他的競選演說沒有那麼多亂七八糟不着邊際的勞什子許諾，他的理念非常明確，就兩條，減少政府控制，減少稅收。“我要減少政府開銷的增長，降低所得稅和資本利得稅，減少政府對經濟的調控與控制貨幣供應量，減少通貨膨脹。”。里根任期內有了美國歷史上為期最久的經濟擴張，美國恢復了從前的偉大和自信。Reagan, who announced it was “morning again in America,”
里根上任之後不久遭到一個精神病患者的行刺，這位老人家就有那個本事，楞是把這個悲哀和恐慌事件轉化為一個funny的事件，帶領全國人民一起娛樂消費他自己。除了那句醒來後對南希說的著名的 “Honey, I forgot to duck, ”，之間，他把醫院當作好萊塢的攝影棚， 在醫生、護士以及他的同僚面前，半昏迷半清醒地演繹了他高超的另類喜劇，將他在好萊塢的表演提高了非常多的檔次。 如果說在好萊塢他是三流演員，而在總統這個舞台，他是最為高明的明星。 時代周刊曾將里根總統在醫院期間的俏皮話記錄下來，題為:“Moment of Madness”， 總統的幽默讓美國人民至今津津樂道。
> To surgeons, as he entered the operating room: “Please tell me you’re Republicans.” （芹泥註：那個醫生本來是民主黨，卻配合着總統說，‘是，這裡全部都是共和黨’，里根才安然讓他們做手術。里根在這裡像孩子似的任性的幽默着，醫生像哄孩子一樣哄他們的總統趕緊手術。太過奇妙的怪異手術室，幽默電光像攝影棚的閃光燈，光波直射全美，跨越時代）
> In a written note, upon coming out of anesthesia in the recovery room (paraphrasing Comedian W.C. Fields): “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”
> In another note, recalling a Winston Churchill observation: “There’s no more exhilarating feeling than being shot at without result.” （芹泥註：把自己遇刺這個倒霉事看作一個非常hilarious的事情，這也就是美國總統能做到， 這也就是里根能做到。人家還有充分的理由吶，為什麼？沒有後果嘛。看到這裡，我腦子裡好像有個小孩很得意地說“你沒打到我”）
> In a third note: “Send me to L.A., where I can see the air I’m breathing.”
> In yet another note written while surrounded by medical staff: “If I had this much attention in Hollywood, I’d have stayed there.” (註：哈哈，我覺得，他在好萊塢應該是喜劇的編劇加導演加演員，可能成功性和關注力會更大一些。當然，歷史證明，還是總統這個舞台更適合他 )
> Complimented by a doctor for being a good patient: “I have to be. My father-in-law is a doctor.” (芹泥註：特別聽話，讚一個。).
> To an attentive nurse: “Does Nancy know about us?” (芹泥註：說得和真的一樣.)
> To a nurse who told him to “keep up the good work” of his recovery: “You mean this may happen several more times?” （芹泥註：再來幾次可以寫成sitcom serial。題目為，里根總統的幾次喜劇遇刺。這樣，不僅僅可以拿總統找樂，也可以拿總統的保鏢找樂，水平也太高了。這讓我想起來我一個老美朋友，她的丈夫曾經是里根的security agent. 可惜，當時並不那麼想了解里根，所以，也沒想起着打聽一些小道消息。）
> To Daughter Maureen: The attempted assassination “ruined one of my best suits.” ( 芹泥註：他在暗示女兒，趕緊給老爸去買一打suits。)
> Greeting White House aides the morning after surgery: “Hi, fellas. I knew it would be too much to hope that we could skip a staff meeting.” (芹泥註：多敬業的老闆)。
> When told by Aide Lyn Nofziger that the Government was running normally: “What makes you think I’d be happy about that?” (芹泥註：就是，地球離了我，應該不轉才對。)
>When I go in for a physical now, they no longer ask me how old I am, they just carbon-date me。 (芹泥注，特任性地拿自己的年齡開涮，誰讓他是最老的美國總統吶？)
右派在西方是保守派的代名詞， 他們有兩個特點， 第一是崇尚小政府，第二就是強烈反共。里根一上任之後，大量減稅，大量減少政府開支，但卻大量增加軍費，因為蘇聯的核武器對美國有非常大的威脅，長期以來，美國在和共產蘇聯的對抗中一直採取比較溫和的態度，蘇聯共產陣營卻十分強硬，很多軍事尖端技術處於領先地位。作為激烈的反共義士，里根star war 空間計劃的實施，讓蘇聯知道如果軍事對抗，蘇聯只有徹底輸掉這一條路。里根結束了冷戰，最終使得歐洲共產陣營全面瓦解，在他離任後的91年，蘇聯解體。
In foreign affairs, Ronald Reagan’s first term in office was marked by a massive buildup of U.S. weapons and troops, as well as an escalation of the Cold War(1946-1991) with the Soviet Union, which the president dubbed “the evil empire.” Key to his administration’s foreign policy initiatives was the Reagan Doctrine, under which America provided aid to anticommunist movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to develop space-based weapons to protect America from attacks by Soviet nuclear missiles.
總統的幽默段子有很多來源，有些是從著名的comedian， 有些是從CIA來的，有些是從10年前從蘇聯移民到美國後來成為talkshow的comedian來的，更有些從幽默的西班牙總理Felipe Gonzales來的,加上Timer的編輯，nightclub， 看看這來源，還真是豐富，從陽春白雪，到下里巴人， 灰常的集思廣益。 據說，很長一段時間，白宮的工作人員常常會說：“have you heard this one？ ”，然後開始幽默段子。 （感嘆，這種工作環境真好，以後申請白宮的工作），誰不喜歡工作時cranking jokes? 對不？當然，活還是要幹得漂亮哈。
好吧，放幾個有名的幽默段子：
''You know I have a recent hobby,'' the President remarked in a speech on economic matters earlier this month. ''I have been collecting stories that I can tell, or prove are being told by the citizens of the Soviet Union among themselves, which display not only a sense of humor but their feeling about their system.'' (芹泥註：這個hobby好玩，如果討厭一個事物，也可以如法炮製，演繹一些幽默故事哈。建議在萬維推廣一下。)。
* what are the four things wrong with Soviet agriculture? Spring, summer, winter and fall.
* What is the definition of a Communist? Someone who has read the works of Marx and Lenin. What is the definition of an anti-Communist? Someone who understands the works of Marx and Lenin。
*Two guards were patrolling at night and one of the guards told a man to halt, he started running and he shot him. The other guard asked, “why did you shoot him”, he replied: ”curfew”, “but curfew doesn’t start for another hour”, “that’s ok, he is my friend, I know he wouldn’t make it”。
* Castro was making a speech to a large assembly. Someone out in the crowd said，“ Peanuts popcorn crackerjack”. This happened about 4 times, so, Castro gets annoyed and says, the next man who says that gets deported to Miami. The entire crowd stands up and yells “POPCORN, PEANUTS, CRACKERJACK”
*Two Russians were walking down the street, one asked the other, “have you really achieved full communism?”. The other said: “oh, no, Things are about a lot worse.”
*The Commisar came to the collective farms to see how the harvest was doing and asked a farmer and the farmer said: “Oh, comrade commissar! If we took all the potatoes, they would reach the foot of God。”, “Comrade farmer, This is the soviet Union. There is no God”, “that’s okey, there is no potatoes. ”
*A judge was laughing in his office over a jock he heard. The secretary asked “what’s so funny?”, he replied “I just heard the funniest joke ever.”, “what was it?”, “I can’t say. I just sentenced a man to death for telling it”
Its hard to get an automobile in the soview union. They are owned mainly by elite bureaucrats. It takes an average of 10 years to get a car. 1 out of 7 families owned automobiles. You have to go through a major process and put the money out in advance. so this man did this and the dealer said "okay in 10 years come get your car." "Morning or afternoon?" The man replied. " well what difference does it make?" Said the dealer. "The plumber is coming in the morning."
In another car incident, Gorbachev was late from getting to the Kremlin from his house. He told the chauffer, "Look we are running late so let me drive. I insist." So He told the Chaufer to get in the back and he drove. Meanwhile the police were given strict orders to ticket anyone speeding no matter how important. So they were speeding down Moscow and two motorcycle cops pulled them over but didn't ticket him after he saw who it was. He goes back to the station and talks about it and was asked, "Why didn't you ticket him? "Too important." "Who was it?" "I didn't recognize him, but his driver was Gorbachev!"
Two men, an American and a Russian were argueing. One said, in my country I can go to the white house walk to the president's office and pound the desk and say "Mr president! I don't like how you're running things in this country!" The Russian said "I can do that too!" "really?" "Yes! I can go to the Kremlin, walk into the general secretary's office and pound the desk and say, mr. secretary, I don't like how Reagan is running his country!"
3 men, A Frenchmen, a Brit and a Russian are at a museum looking at a portrait of Adam and Eve. The Brit says, "Adam and Eve are British. They wear fig leaves and blush so they must be modest." The Frenchman says, "no, they are French because they are naked and in love." The Russian said, "You're both wrong. They are obviously Russian. They are naked, have only an apple to eat and yet they are told they live in paradise."
The Commisar came to the collective farms to see how the harvest was doing and asked a farmer and the farmer said "Oh commrade commisar! If we took all the potatoes, they would reach the foot of God." "Comrade farmer, this is the Soviet Union. There is no God." "Thats okay, there are no potatoes."
Two Russians were walking down the street, one asked the other, "Have we really achieved full communism?" The other said "oh no. Things are about to get worse."
An American dog, a Polish dog, and a Russian dog are talking. The American dog says: If you're hungry, all you've got to do is bark loudly enough and, eventually, someone will give you some meat. The Polish dog says: What's meat? The Russian dog says: What's bark?
Regarding Soviet leadership is, "How am I supposed to talk to them if they keep dying on me?"（芹泥： 就是，他們執意要死， 我也很無辜）
He made the remark in reference to the rapid succession of Soviet leaders in the early 1980s (Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko) all dying before he was able to establish a working diplomatic relationship.
“芹泥博這篇來得及時，萬維太需要幽默了。里根的幽默除了多年的演員職業訓練，還有就是他多次競選失敗的獲益。演員生涯和政治事業的起落等等豐富的經歷應該會使人看淡和看清。加上又有南希這樣的soulmate，里根的紳士氣派越發越接近高貴。 再借用加繆的話來看里根：Real nobility is based on scorn, courage, and profound indifference. 我相信生和死對里根這樣經歷的人來說，只會是profound indifference。這也就是南希說里根其實是個內心很難讓人進去的人。 我自認為，人生需要起落，需要各種經歷，需要多元化，更需要自由的來實施，那樣到頭來就會像里根那樣具有profound indifference，而接近高貴。至於里根經濟學和治理能力，我屬於認為美國的總統沒那麼偉大的一群人中的一員。謝謝！”
芹泥博這篇來得及時，萬維太需要幽默了。里根的幽默除了多年的演員職業訓練，還有就是他多次競選失敗的獲益。演員生涯和政治事業的起落等等豐富的經歷應該會使人看淡和看清。加上又有南希這樣的soulmate，里根的紳士氣派越發越接近高貴。 再借用加繆的話來看里根：Real nobility is based on scorn, courage, and profound indifference. 我相信生和死對里根這樣經歷的人來說，只會是profound indifference。這也就是南希說里根其實是個內心很難讓人進去的人。 我自認為，人生需要起落，需要各種經歷，需要多元化，更需要自由的來實施，那樣到頭來就會像里根那樣具有profound indifference，而接近高貴。至於里根經濟學和治理能力，我屬於認為美國的總統沒那麼偉大的一群人中的一員。謝謝！
