Reagan’s Last Joke… that ‘bout sums it up!

During Reagan’s last public speech, he tells the tail of a “pure” woman getting married for the fourth time.

[thehairygolfer]

She goes on to say her 4th husband to be is a lawyer. She is confident she will get screwed this time.

[ShahinAmerian]

every time I see the guy, I notice how unbearable are today's politicians .

[hariseldon]

Oh dear - even after all these years he still knocks it out of the park... we miss you!

[Macm]

And that folks is how you tell a joke.

[Tomtabsands]

I was privileged to see Reagan speak. A crowd of hecklers were chanting. Regan stopped speaking and said. I hate to break this to them but I can’t understand a word they are saying. The crowd roared and the hecklers left. It was gold. 1984 great times.

[leerothman]

NO politician today can come close to this man's wit and humor

[chrisgunsandguitars]

“how good it’s going to be”! Great punch line!

[lorenzroberts]

He said it best when he pointed out the 9 worst words you could hear are..."I'm from the government, and I'm here to help".

[s.h.]

Miss you sir! You were a great President. You did Awesome! Rest in Peace. ❤❤❤

[robertbutler]

A great President with a great sense of humor.

[fobbitoperator]

Charisma. He certainly had it in truckloads!

[extrom]

Don't forget in his presidential debate when the concerns for his age were addressed, and he said "I assure you that for the sake of this debate, and for the American people, I will not take advantage of my opponents youth and inexperience".

[HTOP]

It does not matter which side of the aisle, these old timers were not vicious like some of the ones we have now.
They disagreed, competed, but ultimately respected each other

[possumbob]

INDEED!! I was in the military under Cater we all had targets on us across the globe. When President Reagan took office we all felt better and could tell He talked the talk AND walked the walk. God bless Him, and in my book he is deeply missed❤❤❤! Miss you Sir!!

[jake-fpmy]

Oh man, that was great. I was still kid when he was in office but man what a class act. The best part is this joke is still relevant.🇺🇸

[willowwisp]

Ronald Regan was one of the BEST Presidents Ever.

[brianperry]

I'm a Brit and l look back to President Reagan's administration as one of the great periods in the twentieth Century when he and other world leaders like Thatcher and Gorbachev got together and talked the talk...and changed the map of unlike the present, where Hate and Anger have replaced

[forestbrooks]

He’s priceless 😂! What went wrong with everyone! Certainly can use more laughter these days!

[koleberdinoch]

I don't know of any other politician (let alone a political leader) in history who regularly told jokes. I'm struggling to think of another politician who ever told just one joke, other than the occasional quip. Reagan was unique.

[philosophicalconservative]

In one of the earlier comments, someone stated tersely that Reagan's speechwriters gave him all his jokes. This is along the same vein as the frequent more general claim that Reagan's great ability to communicate came from his speechwriters, insinuating that he wasn't really all that intelligent. Funny thing is that Reagan's actual speechwriters say just the opposite.

According to Peter Robinson, the Reagan speechwriter who wrote his famous "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall" speech, Reagan was very actively involved in writing his speeches -- much more so than, for example, George H.W. Bush for whom Robinson also worked. He described how Reagan would take speech drafts, mark them up extensively, often writing or rewriting large sections on his own (and Reagan's changes almost always were an improvement). Of course, like all great communicators who want to use humor effectively, he collected stories and jokes that he repeated. Nothing wrong with that.

In Robinson's book, "How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, " he records that when he (Robinson) create the draft of the "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall" speech, he decided to address head on the contradiction between the presence of the massive Berlin wall and Gorbachev's claims to want more openness and freedom. This went against what Reagan's policy advisors and diplomats wanted ("too provocative"). Reagan loved the idea! Robinson said that he (Robinson) had struggled with the wording in that famous section of the speech and was talking about it with Reagan. Reagan interjected with something like, "So what you're trying to say is, 'Tear down this wall.'" So the most memorable part of the speech was Reagan's own words. And that was a common thing.

Even in the car ride to the Brandenburg Gate where Reagan was to deliver the speech, his aids were trying to talk him out of leaving that part in. Reagan responded, "I'm the President of the United States, so it's ultimately my decision. I'm leaving it in because it's the RIGHT thing to say."

Read Robinson's book, "How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, " and you will see that the real Reagan was brilliant, highly engaged, extremely well prepared and well-read, truly caring, and driven by a deep, well-understood and cohesive core philosophy -- very different from the false caricature the left has constructed over the years.

Reagan was also a man of integrity -- GENUINE to the core. I hate it when people say, "Reagan was effective because of his acting ability." To which, I reply, "No, he was effective because he WASN'T acting!" And he was driven by a vision for the country that he was trying to fulfill. I once heard someone describe him this way: Most presidents want to be president because they want to BE something; Reagan wanted to be president because he wanted to DO something.