Monday, October 27, 2008
First Reagan/Mondale 1984
Reagan says of this debate in the book:
"Well the debate took place & I have to say I lost. I guess I'd crammed so hard on facts & figures in view of the absolutely dishonest things he's been saying in the campaign, I guess I flattened out. Anyway I didn't feel good about myself. And yet he was never able to rebut any of the facts I presented & kept repeating things that are absolute falsehoods."
In this clip, Reagan's annoyance at what he feels is an outright lie by his opponent is clearly evident. He delivers his famous, "There you go again," but it does not seem to come off as humorous or light-hearted. It actually seems rather forced for such an accomplished actor, maybe even peevish or ill-tempered. Even from this short clip, it is rather evident that Reagan doesn't feel comfortable in this debate. He doesn't offer a substantive rebuttal to Mondale, but instead seems irate at the mention that he may possibly raise taxes. Mondale clearly gets under his skin with that claim, which is odd for a man of such legendary cool and confidence. He attempts to offer a rebuttal, but gets trapped in his past actions in the use of the phrase, "There you go again." Not one of Reagan's finest moments, but since most of the clips on YouTube are of Reagan's finest moments, someone has to portray one of his lowlights.
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1 comment:
Interesting take on the "lowlight," especially since he was so good on camera. It is also almost impossible to think of a President actually taking himself hard. It is a totally counterintuitive point after Gould notes a conversation between one of his acquaintances and his speechwriter who said Reagain "lived on the surface where the small waves are, not deep down where the heavy currents tug" (pg. 192). Thank you for showing us that side of Reagan! :)
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