Ronald Reagan’s televised address to the nation after the Challenger disaster in 1986 touched the nation as few other presidential addresses have.
Reagan’s speech text was a masterpiece of brevity and eloquence, but it was the presentation which touched the nation. Simplicity was the order of the day. No crowds or stadiums were needed.
As always, Reagan brought his optimistic outlook and his abiding belief in the greatness of the nation’s spirit:
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.
President Reagan spoke directly to each and every one of us, in a way no one else could:
We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfQt9wYCofE?fs=1]
——————————————–
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
Visit the Legal Insurrection Shop on CafePress!
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Now That Was A Speech
And that was a President.
I still get the chills when hearing that speech.
I cry every time I hear that speech. So simple and so from the heart. I wish I had appreciated that man while he was president. (Recovering liberal).
Hmm…now compare that to Sarah Palin's astonishingly narcissistic attempt to make yesterday about how she is a victim.
Even leaving the ignorant bit about "blood libel" out of the equation, who seemed more "presidential" yesterday: the actual president, or the wannabe?
Speaking of which, what was with the faux-Whitehouse backdrop? Wherever the millions are going, it ain't to set design.
Hmm…now compare that to Sarah Palin's astonishingly narcissistic attempt to make yesterday about how she is a victim.
Are you serious? So, when someone libels you, you're just supposed to take it? Not me and not Sarah. You smear me, I fight back. It's the American way.
@sky…..
I suppose that a person who is accused of murder, when no such thing was even remotely true, should have laid down for the likes of viscous and slanderous tools such as yourself to trod upon?
Would you have done the same? Would you have accepted the undeserved and false accusations of fanatical followers of a "ideal"?
No, you would not have. You would have taken the responsibility, and would have had the respect for your family and self, to answer the charges.
Simply put, that is what Mrs. Palin did. Nothing more.
I miss having a real president!
Yes, a memorial oration, a loving tribute to brave souls, a compassionate embrace of their families, a leader devoid of ego, a call from a front line Commander-in-Chief to an intrepid nation to drive on. That is a speech.
I'm with @JoAnne – I wish I'd appreciated him when I was younger, as well. I truly don't know how I missed that that speech was just one small example of why people correctly honored Reagan as "the great communicator." I know he didn't write all his speeches, but I've learned after reading about him that he wrote many of his own speeches. He was eloquent, compassionate, and articulate, in addition to gifted in his ability with the written word.
Sarah Palin is the only person I've seen to-date, including The (narcissistic) One, who can claim to come even close to him. But the toxic liberal media, holding their weapon of controlling the airwaves (save talk radio) poison the minds of so many. That is the evil within, IMHO.
.
Mr Obama, the people's President gave a good speech and spoke directly to each and every one of us, in a way no one else could. It is a true joy watching you and your followers turn yourselves inside out avoiding giving credit where credit is due.
Your welcome.
Ema Nymton
.
On your other linked video: how the media has truly changed. Walter Cronkite was a liberal, but he was a consummate professional. He stated several times that the information he was reporting was NOT confirmed. So did the other reporters in Dallas. Contrast that to this toxic media today: NPR stating as FACT that Congresswoman Giffords was dead, unconfirmed but they did not so much as indicate that they had no confirmation. Besides the libel against Sarah Palin, a private citizen, with no apology, continued spreading of "memes" – it is something that would make the propaganda ministries throughout history "proud." Truly sickening and disgraceful.
Why don't the editors and producers of "news" today have this level of professionalism? Why are they unaccountable? I understand and believe in First Amendment rights, but what will it take for these media personal assassins to STOP lying and making things up?! How far our standards have fallen.
Notice – Reagan's speech was more powerful and memorable. It was short and to the point. No extraneous words. No exhortations to the citizens to do anything or to "change" the way they think. No politics. Focus on the victims and lamentation over the loss. Perfect tone, delivery and message. No cheering crowds of fans. No "pep rally" atmosphere. Utterly presidential. All under five minutes.
Obama? Rambles on for 35 minutes, asking that we all change the "rhetoric" or something. Could have shaved it down to ten minutes and focused exclusively on the victims. Didn't do that. It was more about him than the victims. More a pep rally with free t-shirts than a memorial. Decorum and class matters in a situation like this, and this administration just doesn't have it.
Thanks. With all the fawning they're doing (including Fox) with O, this was so darn refreshing. You always put everything in its proper perspective.
Thanks brother, I had forgotten this speech. I watched it as I had watched the explosion from Florida and how our business and practically every person I knew simply stopped. I was working in a bank branch, our tellers, all young women, just broke down in tears and shock. It was quite touching.
It was certainly not a pep rally for Obama, like we embarrassingly witnessed the other day. Generational difference highlighted by events.