Beschreibung:

REAGAN, RONALD, President . Typed manuscript, draft of a campaign speech, with autograph revisions, dated at top 5 January 1979. 3 pages, 4to, plus a 4-line autograph addition on a separate sheet of lined paper , first page headed "Charleston/Pensacola," numerous deletions, corrections and additions in Reagan's hand (in black ink) and in a secretary's hand (in blue or red ink), a few passages on page 3 highlighted in yellow marker. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 1980 ELECTIONS A heavily revised campaign speech that belies the widely held notion that Reagan's speeches were invariably written by advisers. The earliest revisions are typed (about 15 words crossed out or inserted); these were followed by further revisions in a secretary's hand (40 words inserted), and finally by Reagan's much more extensive autograph revisions, consisting of numerous words or passages scratched out and approximately 215 words written in as corrections or insertions. Following Reagan's first bid for the presidency in 1968, he made no secret of his ambitions, and after stepping down as Governor of California in 1975 he launched into a more or less permanent campaign, which intensified after he nearly beat the incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 Presidential nomination. His newspaper column and regular five-minute radio program were supplemented by frequent public appearances, for which he commanded up to $5000 per speech. The present speech relates to foreign policy; in it Reagan attacks the Carter administration for its indecisiveness and for America's deteriorating image abroad, and opposes the Salt II treaty. "In the last few years this admin. has lurched from 1 crisis to another. The American dollar is under a pounding attack abroad... and American honor, American prestige, vital American interests and Americans abroad in service to their country are being assaulted on an unprecedented scale... We've been told by our leaders in Wash. that a crisis of confidence is spreading through our country. But those who tell us this are the ones who created the crisis. The collapse of confidence is in their leadership... Our one time great deterrent power has been neglected while this administration...passionately pursues the Salt II Treaty...which only confers permanent strategic superiority upon the Soviets and leaves us incredibly vulnerable to political blackmail...Now the Pres. has discovered the Soviets are not to be trusted--a fact known to almost everyone for quite some time...he claims that our mil[itary] strength is increasing but if that were so would our diplomats be murdered... our embassies torched and our people held hostage?...Like some others before him Pres. Carter believed the Soviet Union and the United States held common goals and a desire for peace. Instead of staying alert and prepared by keeping up our defenses he cancelled the B-1 bomber, slowed down the MX ["missile" deleted], shut down production of our minute man III missiles and cut the Navy buildup in half... The American people are demanding action...and if we are going to navigate the rough seas of the 1980s, it's going to take new leadership guided by a realistic view of the world and motivated by a clear sense of purpose...."