Reagan's Reelection - HISTORY

In the 1984 presidential debates President Ronald Reagan relied on wit and poise to win a second term in office.

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On November 7, 1972, incumbent President Richard Nixon won a second term in a landslide victory over Democrat George McGovern. In a brief statement from the Oval Office, President Nixon promises to bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam and to usher in a "new era of peace" with the Soviet Union.

On August 23, 1984, President Ronald Reagan accepts his party's nomination for a second term. In his speech at the Republican National Convention, President Reagan promises a "springtime of hope" for America.

Defeating Democratic nominee Walter Mondale with an unprecedented electoral vote margin, President Ronald Reagan secured a second term as president of the United States. In his inaugural address on January 21, 1985, Reagan introduces the idea of a "new American emancipation."

On October 21, 1984, President Ronald Reagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale engage in their second nationally broadcast debate. When Henry Trewhitt of the Baltimore Sun asks the president about his advancing age, Reagan turns the question on its head by promising not to make an issue of his opponent’s youth and inexperience.

On November 3, 1975, less than a year after Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president, he announced in a letter to President Gerald Ford that he would not seek reelection to the vice presidency in 1976. On November 6, at a news conference in the Old Executive Office Building, his first public appearance since delivering the letter, Rockefeller cites "party squabbles" as his reason for withdrawing from the race.

When Ronald Reagan, as spokesperson for General Electric, gives his “Time for Choosing” speech in support of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run, he establishes himself as an important player in the Republican Party and jumpstarts his political career.

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