Reagan humor

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on Feb 6, 1911. I wanted to celebrate his life the next couple of weeks with some great posts about him. Today I am starting off with some funny quotes from him.

“Politics is just like show business. You have a hell of an opening, you coast for awhile, you have a hell of a closing.”

“What does an actor know about politics?” -criticizing Ed Asner for opposing American foreign policy

“What makes him think a middle-aged actor, who’s played with a chimp, could have a future in politics?” -on Clint Eastwood’s bid to become mayor of Carmel

“How can a president not be an actor?” -when asked “How could an actor become president?’

“I hope you’re all Republicans.” -speaking to surgeons as he entered the operating room following a 1981 assassination attempt.

“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency — even if I’m in a Cabinet meeting.”

“Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'”

“I don’t know. I’ve never played a governor.” -asked by a reporter in 1966 what kind of governor he would be

“There is absolutely no circumstance whatever under which I would accept that spot. Even if they tied and gagged me, I would find a way to signal by wiggling my ears.” –on possibly being offered the vice presidency in 1968

“You can tell a lot about a fella’s character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful.” -explaining why he liked to have a jar of jelly beans on hand for important meetings

“I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” -during a 1984 presidential debate with Walter Mondale

“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”

“As a matter of fact, Nancy never had any interest in politics or anything else when we got married.”

“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.”

“I’m afraid I can’t use a mule. I have several hundred up on Capitol Hill.” -refusing a gift of a mule