Ronald Reagan’s top ten speeches and debate moments


As we mark the centennial of his birth, we’d like to share ten memorable moments in Reagan’s political career, from his dramatic 1964 introduction to presidential politics to his “win one for the Gipper” farewell speech to the 1988 Republican convention.

The clips are presented in chronological order.

1. “A Time for Choosing”

In 1964, Reagan supported Barry Goldwater for president and gave a televised speech on his behalf. “A Time for Choosing” not only jumpstarted Reagan’s political career, but it is still revered today as some of the best American rhetoric of all-time. Two years later, Reagan went on to take the California governorship from Democrat Pat Brown. The rest is history.

View the entire speech>>>

2. “I’m paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!”

During his 1980 campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination, a two-person debate against George H.W. Bush in Nashua, N.H., was to be sponsored by the local newspaper. However, after the FEC ruled the sponsorship an illegal campaign contribution and Bush refused to pay half the cost, Reagan paid for the entire debate himself, to which he wanted to include the five other candidates. As Reagan tried to include the five other candidates in the debate, the moderator ordered his microphone turned off. He responded in his famous quote, “I’m paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!” — never mind the fact the editor’s name was Breen, not Green. The other candidates were not allowed in the debate and Reagan ended up carrying New Hampshire, 50 percent to Bush’s 23 percent.

3. The Final Presidential Debate Against Jimmy Carter

In the last presidential debate of the 1980 election, incumbent President Jimmy Carter attacked Reagan’s stance on health care. Carter argued that Reagan opposed Medicare, while he was proposing universal heath insurance. Reagan began his rebuttal in the now famous words, “There you go again.” His finished the debate by asking the American people if they were better off than they were four years ago. The answer must have been no, as Reagan won the election in a come-from-behind landslide.

4. The First Inaugural Speech

Regan began his inaugural speech on the steps of the Capitol addressing the economic crisis the country was in. One sentence was echoed throughout the speech and his presidency: “Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

5. The “Evil Empire”

Amid widespread public support for a nuclear weapons freeze, Ronald Reagan articulated the reason why the United States needed to aggressively challenge Godless Communism in what he described as an “evil empire.” The speech, which was condemned by liberals and many U.S. allies, was one of the clearest articulations of Reagan’s worldview.

Watch the speech in its entirety>>>

6. The 40th Anniversary of D-Day

In Normandy, France, Reagan spoke to the American Rangers who fought on D-Day in services for its 40th anniversary at the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument. After recounting the events of D-Day and the Allied forces reclaiming the continent to liberty, Reagan then compared of the fight against fascism to the then fight against communism. He concluded, “Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.”

7. The Last Debate with Mondale

One of the major issues against Reagan as he ran for re-election against Walter Mondale was his age. A halting performance in a debate led to more attention in the media. In the final debate, when journalist Henry Trewhiit asked him if his age would be an problem, Reagan quipped, “I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” The election was effectively over at that moment.

View the full debate>>>

8. The Challenger Disaster

Never before had America lost an astronaut in flight, Reagan addressed the nation to mourn the tragic loss of the Challenger Seven. He eloquently quoted “High Flight,” a sonnet written by John Gillespire Magee, The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. 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.”

9. “Tear Down This Wall!”

This speech at Brandenburg Gate commemorated the 750th anniversary of Berlin. Reagan used the speech in front of the Berlin Wall to challenge Mikhail Gorbachev, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to destroy the wall. A few years later, the wall fell and Reagan’s hated “evil empire” crumbled.

View the entire speech>>>

10. Farewell Address at the ’88 GOP Convention

Although Reagan formally said farewell to the nation in the Oval Office the following January, he used his speech at the 1988 Republican National Conference to thank the nation and encouraged his former opponent and two-term vice president, George Bush, to “Win one for the Gipper.” This was an allusion to his campaign slogan based a movie role he played in 1940 about a dying football player, George Gipp, who told his team if they are down, to be inspired by him and “Win one for the Gipper.”

  1. STATW says:

    only in america can an absent-minded actor be so revered for screwing up this once great country.

    happy birthday ronnie, though i’m sure you have no idea what day it is or even where you are.

  2. The voodoo of his trickle down economics proved a disaster for the nation and plunged us into trillion dollar debt for the first time. No re-writing history. A disaster, which “the Great Communicator” and his Republican henchmen hid from the American people.

  3. Brealistic says:

    Ronald Reagan worship the Republican god and mantra . The father of huge defense increases and the completely busted theory of trickle down economics. A man that had altimeters for half his term in office. Was he a bad president no. He did some very good things. Was he what he’s made up to be now by the Republicans. Definitely no.

  4. Brealistic says:

    “Alzheimer’s” that’s what you get when you eyes are tired..LOL !

    Reagan was god. People forget he was primarily a ACTOR for Christ’s sakes..

  5. iknowtruthismine says:

    The second this grade B actor assumed The White House, he paid off on a promise to the oil companies to end ALL the incentives Carter had put in place to find alternate and green energy, setting the effort back thirty years. Many of our current problems, all related to ecologically disastrous and soon (in geopolitical terms) to be depleted foreign oil, can be laid at his feet and at the feet of the corporate controlled Right-wing (including the idiot Tea Party rubes), who are intent on running the world into the ground, as they extract as much for themselves as they can while the getting is good.

  6. Will says:

    I love how these liberal bed-wetters slam a widely loved and respected man who even liberal Chuck Schumer called “one of our better presidents.” Ronald Reagan restored American pride and confidence through his words and actions. His policies ignited a 20+ year period of robust economic growth and he won the Cold War. What’s the matter guys, those facts were missing from your Daily Kos talking points. Get a job and grow up.

  7. maverick100 says:


    Reagan was a great orator, which made him out to be a very “presidential” President.

    But his policies all sucked. HARD.

  8. Mike Lieman says:

    Was our favorite when he raised taxes to save Social Security?

    Was our favorite when he cut and ran from libya?

    or Was our favorite when he worked WITH Iranian Terrorists and Hezbollah giving them high-tech weapons?

    I think that was my favorite. When he aided the Iranian terrorists.

  9. iknowtruthismine says:

    Mike – Reagan did what was expedient at the time to serve the wealthy clique that owned him. Short term profits always outweigh long term coherent policy. When he cut and ran from Lebanon (not Libya) it was for the same exact reason the rich don’t have bank savings accounts, no interest.

  10. @STATW, he’s dead and his corpse is rotting somewhere. DUH.

    Now there are those who will say that is “disrespectful”. I say his policies live on, disrespecting millions.

    Reality bites.

  11. Dale Gribble says:

    Love how the Neo-Cons attribute “20+ year period of robust economic growth” to Reagan.

    Let me get this straight:
    Prosperity under Clinton was due to Reagan
    Economic problems under GWBush were due to Clinton
    Current Economic strife is due to Obama.

    So the trend is that a good economy is due to the republican president who preceeds a democrate.
    However any economic trouble is due to a Democrate President who follows a Republican.

  12. Will says:


    When did I mention any President other than Reagan? The economy under Clinton was good. It was good under HWBush for the most part. It was good under W for 28 out of 32 quarters of his presidency. The last six months and until present day the economy has not been good if you judge it by job growth, unemployment rate, GDP growth and the housing market. The main cause of this is the housing market crash. The housing market crashed because hundreds of thousands of people were given homes without putting any money down and without showing good credit. It was Dodd, Frank and Obama who were pushing to continually loosen lending standards under Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac and the Community Reinvestment Act. But the orginally debate was over Reagan. When Reagan took office we had stagflation, mortgages near 20% and a crisis of confidence. His policies (across the board tax cuts, deregulation, etc) and his leadership fostered the competitive environment that fostered entrepreneurship and an enviroment that ignited 20+ years of economic growth. Indeed.

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