Ronald Reag The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - 1699 Words

Ronald Reagan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Born on February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan lived an eventful life, but he did not become President of the United States until the age of 65. He picked George H. W. Bush as his running mate in the 1980 republican ticket. The incumbent, Jimmy Carter had no chance of retaining the presidency, the economy was stagnant, and America’s influence in the world was on the decline. Just two months into Reagan’s Presidency, it almost came to an abrupt end with the bullet of a would-be assassin; of course the President survived, and went on to contribute to the end of the cold war. The Contra scandal threatened Reagan’s Presidency, however, but for anyone to say he is overrated, should take a close look at†¦show more content†¦His mother believed John’s withdrawl was due to shyness. An article in People magazine in May, 1980, asserted Jody Foster had enrolled in Yale University, upon hearing of this, Hinckley also enrolled in a writing course at Yale to be close to Foster. He left letters in her mailbox, and managed to have two telephone conversations with her, which he informed her, he was not a dangerous person. â€Å"At Yale, he attempted to establish contact with Jody, and left letter and poems in her mailbox† (Linder, 2002). Of course, Jody Forster had no interest in Hinckley, but in his mind, he had a plan that would earn her love and respect, and in doing so, he almost changed the course of history. On March 30, 1981, as was the custom, Ronald Reagan and Nancy eat breakfast together, after breakfast he kissed his wife goodbye and headed to the Oval Office. The President’s schedule for that day was not very busy; he had to attend a few meetings in the morning before going to the Washington Hilton to deliver a speech. The President emerged from the Hilton smiling and waving to the people waiting to catch a glimpse of their President. Reagan got several steps outside the Hilton when Hinckley appeared from a crowd of journa lists and produced his R6-14 revolver and fired six shots at the President. The President was pushed into his limousine by Secret Service agents and brought to the George Washington University Hospital, which was thought to be a