Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America, from 1981-1989. He is considered a heroic figure in the Republican party and conservative movement. His most famous quote may be “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” He also once quipped “I hope you’re all Republicans,” to the surgeons treating him after he was shot.
Reagan’s legacy is mixed, with supporters pointing to a more efficient and prosperous economy and a peaceful end to the Cold War. Critics argue that his economic policies caused huge budget deficits, quadrupling the United States national debt and that the Iran-Contra affair lowered American credibility. There is no doubt, however, that Reagan was a great and inspirational public speaker.
1. A people free to choose will always choose peace.
2. Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.
3. Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.
4. Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
5. How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
6. Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.
7. It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
8. We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
9. I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.
10. There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.
11. We in government should learn to look at our country with the eyes of the entrepreneur, seeing possibilities where others see only problems
12. A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough.
13. In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about.
14. The work of volunteer groups throughout our country represents the very heart and soul of America. They have helped make this the most compassionate, generous, and humane society that ever existed on the face of this earth.
15. The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.
16. The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
17. Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.
18. The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’
19. I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.
20. My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes. [Said during a radio microphone test in 1984]
Contributor: rushfan
#32 bulldada: Wow, the man has been in office a month and you're already labelling him a disgrace. I think you need to turn off the Limbaugh.
Obama has been in for three years now…and on his own records as President, he is most definately a disgrace.
Neat list, I suppose. Hope this is the first comment, too.
Quotes are always fun.
I didn’t realise he was so insightful…Cool list.
Insightful??? Have you been sniffing your user name?
Best President Ever
Great words from a not so great Presdent.
Much of Reagan’s greatness was his understanding of what government should do and (more importantly) his understanding of what government should not even try to do. Thanks for the list.
G-d awful president. Even the scab air traffic controllers that replaced the unionized ones Reagan fired eventually unionized under his watch.
Then there were the AIDs infected people Reagan ignored until it started killing his friends.
Nothing great about this man unless you’re blind and dumb.
I know very little about Reagan, but I do like the quotes – thanks for the list rushfan
ahhh..”The Gipper”, that is one of Ronald’s nicknames; while there were many problems with the 80′s, it, for the most part was a time of prosperity and overall peace (for America). Regan brought us out of the recession of the late 70′s, and the country flourished. Regan was not perfect, nor is any other president; but he was a man of principles and integrity.
BTW, Regan was much smarter than what certain people gave him credit for.
Agreed. Integrity, principles, and faith. Not perfect, but right-minded. It was nice to have a president that recognized moral law and gave credit to God without apology.
Many tried to get him to tone down the "tear down this wall" comment at Brandenburg gate. Thank God he didn't. Millions of people owe their freedom to his courage in Germany and across the former Soviet Union. He saw things with 20/20 vision.
I liked nr 7 and the last three the best. I don’t know if I like Reagan seeing as I know very little about him, but the qoutes were funny
EsBravo Reagan sold weapons to BOTH the Iraqi’s and the Iranian’s during their war in the 80′s, and when caught, had Ollie North take the fall for it. Look up the Iran/Contra Affair. He was dirtier than most would like to admit. Still love quote #1 though!
Conservatory guns on the list, g – Contra be one hydra of a game, remakes be damned yo
cool list
How long before these comments turn into a debate about Bush? I’m thinking soon. And around comment 100, we’ll hit the Obama-is-a-socialist debate.
Anyway – I’m far from a conservative, but Reagan was a great man.
Quote 3 on this list:
“Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honourable form of government ever devised by man.”
What he didn’t mention is that right wing totalitarianism is also acceptable to him.
Examples:
Chile
Nicaragua
I think he’s best known for “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Also for those not familiar, #19 refers to the time when he actually did fall asleep in a cabinet meeting.
Mr Reagan once called Princess Diana Princess David. He also had Alzheimer’s disease during the last few years of his second term.Go figure.
He didn't have any symptoms of Alzheimers til the mid 90s. Read the doctor reports.
I really enjoyed this list, some really cool quotes. Not being old enough to pay attention during his terms as prez all I know of him is the odd bits and pieces I have read about Contra, Nicaragua and something about military jets and the Iron ***** so it was a surprise to see he could be insightful, funny and self-deprecating.
You left out: “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do.”
Some good quotables here, even though most (if not all) of them were probably written for him by others.
Reagan is by a far and very wide margin the best President of recent years. He possessed an enormous understanding of what the role of government should be and fought for Peace. He stood up for what was right and good. Something that has been lost in the hype of the last few years. It’s sad to see our country going down the drain. My prayer is that there is another man or woman, like Reagan, somewhere that can really help. Not just give handouts.
Ronald Reagan is easily the greatest President to ever hold the office.
I was quite surprised that the “Tear down this wall.” quote was not here.
I don’t understand why many American consider Reagan a great president. I’m not saying he wasn’t, I am not American and always found him to be very blaise. I think he benifitted greatly by being in office during the 80′s when things were booming, I don’t think American properity had anything to do with him. The rest of the western world had the same boom and with no Reagan.
I don’t agree with most of his politics, but I’ll agree he was quotable and inspired many including a movement of young American conservatives.
@17…That’s incorrect about Alzheimer’s in his last few years as President. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 6 to 7 years after he left office and suffered with it for more than 10 years until his death in 2004. Alzheimer’s consists of more than memory issues, if that is your suggestion. People who have lived through Alzheimer’s with a loved one really can testify to the difference (it’s not pretty). Having been a Alzheimer’s care giver, I’ve always respected how Nancy Reagan dealt with his Alzheimer’s.
He was a horrible president with great speechwriters. Of course he could deliver lines, he was an actor! It was second nature even in his more addled years.
He was shot? I never realized!! Maybe bevause I was only born in 87 and i’m English.
JFrater maybe you could do a list of Top 10 people in the public eye who were shot and lived to tell the tale? (50 cent not included as he’s too obvious)
He’s still a retard.
I was born in 77, so when Reagan was president, I was a tiny child. My Mammaw was very active in the Republican party, and talked about him all the time… So much so, that I thought he was a long-lost relative. I thought Reagan was the grandpa or uncle that lived far away and had a very important job.
#23 Jake ryder: That quote was in the introduction. Did you not read the introduction?
I’m surprised “keep the government poor and remain free” didn’t make the cut.
Ronald Reagan can burn in hell.
Reagan was a heavy weight president like Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.
Every president since Reagan has been a disgrace, especially Obama.
#3???????????????????????????
I’m assuming this one was said after he got sick, because apparently he forgot that the Founding Fathers despised democracy so much that they founded a Republic, and thus Reagan was president over a Republic and not a democracy.
Great President, great quotes, great list, great author.
Regan was a warmongerer.
The picture right before number 11 was one of the major reasons that he was shot. Hinckley, being from Texas, was confused after the 136th viewing of his one true love (a 12 year old Jodie Foster) and in an attempt to provide… mistook Reagan for a deer!
Just kidding…
Hinckley never would’ve cheated on his own sister like that.
of course if you are “give me give me” American you are going to think he was a bad president, Was is not a Democrat that said Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country? Give me Give me what I need Mr. President just look at them asking President Obama for cars, jobs, and benefits what a disgrace… completely opposite of what President Reagan stood for (stand on your own two feet, work hard and you will better yourself)
no wealth distribution socialist garbage ideology
8. We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
Amen.
I suppose this isn’t the time to say–THIS LIST IS TOO AMERICAN!
Alzheimer’s is not a disease that hits you all at once. There’s a gradual decent that takes years before your denial about it is overwhelmed and you go get your diagnosis. I’m talking about my father and President Ronald Reagan. He was obviously impaired before his second term began. He was not a stupid man, he was sick. His last term was an embarrassment. After he left office, Grover Norquist, Karl Rove’s mentor decided to rewrite history and turn Reagan into a hero. Conservative republicans fell in line and hence we have people actually thinking he was a “great president.”
There’s no doubt that he was a great liaison between the government and the people, but you’ve got to admit that it’s pretty ironic that so many of these quotations glorify freedom in such a way. Certainly he was maintaining a binary between Russia and The United States, but the policy’s of his administration didn’t quite let freedom ring equally for all Americans.
Reagan was an actor that recited words (and quotes)that his speech writers put in front of him. The problem was he was such a good actor that a lot of people believed him. He was a dangerous man and we are lucky to have survived during his watch.
i hate that your ruined the Sunday list with this bum. I want a bloody entertaining list. Its okay you have a chance to redeem yourself tomorrow.
Ronald Reagan in regard to creating a Redwood National Forest,” a tree is just a tree, after all, I mean, how many do you have to look at?”
I used to have Alzheimer’s. At least, I think that’s what the doctors said… if my memory serves me correctly…
Great list! I love Reagan and his quotes, but my personal favorite was not on here!
Here it is: “A scientist is someone that takes something that works and theory and tries to make it work in reality, an economist is someone that takes something that works in reality and tries to make it work in theory.”
I first read ^^ quote in the book “Naked Economics” when I was taking economics 101 in college, great book, even if you aren’t in economics, it really explains a lot.
@ 40. JUNQUEMAN
Correct me if I am wrong, but haven’t there been Churchill and Thatcher quote lists on here before?
You forgot,
Homeless people want to be like that.
If you need money for your school hold a bake sale.
and…yeah…trees cause pollution. (classic republican BS)
or words to that effect.
Great list!!!!!! Fantastic President.
#32-100% correct.
Reagan was FTW. Best President ever…
I am so inspired right now that I have craped my pants. If you all will excuse me I need to find a flag to wipe myself with.
-Slipstick, I don’t know if he is a disgrace, but I don’t think any president has spent as much money as he has in such a short amount of time. I wonder if any president’s approval rating has dropped as fast as his. The poll I saw yesterday on CNN said his approval has dropped over 10% in one month. Can’t keep that up long…
The honeymoon is over…
Hey HAL9000 Reagan knew that AIDS was not something politicians should deal with. Also, those air traffic controllers he fired were breaking the law. Anyone else who breaks the law is fired so why shouldn’t they have been? And as far as that fact that the new ones unionized under his watch, that is no sign of failure on his part. He was not trying to destroy unions, he was enforcing the law – something modern officials have forgotten and what the union critics have forgotten is that Reagan was the only US Predident to be a union member and also a union president (he was president of SAG two times and still a member of SAG when he died) but Reagan always put priniciple over emotion. You don’t see that any more.
Wow #32: obama a disgrace… i believe he has been in office for 33 days. That still leaves him with a few hundred to go. Get over it, he won, mccain lost. lets get on with trying to fix our country that started to go downhill with “reaganomics”
Thatcher was his puppet nuff sed
Btw good list though
He was quote-worthy and charismatic. Too bad he started the huge mess that you, I, and the rest of the world are paying for right this very moment. You cannot trust the rich to do what is right; unless of course it results in further riches. De-regulation and improper oversight of what few rules were left in place, and the climate of greed he fostered, are responsible for the banking failure and recession we are experiencing today.
you are exactly right mom424. his “fiscal”spending policies were a joke. as were the two bush’s
You mean 20 famous quotes from the screenwriters who wrote the movies he was in. The most overrated president ever, the worst president in my lifetime. Yes, I know about the last one, but he was following the Reagan gameplan. Every economic woe we are facing today was due to the deregulation and discredited trickle down theories from his administration. Reagan famously stated that government can’t solve problems, only cause them. Then he proved himself right.