Oh, the things I learned about Ronald Reagan. I’m trying to go in the order Bill O’Reilly did. He writes just like he talks. Have a totally different impression of President Ronald Reagan right now, a less positive one. I believe Killing Reagan because O’Reilly said there were two sources for everything.

Reagan privately referred to the current President he ran against as “a little shit.” Jimmy Carter graduated 59^th of 820 from the Naval Academy. Reagan rubbed his nose on a statue of Abe Lincoln for debate luck. Reagan wanted to be side by side with Carter because he is taller, but the lecterns were as far apart as possible. Reagan was too tall for mattresses, so a padded stool was positioned at the end of the bed. Carter blinked constantly and was ill at ease. Carter’s briefing notes were stolen and handed to the Reagan campaign.  It was not leaked to the public for three years. Carter used the fact that he had an issues discussion with daughter Amy, a teen. Huge mistake allowing her to decide, advisers said. Reagan used his are you better off questions and “there you go again” in the debate. Reagan won the Presidency, 489 to 49.

Nancy relied on sleeping pills and tranquilizers and astrologers, as you probably know. She was born Anne Frances Robbins and once dated Clark Gable.

In his movie days, Reagan was in “Bedtime for Bonzo.” The monkey understood 502 voice commands (more than Biden, says MAVO LOL), rode a tricycle, did backflips on cue and put on a necktie. Reagan had a seven-year contract at $200 a week. At war’s end, he made $52,000 per movie.

His first wife, Jane Wyman, gave birth to a child who lived only nine hours and Reagan was in the hospital with pneumonia at the time. Son Michael wrote that this was profound for Jane. Her film that centered around a premature infant death brought about a spiritual transformation and she was baptized Catholic three years later. She was laid to rest in the habit of the Dominican Sisters religious order. Reagan missed Patti’s birth because he was cheating. Reagan’s father was an all-too-often-drunk Irish shoe salesman and his mother was a Bible thumper. She taught him to avoid extremes in behavior. He craved approval and applause because he didn’t get it from his father. He liked to be the center of attention, screening “Kings Row,” his personal favorite of which he had a copy, for guests at dinner. He was fond of lecturing. Wyman once said not to ask him what time it was. He will tell you how a watch is made. When baseball came on, he pretended to be a broadcaster. He liked to think on horseback. Wyman’s growing fame and their daughter’s death combined to drive a wedge in the marriage. Jane had an affair. She also said she couldn’t stand to watch “Kings Row” one more time! Reagan is shattered, drinks and has affairs with women decades younger. One is Penny Edwards, 20, and Patricia Neal, 22. He had a one-night stand with Piper Laurie and took her virginity. Ironically, he was playing the role of her father in a movie at the time.

Three years after the divorce, Reagan proposes to Christine Larson, 26. He offers her a diamond wristwatch. He is having affairs with six other women at the time. She said no. A chief reason is because she adheres to the Baha i Faith, which does not believe in politics and he is becoming more of an activist. He was head of the Screen Actors Guild for five years. With SAG, Reagan travels the country speaking on behalf of an anticommunist group known as Crusade for Freedom to raise money for Radio Free Europe. He is unaware it is secretly backed by the CIA. He also enjoys writing letters.

 So, Reagan dates Nancy for a while and she confesses she is pregnant. He flees to Christine to say he feels trapped and often sees Christine on the side. He does marry Nancy,  picking her up in the Cadillac given to him by his first wife. He did not invite family to the ceremony and says that it’s not that he hungers for somebody to love him as much as having somebody to love. They knew each other three years and Nancy accepts his indiscretions while enjoying affairs of her own. William Holden is the best man. He bragged about an affair with Jackie Kennedy in the 1950s, calling himself the bedroom tutor to the wife of the future President.

Reagan faces debt, owes back taxes and insists on living the movie star life, dining at expensive restaurants. He gets the job of emceeing GE Theater and tours factories, learning about the economy and local government. Nancy has conservative views and read the National Review for years. She always looks people up and down before she deigns to speak. She does not cancel a dinner party right after JFK died. She had plastic surgery for droopy eyelids.

Reagan’s gubernatorial swearing in was held in the evening because of the alignment of Jupiter. Uranus and Saturn also came into play during the years. While serving in California, Reagan signed a gun control bill. He learned two aides were homosexual. He quietly let them resign. He is not bothered, however, by the gay astrologer. Reagan lied about why they were fired.

GE fires Reagan as he gets more conservative. Robert Kennedy allegedly told GE no government contracts would come their way if they allowed him to remain host. Reagan also spoke out against the Tennessee Valley Authority, in which GE had financial interest. He says he did not leave the Democratic party, that they left him.

 Reagan then writes columns and does a radio broadcast as well as speaking engagements. Reagan was a vain man. He refused a hearing aid. He was a fan of Calvin Coolidge, who eliminated wartime debt. Reagan often hid his knowledge in order to present himself as a simple man of humble opinions. He believed that made him more appealing to regular voters. During the air traffic controller strike, he invoked Coolidge by saying there is no right to strike against the public safety, by anybody, anywhere, at any time. The Reagans rarely go to church, but he believes interrupting a pregnancy means the taking of a human life.

 Son Michael is adopted. He and Maureen, firstborn, attend boarding school. Patti lives with her boyfriend and smokes dope and Ron, 17, seduced a 31-year-old in her bedroom. Ricky Nelson’s wife. The Reagans looked at is as good news that he was not gay. Patti posed for Playboy at 41 and More magazine at 58. She admits she was so afraid of becoming pregnant and parenting like her mother that she had her tubes tied at 24. She said Nancy slapped her when she ate too much and when she began menstruating at a young age. Her father called her a liar. Ron Jr. becomes an advocate for atheism.

Richard Nixon called out reporters publicly, thrilled to get the last word. So, this has happened before 2016. He was not a good sleeper and talks through the night. He does not sleep with Pat. Nor did the Kennedys or Johnsons share a bed. Nixon has a low tolerance for alcohol. He hinted at suicide. He walks the halls speaking to portraits of Presidents. Agnew never spoke to Nixon again after leaving office. Agnew called journalists nattering nabobs of negativism. Gerald Ford said not pardoning Nixon would cause a prolonged spectacle of a President on trial. Take heed, Mr. Biden. Ford promises a nation built on integrity, honesty and trust that will not be twisted and he wants to stop their decay.

Reagan’s presentation for Barry Goldwater is called “The Speech.” Hillary Clinton, 17, was one of Goldwater’s supporters, wearing AuH20. She switched parties, perhaps because of liberal friends at Wellesley. Reagan’s speech is full of the American dream, fiscal conservatism and small government. He talks about farmers, the Vietnam War, Cuban immigrants and veterans. It was described as the most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan, the foil for Clarence Darrow during the Scopes Monkey Trial, made his Cross of Gold speech.

 I Googled Reagan’s speech. It said: You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down: [up] man's old -- old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course. And: Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.

Betty Ford called Nancy a cold fish. “Off camera, ice. On camera, warmth.” Rather than marginalize Reagan, a possible future opponent, Ford offers him a position on the Cabinet and an ambassadorship. Reagan said he can’t afford it. Ford is doing these things to keep Reagan from running for President. He does accept a spot on a panel investigating alleged abuses by the CIA to gain exposure. The other offers would make him subservient to Ford. When he ran against Ford, Ford gave a masterful acceptance speech. Ford hired the person who ran both of Reagan’s gubernatorial victories. Reagan says he believes the Republican Party had a platform that is a banner of bold, unmistakable colors with no pale pastel shades.

Rosalynn Carter also had a frosty demeanor. No liquor was served in the Carter administration. They did not want to appear worldly. Rosalynn grew up poor with a widowed mother. In contrast, Nancy’s inaugural gown cost $25,000. She expected designers to give her clothing gratis under the pretense they are being borrowed. She visited the White House several times to check out her wardrobe closet space before moving in. There was a lavish consumption on display at their gala.

Carter has one catastrophe after another. Inflation, skyrocketing oil prices, high interest rates and the Iran hostages. Eight soldiers died in an aborted rescue attempt, burned and left behind. Out of respect for the captives, Carter did little campaigning for reelection. He believed remaining at the White House made him look more presidential. Sounds like Biden and the basement.

 Nancy had a hand in terminating numerous staffers. She wanted Donald Regan to fire someone when she was having a hysterectomy, another one dying of a brain tumor. Regan got three times as many calls from Nancy than Ronnie. Regan discovered he was out of a job on CNN when Nancy issued a statement.  She claimed to be an expert at getting rid of leeches. Her Secret Service name was Rainbow in reference to her fiery personality. She decided who Reagan will and will not see. She is so hands-on that Michael Deaver says he imagines that when he dies there would be a phone in his coffin with her at the other end. Their astrologer also approves travel. This astrologer is on a secret $3,000 a month retainer. Deaver said without Nancy’s approval, Air Force One does not take off. Nancy sleeps with her head facing north and constantly knocks on wood.

 John Hinckley was born in an obsolete mental hospital before a new one is opened. He was the last birth there. We know his fascination with Jodie Foster. She won the role in Taxi Driver over 250 other actresses, including Kim Basinger, Mariel Hemingway, Carrie Fisher, Bo Derek, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Debra Winger and Eve Plumb. He also stalked Carter before Reagan. James Brady, press secretary, didn’t decide to attend the event at the Washington Hilton until the last minute. It took Hinckley 1.7 seconds to fire all six Devastators. Surgeons wore bulletproof vests. A 1939 Reagan movie inspired Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr to become an agent. He became the most important person in Reagan’s life that day. I don’t think we are told the truth when there is such a tragedy. Reagan lost half his blood supply. Soviets got alarmingly close to the East Coast. Patti and Ron Jr. did go to the ICU before Maureen and Michael. Maureen did run for the Senate, but lost.

Hinckley cultivated friendships via mail with Ted Bundy. He gets a girlfriend, Washington socialite Leslie deVeau. They found ways to dine in the facility and leave love notes. She murdered her 10-year-old daughter in the back with a gun. She turned it on herself, but it misfired. She was also found not guilty by reason of insanity. When he gets out, Hinckley can drive, but not talk to the media. He was outraged when Foster came out.

Oliver North masterminded the secret funneling of money to the rebel Contras fighting communism in Nicaragua. This was prohibited by law. Reagan denied knowledge of trading arms for hostages. North and Fawn Hall destroyed documents; she even carried them out in her boots and panties. She was given immunity in return for her testimony. Reagan said no one kept proper records of meetings or decisions. He admitted to approving arms shipments, just not specifically when. He said it was a clerical situation. No one went to jail over this. Of course, they also talk about Soviet relations in the book.

Chief of staff James Baker III is also a former Democrat who ran the campaigns of Ford and George H.W. Bush. He is a no-nonsense person and uses crisp analysis. Ed Meese is considered Reagan’s alter ego. Regan likened his job to a shovel brigade following a parade down Main Street. He was constantly fighting Nancy and her messes. Meese, Baker and Deaver would slow down meetings if Reagan did not understand a complex issue. Without insulting him, they would reframe the details until he comprehended.  Roger Ailes was called in to help Reagan for debate prep; he had been used to working with one director, not eight. Reagan wins in a landslide, 49 states.

Reagan is known to doodle. In the early 1980s, the New York Times reported he is contradictory, forgets names, stutters, has general absentmindedness and looked visibly adrift.  Sometimes he told a tale, confusing it with a movie. He admitted his mother died of senility and he would resign if it affected him. As we know, it did. Eventually, Reagan watches TV reruns and doesn’t read policy. Reagan loses energy and naps. He has trouble recognizing people. Tacrine was the drug he took. I have never heard of it. Reagan believed the ghost of Lincoln haunted the residence. He said he could hear the creak of Roosevelt’s wheelchair. It was kind of weird that I heard about Dupuytren’s contracture in a John Elway commercial while I was reading this book. Reagan had that, too. Bush doesn’t know what is going on.

Reagan endorsed his veep, but did little campaigning for him. The Bush campaign wanted him to be his own man. Barnstorming Reagan would have overshadowed the less charismatic Bush. Reagan’s pension was $99,500 and then he made speeches around the world.  The Washington Speakers Bureau earned 20 percent of his $50,000 speeches. He made $2 million on a ten-day speaking tour in Japan.

Margaret Thatcher is mentioned quite a bit. She was a chemist. She loved turquoise and hired a voice coach at the suggestion of Laurence Olivier to lower her voice an octave.  She and Reagan share similar political beliefs. She cut taxes for the rich and trimmed services for the poor. Reagan slashed money for mental illness before he was shot. She was described as having the eyes of Caligula and the mouth of Marilyn Monroe in reference to her offbeat look. Toward the end, Reagan delivered the exact four-page same toast to Thatcher twice at the same event. He went on for two minutes the second time. The audience was stunned.

Walter Cronkite has said Carter was the smartest President ever. Ben Bradlee said the Washington Post was kinder to Reagan than any President. Sam Donaldson, not surprisingly, was antagonistic and insulted Nancy by comparing her to a venomous snake, calling her a smiling mamba. Reagan could not answer one of his questions and Nancy had to whisper in his ear, “We’re doing everything we can.” Reagan once invoked “Born in the U.S.A.,” which really depicts the loss of homes and jobs for the working poor. Lesley Stahl would say he’d lose his thoughts, search for words. Studies later say the invasive surgery Reagan endured could have caused eventual onset of memory loss. The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published a study of Reagan’s news conferences. They found three symptoms: repetition, substituting “it” and “thing” for nouns and a decline in unique words.  Wyman attended his funeral. Thatcher spoke by video. She, too, was a victim of dementia. His tombstone says what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.  Of course he is known for believing freedom leads to prosperity and replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.

Random: Chappaquiddick fact--all of the doors and windows to Teddy Kennedy’s car were open or shattered. How did his 6’2” self escape yet the 5’2” Mary Jo Kopechne remain in the vehicle? There was no autopsy on her because her family opposed it.  The scandal was forced out of the headlines because it was the same day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. Kennedy only pled guilty to leaving the scene.

Until 1900, voter turnout in the U.S. frequently exceeded 75 percent. It was 81.8 in 1876. WOW.

Learning about the butterfly mine is disgusting. They were explosive devices dropped by helicopters that children tried to capture and it instantly detonates in their hands.

You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I'd like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There's only an up or down: [up] man's old -- old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.