sold Reagan Lists His Administration’s Greatest Achievements

Reagan had a way of reaching out to people that made him friends across much of the political spectrum. He was also seen as a principled man and people trusted him to do what he thought was right and not be controlled by interest groups. However, it seemed to some that his successor owed too much to the religious right, an impression heightened by the Republican Convention in 1992. That event moved life-long Republican Raymond Doig, a film executive at 20th Century Fox where he served for years as president and chief executive officer of Fox International, to write a heart-felt letter to Reagan on August 20, 1992. In the letter, a copy of which is present, he explained that he feared for the direction his party was taking under Bush, and said that Reagan’s continued leadership was needed. “…I believe that we have lost direction and have become captive of the Radical Religious Right. Your speech on the opening night of the party’s convention was deeply felt and appreciated by this deeply conflicted Republican. You helped me to focus on what is good and just about America. It was always easy to vote for you and embrace your view of America and the world, knowing that you represented the values and ideals I share…Our nation is at a troubled period…We need Reagan leadership not reactionary responses to issues that have been left untended these last four years…If only I had the choice of again voting for you, I would not be leaving the party…" This letter obviously mattered to Reagan, who not only answered it but had the response hand-delivered.

Autograph Letter Signed on his embossed personal notecard, 2 pages small 8vo, August 31, 1992, pointing out what Reagan obviously considered his administration’s greatest achievements, revealing to Doig that George Bush played an integral part in them, and making clear that jumping to the Democrats, who had opposed everything Reagan had tried to do, was no solution. “Thank you for your letter and kind words about my speech. But I must take exception to your concern about our party. We must stay together and prevent a takeover by the Demos. They have had a majority in the Congress for almost all of the last half century. In my 8 years as governor and 8 years as president, I was serving with a Democratic Congress and had to do battle with that Congress. For example, I submitted a budget to the Congress every year as I’m supposed to do. In every one of those 8 years the Congress put my budget on the shelf and submitted a "Continuing Resolution" to me as a substitute. In every instance their substitute called for more spending except in the military, where they reduced the services to a ridiculous level. When I became President, I discovered more than half our military aircraft on any given day could not fly for lack of spare parts. Contrary to the media, Bush as vice president participated in all the things we did, such as the tax reductions, created 19 million new jobs in the economy…eliminated many useless Federal regulations, etc. He was a major participant in the things we did. We were opposed by the Democrats in everything we accomplished. Again thanks for your kind words.” 

Many vice presidents have had no authority and little in the way of accomplishments (Eisenhower, when asked by a reporter if he could think of something Nixon had done as vice president, said he could if given a week to think about it). This letter testifies that Bush was an active participant in Reagan’s work, and shows that Reagan was sincerely working for Bush’s reelection. Perhaps most valuable is Reagan’s list of his accomplishments, as in such a situation the most important things are the ones that would come first to mind. There were three: tax cuts, job creation and reduction in Federal government controls. This historically important letter is crucial to understanding both Reagan’s view of his main accomplishments and Bush’s role within his administration.