:39:45,508 So I went around and around, how do I bridge that gap 804 00:39:45,549 --> 00:39:47,385 that he would accept? 805 00:39:47,426 --> 00:39:50,888 And so what I finally came up with was... 806 00:39:50,930 --> 00:39:53,724 A few months ago, I told the American people 807 00:39:53,766 --> 00:39:56,560 I did not trade arms for hostages. 808 00:39:56,602 --> 00:40:00,523 My heart and my best intention still tell me that's true. 809 00:40:00,564 --> 00:40:04,068 But the facts and the evidence tell me it is not. 810 00:40:04,110 --> 00:40:06,070 As the Tower board reported, 811 00:40:06,112 --> 00:40:09,073 what began as a strategic opening to Iran 812 00:40:09,115 --> 00:40:11,242 deteriorated in its implementation... 813 00:40:12,451 --> 00:40:18,874 [Alter] That line is just... vintage Reagan. 814 00:40:18,916 --> 00:40:20,709 His heart is telling him one thing 815 00:40:20,751 --> 00:40:23,254 and the facts are telling him another? 816 00:40:24,004 --> 00:40:29,093 Really? I mean, only Reagan could get away with saying that. 817 00:40:29,969 --> 00:40:31,637 And that just tells you 818 00:40:31,679 --> 00:40:36,600 how deep he was into fantasyland. 819 00:40:36,642 --> 00:40:39,103 [Ron Jr.] He was depressed. 820 00:40:39,145 --> 00:40:41,272 He knew that the public wasn't on his side. 821 00:40:41,313 --> 00:40:42,898 He knew there's something 822 00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:46,485 almost unfathomable to him was happening. 823 00:40:46,527 --> 00:40:48,195 You deserve the truth... 824 00:40:48,237 --> 00:40:50,114 [Spencer] The speech he finally gave 825 00:40:50,156 --> 00:40:53,367 was, um, not a mea culpa at all. 826 00:40:53,409 --> 00:40:57,538 Uh, it was in my mind, it was continually in denial 827 00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:00,040 knowing anything about it. 828 00:41:00,082 --> 00:41:03,085 And--but the truth is who knows? 829 00:41:03,127 --> 00:41:05,296 contemplative music plays 830 00:41:05,337 --> 00:41:07,548 [dog yapping] 831 00:41:07,590 --> 00:41:10,301 [Tumulty] The next day, The New York Times writes 832 00:41:10,342 --> 00:41:12,803 it's the biggest presidential mea culpa 833 00:41:12,845 --> 00:41:15,723 since John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs. 834 00:41:15,764 --> 00:41:19,477 But whatever the reality, 835 00:41:19,518 --> 00:41:21,854 it does the trick. 836 00:41:21,896 --> 00:41:25,608 Ronald Reagan's poll numbers go up overnight 837 00:41:25,649 --> 00:41:31,113 because the American people really feel for the first time 838 00:41:31,155 --> 00:41:33,491 that he's being honest with them about this. 839 00:41:33,532 --> 00:41:36,368 [helicopter blades whirring] 840 00:41:39,914 --> 00:41:42,208 [Stahl] I remember thinking that Iran-Contra 841 00:41:42,249 --> 00:41:45,544 was gonna destroy him completely. 842 00:41:45,586 --> 00:41:48,839 Nope. He bounced back. 843 00:41:48,881 --> 00:41:51,634 But Don Reagan, 844 00:41:51,675 --> 00:41:54,178 after Nancy got rid of him, 845 00:41:54,220 --> 00:41:56,388 wanted to embarrass her 846 00:41:56,430 --> 00:41:57,848 and hurt her image. 847 00:41:57,890 --> 00:41:59,517 So, he got back at her. 848 00:41:59,558 --> 00:42:02,186 Donald Regan, former Treasury Secretary 849 00:42:02,228 --> 00:42:03,979 and White House Chief of Staff, 850 00:42:04,021 --> 00:42:06,023 out this morning with a new controversial book 851 00:42:06,065 --> 00:42:07,942 about the Reagan administration. 852 00:42:07,983 --> 00:42:10,653 The book portrays President Reagan as a hesitant 853 00:42:10,694 --> 00:42:12,696 and unassertive chief executive 854 00:42:12,738 --> 00:42:15,950 controlled to a large extent by a scheming image-conscious 855 00:42:15,991 --> 00:42:17,993 first lady who depended heavily 856 00:42:18,035 --> 00:42:20,079 on the predictions of an astrologer. 857 00:42:21,539 --> 00:42:24,875 [Stahl] This was Don Reagan's sweet revenge. 858 00:42:24,917 --> 00:42:26,544 You call it, "for the record. 859 00:42:26,585 --> 00:42:28,712 Why didn't you call it "Don't Get Mad, Get Even"? 860 00:42:28,754 --> 00:42:31,340 Because that's what appears to be to a lot of people. 861 00:42:31,382 --> 00:42:33,926 It is not a story about Mrs. Reagan or anyone else. 862 00:42:33,968 --> 00:42:35,344 If it's embarrassing to them, 863 00:42:35,386 --> 00:42:37,346 it's only because it's true history. 864 00:42:37,388 --> 00:42:39,431 [Ruth Quigley] Nancy was very upset about it. 865 00:42:39,473 --> 00:42:43,060 And on Nancy's last conversation with Joan, she said, 866 00:42:43,102 --> 00:42:45,771 "Joan, you can't say anything. 867 00:42:45,813 --> 00:42:48,232 Lie if you have to. Just lie." 868 00:42:48,274 --> 00:42:50,234 And Joan said that was the last word 869 00:42:50,276 --> 00:42:52,236 she and Nancy ever exchanged was 870 00:42:52,278 --> 00:42:56,282 Nancy saying to her, "Lie if you have to. Just lie." 871 00:42:56,323 --> 00:42:59,076 I am a serious political astrologer, 872 00:42:59,118 --> 00:43:01,912 and I object to the whole circus atmosphere 873 00:43:01,954 --> 00:43:04,248 surrounding this situation. 874 00:43:04,290 --> 00:43:06,333 And she put up shield over him-- 875 00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:09,253 what we used to call the mantle of heaven. 876 00:43:09,295 --> 00:43:14,258 Nancy Reagan was gonna make sure they were protected, 877 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,513 that his image was protected no matter what. 878 00:43:19,555 --> 00:43:23,892 suspenseful music plays 879 00:43:23,934 --> 00:43:26,937 [indistinct chatter] 880 00:43:26,979 --> 00:43:28,897 [crowd chanting] ...own fault, just fire it up. 881 00:43:28,939 --> 00:43:31,442 Won't take his own fault, just fire it up. 882 00:43:31,483 --> 00:43:34,820 Fight back, fight AIDS! Fight back, fight AIDS! 883 00:43:34,862 --> 00:43:36,947 AIDS is spreading so fast in America 884 00:43:36,989 --> 00:43:38,574 that within five years, 885 00:43:38,616 --> 00:43:42,161 it will have killed 179,000 people. 886 00:43:42,202 --> 00:43:44,622 That is just one of many alarming numbers to emerge 887 00:43:44,663 --> 00:43:48,250 from a federal government forecast on the disease today. 888 00:43:48,292 --> 00:43:52,796 By 1987, uh, the epidemic is raging out of control. 889 00:43:52,838 --> 00:43:55,132 [crowd] We've got to fight AIDS. 890 00:43:55,174 --> 00:43:56,925 [Sean] The advocacy in the streets 891 00:43:56,967 --> 00:43:59,136 had reached a whole new level. 892 00:43:59,178 --> 00:44:02,473 There is rampant discrimination based on AIDS 893 00:44:02,514 --> 00:44:04,558 and that this is hampering the public health control efforts. 894 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,311 [Fauci] The more the activists pushed, 895 00:44:07,353 --> 00:44:10,147 the more the administration drew back. 896 00:44:10,189 --> 00:44:14,068 And it was sort of a self-defeating 897 00:44:14,109 --> 00:44:16,987 phenomenon that we were seeing. -[crowd shouting] 898 00:44:17,029 --> 00:44:19,657 [Kramer] People die every day. Friends get sick every day. 899 00:44:19,698 --> 00:44:21,909 I don't--it's like being in the trenches. 900 00:44:21,950 --> 00:44:23,661 There is such anger in the community, 901 00:44:23,702 --> 00:44:27,998 and it is coalescing in a way that has never been done before. 902 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,501 [cheers and applause] 903 00:44:30,542 --> 00:44:34,296 dramatic music plays 904 00:44:37,633 --> 00:44:41,804 [Taylor] The issue that was becoming steadily worse, 905 00:44:41,845 --> 00:44:43,472 and it was still in the closet. 906 00:44:43,514 --> 00:44:45,474 People would not talk about it. 907 00:44:45,516 --> 00:44:47,017 [woman] The very public death 908 00:44:47,059 --> 00:44:48,852 of her close friend, Rock Hudson, 909 00:44:48,894 --> 00:44:50,813 first brought the disease out of the shadows 910 00:44:50,854 --> 00:44:52,356 and into the American spotlight. 911 00:44:55,025 --> 00:44:58,237 It brought attention to the Reagans 912 00:44:58,278 --> 00:45:00,906 in kind of a personal way because the friendship 913 00:45:00,948 --> 00:45:03,492 and they had this long history together in Hollywood. 914 00:45:03,534 --> 00:45:06,870 This was so clearly invading their life as well. 915 00:45:08,622 --> 00:45:11,333 [Ron Jr.] First Lady isn't as isolated as the president is. 916 00:45:11,375 --> 00:45:13,544 So she was talking to her friends 917 00:45:13,585 --> 00:45:17,840 and talking to me, and she got it before he did. 918 00:45:17,881 --> 00:45:19,967 [man] With conservatives saying the president should not support 919 00:45:20,008 --> 00:45:22,052 what amounts to gay rights legislation, 920 00:45:22,094 --> 00:45:23,554 well, the First Lady is known 921 00:45:23,595 --> 00:45:26,181 to have strong views about protecting AIDS victims. 922 00:45:26,223 --> 00:45:29,560 The White House was basically dragged 923 00:45:29,601 --> 00:45:33,147 into addressing the AIDS issue in a speech. 924 00:45:33,188 --> 00:45:36,066 At Elizabeth Taylor's urging, Mrs. Reagan 925 00:45:36,108 --> 00:45:38,068 realized they were behind the curve, 926 00:45:38,110 --> 00:45:40,070 and she got things rolling. 927 00:45:41,196 --> 00:45:44,742 The White House speechwriting staff was-- 928 00:45:44,783 --> 00:45:47,077 it was hardcore conservative. 929 00:45:47,119 --> 00:45:50,873 Mrs. Reagan didn't want the AIDS speech 930 00:45:50,914 --> 00:45:52,374 to fall into those hands. 931 00:45:52,416 --> 00:45:54,126 That's why I was hired. 932 00:45:55,419 --> 00:45:58,964 Things were so behind that when I talked 933 00:45:59,006 --> 00:46:00,299 to Sergeant General Koop, 934 00:46:00,340 --> 00:46:02,676 I realized he had never even met 935 00:46:02,718 --> 00:46:04,219 with the president on AIDS. 936 00:46:04,261 --> 00:46:06,889 I just couldn't believe it. 937 00:46:06,930 --> 00:46:09,767 With everything that's going on in the country, how can that be? 938 00:46:09,808 --> 00:46:11,143 [indistinct chatter] 939 00:46:11,185 --> 00:46:14,563 This was six years into the epidemic. 940 00:46:14,605 --> 00:46:17,274 There were probably 20,000 people dead by then, 941 00:46:17,316 --> 00:46:19,276 maybe 30,000 people dead by then. 942 00:46:20,986 --> 00:46:23,614 [Parvin] Certain conservative members of the cabinet 943 00:46:23,655 --> 00:46:25,407 got involved, 944 00:46:25,449 --> 00:46:28,952 pushing against what we could and could not say. 945 00:46:28,994 --> 00:46:30,621 It was just battle after battle. 946 00:46:30,662 --> 00:46:34,166 For example, should the president use the word "condom"? 947 00:46:37,669 --> 00:46:39,963 [woman] The setting was gala, 948 00:46:40,005 --> 00:46:42,090 but the mood distinctly was not. 949 00:46:42,132 --> 00:46:43,967 It was Ronald Reagan's 950 00:46:44,009 --> 00:46:47,304 first major address on federal policy on AIDS. 951 00:46:47,346 --> 00:46:50,098 AIDS is surreptitiously spreading 952 00:46:50,140 --> 00:46:51,975 throughout our population, 953 00:46:52,017 --> 00:46:55,479 and yet we have no accurate measure of its scope. 954 00:46:55,521 --> 00:46:57,272 It's time we knew exactly what we were facing. 955 00:46:57,314 --> 00:47:03,237 [Sean] It was more important as a political opportunity for him 956 00:47:03,278 --> 00:47:06,782 than it was as a humanitarian crisis. 957 00:47:06,824 --> 00:47:10,577 I've asked HHS to add the AIDS virus to the list 958 00:47:10,619 --> 00:47:12,371 of contagious diseases 959 00:47:12,412 --> 00:47:13,956 for which immigrants and aliens 960 00:47:13,997 --> 00:47:16,542 seeking permanent residence in the United States 961 00:47:16,583 --> 00:47:19,253 can be denied entry. 962 00:47:19,294 --> 00:47:22,464 [audience shouting and booing] 963 00:47:22,506 --> 00:47:25,592 [Sean] Some of us were able to get tickets into the event. 964 00:47:25,634 --> 00:47:28,512 We would boo him, and then we were getting, 965 00:47:28,554 --> 00:47:30,472 like, hushed or kind of booed back 966 00:47:30,514 --> 00:47:32,850 from the audience, you know, to drown us out. 967 00:47:32,891 --> 00:47:35,936 [Ronald] Now, let me turn to what the States can do. 968 00:47:35,978 --> 00:47:37,938 [applause, crowd booing] 969 00:47:37,980 --> 00:47:40,357 [cheers and applause] 970 00:47:42,985 --> 00:47:46,321 I mean, there was so much hurt... 971 00:47:51,535 --> 00:47:53,537 um, that people were feeling. 972 00:47:55,747 --> 00:47:57,708 It was not the speech I would have given, 973 00:47:57,749 --> 00:48:00,502 but it was the speech... 974 00:48:00,544 --> 00:48:03,338 that went as far as I could get it to go. 975 00:48:03,380 --> 00:48:04,590 [Ronald] It's something that 976 00:48:04,631 --> 00:48:08,010 a young man with AIDS recently said, 977 00:48:08,051 --> 00:48:13,140 "I am going to fight the disease with every breath I have." 978 00:48:13,181 --> 00:48:17,227 Ladies and gentlemen, so must we. 979 00:48:17,269 --> 00:48:20,063 -Thank you. [cheers and applause] 980 00:48:20,105 --> 00:48:23,358 [crowd booing] 981 00:48:26,737 --> 00:48:28,739 [Sean] I can tell the president was shaken. 982 00:48:30,365 --> 00:48:32,200 I mean, you could just tell. 983 00:48:33,577 --> 00:48:36,246 [Fauci] I was gratified that he said AIDS, 984 00:48:36,288 --> 00:48:38,540 but I had a big feeling of it's about time. 985 00:48:41,460 --> 00:48:43,837 It was puzzling to a number of people, 986 00:48:43,879 --> 00:48:45,380 myself included, 987 00:48:45,422 --> 00:48:49,676 why Nancy Reagan did not push a bit more 988 00:48:49,718 --> 00:48:52,220 to have the president and the people around him 989 00:48:52,262 --> 00:48:54,598 using the bully pulpit of the presidency 990 00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:56,850 in the beginning, warning people. 991 00:48:56,892 --> 00:48:58,685 [applause] 992 00:48:58,727 --> 00:49:00,854 [Sean] If it hadn't been for Elizabeth Taylor 993 00:49:00,896 --> 00:49:04,441 really insisting and cleverly lobbying and setting it up 994 00:49:04,483 --> 00:49:06,860 so that Reagan would speak at that, 995 00:49:06,902 --> 00:49:11,365 he might have never given a significant address on AIDS. 996 00:49:11,406 --> 00:49:13,367 And that was nearing the end of his second term. 997 00:49:21,541 --> 00:49:24,378 [Sean] Had he all the way taken the steps 998 00:49:24,419 --> 00:49:26,797 in the early 1980s, 999 00:49:26,838 --> 00:49:29,675 but his administration did not allow those things to be done. 1000 00:49:29,716 --> 00:49:34,054 And instead, he abdicated responsibility on AIDS. 1001 00:49:34,096 --> 00:49:37,099 And that abdication brought pain and suffering 1002 00:49:37,140 --> 00:49:38,809 to so many. 1003 00:49:40,477 --> 00:49:42,938 And we still see the reverberations of it today. 1004 00:49:51,029 --> 00:49:52,572 What you essentially had 1005 00:49:52,614 --> 00:49:54,616 near the end of Reagan's presidency 1006 00:49:54,658 --> 00:49:58,829 was a man who had to be propped up by his wife, 1007 00:49:58,870 --> 00:50:00,497 members of his staff, 1008 00:50:00,539 --> 00:50:03,000 by loyalists in his administration 1009 00:50:03,041 --> 00:50:06,503 to redefine the myth of the Reagan presidency. 1010 00:50:09,172 --> 00:50:12,300 [Ron Jr.] He wrote in his diary during his presidency 1011 00:50:12,342 --> 00:50:16,513 about flying over the canyons of the West Coast of California, 1012 00:50:16,555 --> 00:50:18,724 familiar canyons to him, 1013 00:50:18,765 --> 00:50:20,809 couldn't remember any of their names. 1014 00:50:21,476 --> 00:50:24,688 That struck him enough that he put it in his diary 1015 00:50:24,730 --> 00:50:28,150 with a kind of slightly alarmed, you know, tone. 1016 00:50:28,191 --> 00:50:31,194 contemplative music plays 1017 00:50:31,236 --> 00:50:34,406 [Ron Jr.] Was something going on in his mind at the time? 1018 00:50:34,448 --> 00:50:38,076 Well, we know that Alzheimer's takes about 10 years at least 1019 00:50:38,118 --> 00:50:42,039 to develop to the point where you end up with dementia. 1020 00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:45,751 So, he has the disease while he's in the White House. 1021 00:50:45,792 --> 00:50:49,296 That's really pretty much unquestionable. 1022 00:50:49,337 --> 00:50:51,965 I ran that by his neurologists, too, 1023 00:50:52,007 --> 00:50:55,469 who confirmed that that had to be the case. 1024 00:50:55,510 --> 00:50:57,763 [Johnson] It was Nancy recognizing 1025 00:50:57,804 --> 00:50:59,723 more than the press was willing to admit 1026 00:50:59,765 --> 00:51:02,059 that he was entering the early stages of Alzheimer's 1027 00:51:02,100 --> 00:51:03,518 became concerned with his legacy. 1028 00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:07,314 She wanted to transform him into the man 1029 00:51:07,355 --> 00:51:10,692 who stares down the Soviet Union and saves this country, 1030 00:51:10,734 --> 00:51:13,028 saves the world from nuclear conflict. 1031 00:51:18,575 --> 00:51:20,577 [Alter] The Reagans understood 1032 00:51:20,619 --> 00:51:23,246 the theater of the American presidency, 1033 00:51:23,288 --> 00:51:27,626 the stagecraft that's involved, and the importance of creating 1034 00:51:27,667 --> 00:51:29,461 an emotional connection to the audience 1035 00:51:29,503 --> 00:51:32,130 to make that performance a winning one. 1036 00:51:32,172 --> 00:51:35,342 [cheers and applause] 1037 00:51:39,763 --> 00:51:44,142 Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. 1038 00:51:44,184 --> 00:51:46,812 [cheers and applause] 1039 00:51:49,439 --> 00:51:51,149 [Shultz] They're great friends. 1040 00:51:51,191 --> 00:51:53,527 And there were some people in the State Department 1041 00:51:53,568 --> 00:51:55,654 and also in the NIC Staff 1042 00:51:55,695 --> 00:51:57,781 who thought it was too provocative. 1043 00:51:57,823 --> 00:51:59,533 And they tried to get it knocked out. 1044 00:51:59,574 --> 00:52:01,952 But the president kept it in. 1045 00:52:01,993 --> 00:52:04,204 [cheers and applause] 1046 00:52:04,246 --> 00:52:07,916 It became the signature line of Reagan's eight years. 1047 00:52:07,958 --> 00:52:10,627 [cheers and applause] 1048 00:52:18,927 --> 00:52:20,554 [Johnson] Reagan's success was in part 1049 00:52:20,595 --> 00:52:22,556 because he was the ultimate pitchman, 1050 00:52:22,597 --> 00:52:23,890 and this is important to understand. 1051 00:52:23,932 --> 00:52:25,809 Ronald Reagan's ultimate sales pitch 1052 00:52:25,851 --> 00:52:27,269 wasn't to the American people. 1053 00:52:27,310 --> 00:52:28,937 It was to journalism. 1054 00:52:28,979 --> 00:52:32,107 He completely flipped the media industrial complex 1055 00:52:32,149 --> 00:52:33,650 in America on its head. 1056 00:52:33,692 --> 00:52:36,111 And by the time he left office in 1988, 1057 00:52:36,153 --> 00:52:38,822 he was not just a hero to the Republican Party, 1058 00:52:38,864 --> 00:52:40,824 he was a hero to American media 1059 00:52:40,866 --> 00:52:44,536 because he had given them the sort of televised president 1060 00:52:44,578 --> 00:52:46,705 that they had always wanted to see. 1061 00:52:49,416 --> 00:52:54,504 [Stahl] They manipulated us by making sure we had pictures 1062 00:52:54,546 --> 00:52:58,925 with the president in the scene that we absolutely had to use. 1063 00:52:58,967 --> 00:53:02,137 And they fed us gorgeous pictures. 1064 00:53:02,179 --> 00:53:06,433 When the pictures are stronger than what you're saying, 1065 00:53:06,474 --> 00:53:10,687 the pictures will override, and people won't even hear you. 1066 00:53:12,397 --> 00:53:15,859 [Scheer] He was particularly gifted in manipulation 1067 00:53:15,901 --> 00:53:19,613 by being an actor and being able to follow scripts 1068 00:53:19,654 --> 00:53:21,865 and play a folksy person. 1069 00:53:21,907 --> 00:53:25,869 He was destructive to the people who trusted him 1070 00:53:25,911 --> 00:53:29,623 and caused a great deal of harm. 1071 00:53:29,664 --> 00:53:32,918 Ronald Reagan was famously affable. 1072 00:53:32,959 --> 00:53:34,836 But I think it's important to know 1073 00:53:34,878 --> 00:53:37,339 that he was a friendly man with one friend, 1074 00:53:37,380 --> 00:53:39,549 and he married her. 1075 00:53:41,092 --> 00:53:45,555 [Spencer] She was playing the role of the wife, 1076 00:53:45,597 --> 00:53:47,724 but I think she wanted the world to know 1077 00:53:47,766 --> 00:53:49,893 that she was the power behind the throne. 1078 00:53:49,935 --> 00:53:52,437 I do. 1079 00:53:52,479 --> 00:53:54,940 [Johnson] Ronald Reagan believed 1080 00:53:54,981 --> 00:53:57,525 that a mythological America never existed. 1081 00:53:58,944 --> 00:54:00,904 He didn't really care about taking us back to it. 1082 00:54:00,946 --> 00:54:02,405 He thought that it still existed. 1083 00:54:02,447 --> 00:54:04,574 It was just covered over 1084 00:54:04,616 --> 00:54:06,701 in civil rights and government regulation. 1085 00:54:06,743 --> 00:54:08,745 And if you move those things out of the way, 1086 00:54:08,787 --> 00:54:10,830 this America that never existed 1087 00:54:10,872 --> 00:54:13,083 that he magically believed in was going to come back. 1088 00:54:16,127 --> 00:54:18,546 [Ron Jr.] My father was not comfortable with 1089 00:54:18,588 --> 00:54:20,882 a lot of negativity. 1090 00:54:20,924 --> 00:54:23,885 If America was a great country, 1091 00:54:23,927 --> 00:54:26,429 then it needed to be great through and through. 1092 00:54:26,471 --> 00:54:31,935 So, whether it was racism, misogyny, wealth and inequality, 1093 00:54:31,977 --> 00:54:36,106 these systemic issues, you might say, with America 1094 00:54:36,147 --> 00:54:39,109 made my father very uncomfortable. 1095 00:54:39,150 --> 00:54:42,654 So he would edit it out. 1096 00:54:42,696 --> 00:54:45,407 [Wiley] And it was all mythmaking. 1097 00:54:45,448 --> 00:54:48,326 It was all brilliant acting. 1098 00:54:48,368 --> 00:54:53,790 Ronald Reagan remains an incredible societal myth, 1099 00:54:53,832 --> 00:54:57,127 the myth of the perfect president. 1100 00:54:59,379 --> 00:55:01,715 [David] You're the only movie actor I know of 1101 00:55:01,756 --> 00:55:03,508 who ever got elected to a high office. 1102 00:55:03,550 --> 00:55:05,260 Do you learn anything as an actor 1103 00:55:05,302 --> 00:55:08,930 that has been useful to you as president? 1104 00:55:08,972 --> 00:55:12,225 [Ronald] I'm tempted to say something here. 1105 00:55:12,267 --> 00:55:13,768 -[David] Go ahead and say it. -Well, I'm gonna say it. 1106 00:55:13,810 --> 00:55:15,645 -[David] Go ahead. -There have been times 1107 00:55:15,687 --> 00:55:18,398 in this office when I wondered 1108 00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:22,819 how you could do the job if you hadn't been an actor.