We we young and impressionable kids - so someone who stand up there and hit those patriotic scripted lines like that was all that we needed.
Reagan was a mediocre president on par with Carter, who delivered the bulk of good to his main constituency - the top 5% of the wealthy.
"On May 31, 1987, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) awards dinner. During that speech, the
audience booed Reagan at least three times. Reagan - the man known as the Great Communicator - failed to persuade an audience. This failure was rooted
in his constant use of one narrative - the myth of America and everyday American heroes - to communicate and persuade. The story of AIDS was not
amenable to this form, and Reagan did not adapt to his topic and his audience. " - John Lynch
"Harsher congressional criticism of Reagan's address came from a member of his own party: ''This peril that confronts the nation is not comprised
of words,'' said Sen. Lowell Weicker, ranking Republican on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees acquired immune deficiency syndrome
research.
''It's comprised of very complex viruses and a medical mystery that nobody has been able to unlock, and it ain't going to be unlocked by the
speech in Philadelphia by the president,'' Weicker said.
Speaking to reporters following the president's speech Wednesday, Weicker said, ''The most damaging piece of deception as far as the president is
concerned is that he says, 'I'm asking for $100 million more in AIDS research.'
''That sounds very good until you hear that he is asking for a $600 million cut in the funds to go to the National Institutes of Health for basic
biomedical research. The net of all that is he has cut $500 million for AIDS.''
www.house.gov...
Again, not anywhere near a great President. And I voted for him once, so the betrayal is personal, thus the research is thorough.
