Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
“48 Hours on Crack Street” (CBS news special), 123
“99 Luftballons (99 Red Balloons)” (Nena song), 117
ABM Treaty, 108, 231, 232, 234
abortion: Bush and, 258; Carter and, 25; Ford and, 15–16; Koop and, 212, 213; public funding for, 43, 95, 258, 317n46; Quayle and, 250; Reagan and, 13, 15, 29, 31, 43, 95–96; Republican Party and, 22, 95–96; Supreme Court and, 179, 220–21, 258, 290
Abrams, Elliott, 182, 184, 265, 335n16
Achille Lauro hijacking, 188, 336n29
ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), 215
Adelman, Kenneth, 229
Advertising Age, 132
affirmative action, 16, 25, 26, 42, 162, 342–43n66. See also civil rights
Afghanistan, 18, 24, 228, 238–39, 274–76, 352nn50–51
Africa, 38–39, 268–69. See also Angola; Egypt; Libya; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa
African Americans: and the 1984 presidential election, 170, 174; and the 1988 presidential election, 243 (see also Horton, Willie); and crack cocaine, 124; and the Democratic Party, 167–68; government and white violence feared by, 139; incarceration of, 5, 124, 149; judicial appointees, 178; mocked by Dartmouth Review, 127; in music, 136, 137–38; new breakthroughs/opportunities, 161; politicians and public officials, 141, 149–50; poverty and racial inequality, 142–45 (see also poor, the); Reaganism’s negative impact on, 294–95; Reagan’s alienation of, 162; Reagan’s attitudes toward, 7–8, 24–25, 140; rising middle class, 141–42, 144; single parenthood among, 143–44; social disruption and racial tensions, 139–41, 149–54; unemployment among, 17, 93, 143; and violent crime, 147–48, 149, 152–56, 288, 327n40, 328n43, 328–29n62; Watts riots (1965), 13; white prejudice against, 174. See also civil rights; race and racial (in)equality; and specific individuals
African National Congress (ANC), 66. See also Mandela, Nelson
Agriculture Department. See school lunch program
AIDS epidemic, 6, 129–34, 202, 210, 212–15, 323n42
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 95, 143–44, 310n51. See also welfare
Ailes, Roger, 255
air traffic controllers’ strike, 85–87
Akhromeyev, Sergei, 231
Allen, Richard V., 71, 81, 164
Al-Shiraa magazine, 195
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 167, 247–48
American Life, An (Reagan), 293
Americans with Disabilities Act, 259
Ames, Robert, 111
ANC. See African National Congress
Anderson, John, 305n61
Anderson, Martin, 34
Anderson, Terry, 339n81
Anderson, Wendell, 20
Andropov, Yuri, 83, 109, 110–11, 112, 117, 224
Anti–Ballistic Missile Treaty. See ABM Treaty
anti-Americanism, Third World, 72–73
anticommunism. See communism
Anti-Drug Abuse Act (1986), 124
antisodomy laws, 133
apartheid. See South Africa
Aquino, Corazon, 262–63
Arbatov, Georgi, 227
Arias, Oscar, 265
Armacost, Michael, 262
Armitage, Richard, 262
Arms Export Control Act, 189, 336n33
arms-for-hostages deal. See Iran-Contra scandal
Armstrong, William, 20
Arthur (1981 film), 120–21
Asian Americans, 151–52
Asian imports, 288
Assad, Hafez al-, 187
assassination attempt on Pres. Reagan, 57–58, 71
Associated Press, 193
Atwater, Lee, 170–71, 244–48, 254–55, 257. See also elections: 1988 presidential campaign and election
Auletta, Ken, 143
Australia, 40
automobile industry, 23, 151–52
Aylwin, Patricio, 265
Azerbaijan, 273
B-1 bomber, 68
Babbitt, Bruce, 87
Baker, Howard, 49, 56, 59, 217
Baker, James: and the 1982 budget, 59; and the 1984 presidential campaign, 171; as Bush’s secretary of state, 270, 278; and foreign policy, 75, 105, 239; and the national security adviser vacancy, 113; as Reagan’s chief of staff, 50–52, 89, 309n21; and Social Security, 52, 162; and Stockman, 53, 64–65; on third-party Contra funding, 182, 334n2
Baker, Russell, 92
Bakker, Jim and Tammy Faye, 210–11
Baldwin, James, 147
Bandar bin Sultan, Prince, 181, 278, 336n27
banking industry, 44, 98, 126, 202. See also savings-and-loan crisis; Wall Street
Barnes, Clifford, 245, 247, 253. See also Horton, Willie
Bartels, Larry M., 4
Baucus, Max, 96
Bauer, Gary, 213
Beirut. See Lebanon
Bellow, Saul, 128–29
Bentsen, Lloyd, 35
Biaggi, Mario, 206
“Billie Jean” (Jackson music video, 1982), 137–38
bin Laden, Osama, 275
Bishop, Maurice (Grenadian P.M.), 114
Blackmun, Harry (Justice), 133
Blass, Bill, 48
Block, John, 92–93
Blumenthal, Sydney, 249
Bob Jones University, 25, 43, 140
Boesky, Ivan, 125, 126, 202, 208, 209, 285
Boland Amendments, 82, 166, 184, 185, 186, 199, 335n8. See also Iran-Contra scandal
Bonfire of the Vanities, The (Wolfe), 125, 295
Bonner, Raymond, 80
Born in the U.S.A. (Springsteen album, 1984), 169
Bosworth, Stephen, 262
Bowers v. Hardwick, 133
Brady, Nicholas, 245
Brawley, Tawana, 154, 156, 329n67
Brazile, Donna, 346n1
Breaux, John, 59
Brown, Edmund (“Pat”), 13
Bruck, Connie, 284
Brzezinski, Zbigniew, 274, 352nn50–51
Buchanan, Pat, 129
Buckley, William F., Jr., 129
budget. See budget, federal
budget, federal: 1982 budget, 31, 53–60, 65, 91, 316n26; 1983 budget, 95; 1985 budget, 56–57; 1990 budget, 258; Carter budget cuts, 18, 303n23; defense budget, 39–40, 54–55, 59; Gramm-Rudman law, 178, 258, 333n58; Mondale on, 171–72; pork-barrel projects, 59
Buffett, Warren, 283
Burford, Anne, 44
Burger, Warren (Chief Justice), 133, 140, 179
Bush, George H. W.: and the 1980 election, 21, 22; 1988 presidential campaign, 241–48, 249–52, 272, 347n21; Afghanistan ignored, 276; background and temperament, 242, 247, 248; and China, 263–64; as CIA director, 36; and civil rights legislation, 259, 349n51; and the culture wars, 257–60 (see also Bush, George H. W.: and the 1988 presidential campaign); Democratic fear of, 266; and the fall of the Soviet Union, 269–74; fiscal policy, 257–58; and Gorbachev, 3, 225, 269; governing approach, 257–58; and Iran-Contra, 182, 184–85, 190, 195–96, 198, 242, 248, 335n14; and the Iran hostage crisis, 305n57; and the minimum wage, 281; and Panama, 267–68; and the Persian Gulf and Middle East, 274, 276, 277–79; and the Philippines, 83, 262; and Reagan’s economic policy, 34; and the Republican attack on Foley, 257; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 205; and South Africa, 268, 269; Soviet policy, 224, 225, 269
Bush, George W. (son), 62, 356n51
Bush, Neil, 294
business, 41, 43–46, 62, 95, 125–26, 285–89. See also banking industry; deregulation; Wall Street
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969 film), 237
Byrd, Robert, 49
Byrne, Jane, 142
Cabey, Darrell, 152
California: 1990 gubernatorial race, 292; antidiscrimination laws, 12, 213; immigrants in, 81, 159; JBS in, 12; policing in, 157–58; and presidential campaigns, 19, 171, 254; Proposition 13 (property tax bill), 20; Reagan as governor of, 13–14. See also Los Angeles; San Francisco; and specific individuals
Canada, 40–41
Cannon, Lou, 8, 49–50, 202, 334n2, 337n35
capital gains tax, 20, 44, 61–62, 255
capitalism: in China, 263; Reaganist belief in virtues of, 1, 125, 207, 223; as social norm, 3. See also business; Wall Street; wealthy, the
Cárdenas, Cuauhtémoc, 267
Caribbean basin, 101–2. See also Central America; Cuba; Grenada
Carranza, Nicolas (Col.), 105
Carson, Johnny, 121
Carter, Billy, 19
Carter, Jimmy: 1976 campaign and election, 16, 174; 1980 campaign, 11, 21–29, 99–100, 173, 174, 305n58, 63; and Central America, 39, 77, 79; character, 7, 19–20; domestic policies, 25–26, 43; economic policy, 16–18, 20, 29, 35, 44, 85, 303n23); foreign policy, 19, 36, 274, 314n61 (see also Carter, Jimmy: and the Soviet Union); and human rights, 71, 82; inauguration, 47, 110; and the Iran hostage crisis, 18, 114; on Marcos, 83; military spending/buildup under, 19, 26, 39–40, 54, 67, 68–69, 303n30, 307n32; and nuclear nonproliferation, 27, 110; presidency, 16–20; social skills, 49; and the Soviet Union, 18–19, 27, 36, 68–69, 274
Casey, William (“Bill”): and anti-Soviet policy, 36–37, 72; as campaign manager, 21; and Central America policy, 78, 82, 165; credibility of, 165; foreign policy and Reagan’s relationship with, 70, 82; on the Grenada invasion’s message, 115; and Iran-Contra operations, 182, 184, 185, 192, 195–97; and the Iran hostage crisis, 305n57; and the Lebanon war, 187, 336n27; and the national security adviser vacancy, 113; and North, 182
CBO. See Congressional Budget Office
CDF. See Conservative Democratic Forum
Celeste, Richard, 205
Center for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV), 146
Central America: American missionaries in, 39, 73–74, 79; Reagan policy in, 39, 66, 72–73, 76–83, 101–6, 238, 265–66, 296–97 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); refugees/immigrants from, 80–81, 158. See also Latin America; and specific countries
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): and the Afghan mujahideen, 275, 276; agents killed in bombing of U.S. embassy in Beirut, 111; and arms sales to Iran, 191, 198 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); and Nicaragua, 106, 165–66, 266; personnel spying for the USSR, 228; and secret Contra funding/operations, 106, 184–86, 195 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); Soviet analysis audited, 36. See also Casey, William
Central Park jogger, 155–56
Challenger disaster, 201
Chamorro, Violeta, 266, 350n14
Chapman, Tracy, 160
Chariots of Fire (1981 film), 119
Charles, Ray, 172
Chen, Vincent, 151–52
Cheney, Richard (“Dick”), 62
Chernenko, Konstantin, 117, 225
Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 229–30
children: advertising aimed at, 45; and AIDS, 133, 212; busing of, 8; crack epidemic and, 124; drug education, 122, 267; homeless children, 144, 146; predation and violence against, 131, 139, 147–48, 260, 327n37; programs for needy children, 60, 91–93, 95, 143–44, 310n51, 316n29; Quayle interviewed by, 250. See also Pledge of Allegiance
Christian conservatives (Christian conservatism): and 1980s culture, 3, 137; and the AIDS epidemic, 202, 212–14; evangelist scandals, 202, 210–12; homosexuality disapproved of, 128, 129–30, 131, 202; Reagan and, 25–26, 31, 41, 43; social agenda, 43, 96 (see also abortion; school prayer); and the Third World, 73–74
Christian Phalange (Lebanon), 76, 111
Christians and Christian churches: American churchwomen murdered, 39, 79; Carter’s faith, 19–20; and Central American refugees, 81; evangelist scandals, 202, 210–12. See also Christian conservatives
Chrysler Corporation, 23
Chuck D, 157
Church, Frank, 28
CIA. See Central Intelligence Agency
civil rights: affirmative action, 16, 25, 26, 42, 162, 342–43n66; Bush and, 259, 349n51; Chin case, 151–52; Civil Rights Act (1964), 8, 12; Civil Rights Restoration Act (1988), 222; for gay Americans, 214; Reagan and, 7–9, 12, 13, 24, 41–43, 162–63, 222; Voting Rights Act (1965), 8, 43, 174; white opposition to civil rights laws, 12–13, 15. See also race and racial (in)equality
Clark, Joe, 229
Clark, Maura, 79
Clark, William, 81–82, 104, 105, 113, 314n58
Clarridge, Duane, 82, 106, 191
Clean Air Act, 44
Closing of the American Mind, The (Bloom), 128
cocaine, 121–25, 185, 208. See also drugs
Cohen, Richard, 92
Cohn, Roy, 121
Colby, William, 72
Cold War: Cold War thinking, from Vietnam to Reagan, 35–38; end of, 206, 224, 233, 237, 239–40, 269, 278–79 (see also foreign policy: U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations; Soviet Union: collapse of); and freedom, 9, 67 (see also freedom); Germany and, 271 (see also West Germany); proxy wars, 38–39, 66, 72–74 (see also central America; El Salvador; Nicaragua); Reagan’s leadership role, 3–4, 9, 239. See also communism; Soviet Union
Coll, Steve, 276
Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), 36–37, 109, 230–31
communism: fears of, 36; John Birch Society on, 12; Latin American leftist movements labeled communist, 77; in the Philippines, 262–63; propaganda campaign against, 67; Reagan’s crusade against, 9, 11–12, 66, 261, 269 (see also Afghanistan; Angola; El Salvador; military, U.S.: Reagan’s military buildup; Nicaragua; Soviet Union); Soviet and Cuban influence worldwide, 38–39, 66; spread of, 38–39, 66, 72–73; tied to terrorism, 66, 71–72, 75, 115. See also Cold War; Soviet Union
Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (1986), 180
computers, 285–86
Congress: and the 1982 budget, 56–57, 58–59; and the 1985 budget, 164; and the 1987 budget, 203–4; and the 1980 election, 28–29, 79; and the 1984 elections, 176–77; and the American flag, 260; and civil rights, 222; and covert operations, 199–200; early support for Reagan’s proposals, 48–49; and environmental regulation, 44; further spending cuts resisted, 62; Gramm-Rudman law passed, 178; and the Iran-Contra scandal, 185, 215–20; and the Kuwaiti tanker-reflagging policy, 276; and Martin Luther King Day, 163; Meese confirmation hearings, 165, 177–78; and military spending, 65; and the minimum wage, 281; and Noriega, 267; and the nuclear freeze movement, 70, 110, 319n33; and the Persian Gulf War, 278; personal attacks, as political tactic, 255–57; and Reagan’s visit to West Germany, 179; and the Reagan transition costs, 40; and the sale of planes to Saudi Arabia, 75; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 204–5, 339n11; and SDI funding, 110, 234; Security and Terrorism Subcommittee, 72; and Social Security, 162 (see also Social Security); and South Africa, 180; and tax cuts, 20, 35, 56–57, 60–62, 65; and the Tax Reform Act, 178; and U.S. operations in Central America, 78, 79, 82, 102–3, 165–66, 185–86, 194, 216, 218, 265 (see also Congress: and the Iran-Contra scandal); and the wars on drugs and crime, 124
Congressional Black Caucus, 124
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 56, 63, 353n5, 354n15
Conservative Democratic Forum (CDF), 56, 58
Conservative Opportunity Society (COS), 255
conservatives and conservatism: and the 1980 election results, 29; and the 1988 election campaign, 244; and the AIDS crisis, 129, 212–14; American politics reshaped by, 2–5; Bush’s reshaping of conservatism, 241; compassion for the disadvantaged lacking, 5–6, 60, 140, 297; conservative Democrats, 176–77 (see also Southern Democrats); conservative publications, 72, 127–28 (see also specific publications); conservatives as percentage of population, 4, 300n7; crisis of legitimacy, 202–3; cultural split, 2, 128 (see also culture; hedonism; traditional values); and the culture wars, 259–60; détente opposed, 15, 35–40; economic conservatism, 85, 88–89 (see also economic policy); and economic inequality, 280–82; gay conservatives, 128–29; and hedonism, 3, 129–30; outraged by Reagan tax hikes, 95; and patriotism, 10, 292 (see also patriotism and national pride); post-1990 relationship to Reaganism, 292; public debate framed by, 4–5; public dissatisfaction with, 201–2; and racial equality, 7, 8 (see also civil rights; race and racial [in]equality); and the Reagan legacy, 293; Reagan reluctant to be called conservative, 22; rightward tide hailed, 40–41; and the Third World, 72–73; voluntarism preferred over government, 251. See also neoconservatives; Reaganism; Republican Party; and specific individuals, organizations, issues, and topics
Contras. See Iran-Contra scandal; Nicaragua
corruption: in Congress, 204–5, 206–7, 255–56; in the Reagan administration, 6–7, 164–65, 177, 205–6, 294, 331n8; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 202, 204–5, 339n11; on Wall Street, 202, 207–9, 284–85
COS (Conservative Opportunity Society), 255
Cosby, Bill, and The Cosby Show, 141–42, 288
Costa Rica, 265
Country (1984 film), 147
Courtwright, David T., 294, 299n3
CPD. See Committee on the Present Danger
crack cocaine, 122–24. See also drugs
crime: crack and, 123; fear of, 139, 148–49; gangsta rap and, 157; murder for shoes, 288; police powers broadened, 124; prison construction, 5, 259; race and, 149–58, 327n40, 328n43, 328–29n62; sodomy as, 133; war on, 5, 124; Willie Horton case, 245–46, 250, 253–54. See also gangs; drugs
criminal justice system: and African Americans and the poor, 7, 151, 154–55, 157–58; defendants’ rights, 148–49; drug war and police powers, 124; growth of, 5; incarceration rates, 5, 124, 149
Crist, David, 111
Crocker, Chester, 268
Crowe, William (Adm.), 262
Cuba: 1984 Summer Olympics boycotted, 169; and Angola, 38, 73; blockade suggested, 24; Cuban refugees, 80, 158; and Grenada, 102, 114–15; Haig on, 79; and the Nicaraguan Contras, 77; and terrorism, 71
culture: Carter on materialism, 19–20; culture wars, 241, 257–60; drugs and, 121–24 (see also drugs); glitz, 210; of greed, 125, 209 (see also corruption); hedonism vs. traditionalism, 2, 119–20, 292, 296, 299n3 (see also hedonism; traditional values); and homosexuality (see homosexuality); liberal trend among general population, 299n3, 300n7; music, 99, 136–38, 144, 156–57, 160; Olliemania, 218–19; postmodernism, 134–36; rap/hip-hop culture, 156–57; Reaganism’s influence on, 2, 3; rising black middle class, 141–42; Wall Street culture, 125–26, 208 (see also Wall Street); wealth/luxury emphasized, 119–21; yuppie culture, 126–27. See also fear; patriotism and national pride; race and racial (in)equality
Curran, James, 131
Czechoslovakia, 270–71
Daily Oklahoman, 93
D’Amato, Alfonse, 207
Dart, Justin, 32
Dartmouth Review, 127
D’Aubuisson, Roberto, 73
Davies, Gareth, 95
Davis, Mike, 159
Day After, The (ABC, 1983), 116
Deaver, Michael, 6, 51–52, 89, 113, 183, 205
de Borchgrave, Arnaud, 72
debt, federal, 283, 354n14. See also deficits, federal
debt, household, 281–82
deconstructionism, 134
deficits, federal: under Carter, 18; Deficit Reduction Act (1984), 164; Gramm-Rudman law and, 178, 258, 333n58; Reagan budgets and tax cuts and, 55–56, 60, 62–63, 282–83. See also debt, federal
deindustrialization. See manufacturing sector
de Klerk, F. W., 269
DeLillo, Don, 134–35
democracy, spread of, 261–69, 278. See also Warsaw Pact nations
Democratic Party: and the 1982 budget, 56–57, 58; and the 1990 budget, 258; and the 1980 election, 28–30; and the 1982 midterm elections, 96–98; and the 1984 presidential campaign and election, 166–69, 171–72, 174–77 (see also Mondale, Walter); and the 1986 midterm elections, 201; and the 1988 presidential campaign and election, 242–43, 248–49, 254–55, 346nn1, 2 (see also Dukakis, Michael); and African American voters, 167–68; and the American flag, 260; and Central America funding, 82, 186, 194, 266; and conservative Democrats, 176–77; corruption in, 206–7, 255–57; and deregulation, 44; early support for Reagan’s proposals, 48–49; and fiscal discipline, 98, 164, 177, 178; in Florida, 332n25; and the Iran-Contra scandal, 216–17 (see also Congress: and the Iran-Contra scandal); Keynesian economics embraced, 34; and Martin Luther King Day, 163; and Meese’s confirmation hearings, 165; organized labor and, 41; patriotism questioned by Republicans, 251; post-Vietnam foreign policy debate within, 35–36; race and, 167–68, 174–75, 333n43; Republican attacks on Democratic leadership, 255–57; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 339n11; and the school lunch program, 92, 316n29; Southern Democrats, 35, 49, 56–57, 177; and tax cuts, 20, 61, 64, 98; and the Tax Reform Act, 178; unemployment a concern for, 17; and the wars on drugs and crime, 124; Watergate generation, 249; and women voters, 254, 290–91. See also Congress; elections; liberals and liberalism; and specific individuals
deregulation, 44, 125–26, 202, 204–5
détente. See foreign policy
Deukmejian, George, 213
Dinkins, David, 150
disadvantaged, the. See poor, the
“Dis Sho Ain’t No Jive, Bro” (Dartmouth Review), 127
Dixon, Cathy, 94
Dodd, Christopher, 103
Donovan, Jean, 79
Dorta, Francis, 94
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee film, 1989), 156
Drexel Burnham Lambert, 126, 207–8, 257, 284–85
drugs: and the AIDS epidemic, 130–31; cocaine and crack cocaine, 121–25, 185, 208; Contras and, 185, 194; and homelessness, 145; and incarceration rates, 5; marijuana, 122, 222; Reagan’s views on, 13; Sandinistas and, 194; war on drugs, 122–24, 259, 267
D’Souza, Dinesh, 127
Duarte, José Napoleón, 78
Dukakis, Kitty, 251, 252, 348n28
Dukakis, Michael, 241, 242–49, 256, 267, 346n1, 347nn21, 22
Duke, David, 349n51
Earl, Robert, 338n75
Eastern Europe. See Warsaw Pact nations; and specific countries
Ebens, Ronald, 151–52
economic policy: and the 1982 midterm elections, 97; anti-inflationary policy, 88–89, 100, 176, 180; effects and legacy of Reagan policies, 280–83 (see also taxes; unemployment); Keynesian economics, 34–35; Stockman and, 53–54; supply-side economics, 33–35, 63–64, 84–85, 98, 282, 306n8. See also budget, federal; economy; taxes
Economic Recovery and Tax Act (ERTA; 1981), 33, 61, 62, 311n57. See also taxes: Reagan tax cuts
economy: in the 1970s, 16–18, 302n17; 1981–82 forecast, 55–56; business failures, 95; CEO pay, 284, 355n25; economic inequality, 280–82, 353nn5–6; FIRE sector, 283–84; foreign investment in the U.S., 283; gender and, 289–90; government tax burden on, 282–83; growth (1970 to 1989), 282; inflation, 17, 55, 89–90, 98, 100, 161, 170, 176, 180; interest rates, 18, 84, 85, 89–90, 98, 147, 170; IT sector, 285–86, 289; job loss, 84, 88, 90, 283, 285, 291 (see also unemployment); manufacturing sector, 84–85, 90, 99, 283, 284, 291; minimum wage, 281, 354n7; national debt, 283; recession of 1981–82, 84–85, 87–91, 97–100, 176; recovery and the 1984 election, 176; recovery driven by consumer demand, 98–99, 161; retail sector, 286–89; service sector, 289; stagflation, 35; stock market crashes (1987, 1989), 208–9, 285. See also budget, federal; economic policy; unemployment
Edsall, Thomas, 174
“Education of David Stockman, The” (Greider), 63–65. See also Greider, William
EEOC. See Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 12
El Al airline bombings, 188
elections: 1968 presidential election, 14; 1976 presidential campaign and election, 14–16; 1978 midterm elections, 20–21; 1980 presidential campaign and election, 21–30, 65, 88, 304n41, 305nn58, 61, 63; 1982 midterm elections, 69–70, 96–98, 317n54; 1984 presidential campaign and election, 1, 161–62, 166–76; 1986 midterm elections, 201, 203; 1988 presidential campaign and election, 241–55, 346nn1, 2, 347n12, 347nn21, 22, 348nn28, 34; 1990 midterm elections, 258; 1990 Texas gubernatorial race, 290–92; gender gap, 28; in Nicaragua (1990), 265–66; in the Philippines (1986), 262
Ellis, Trey, 141
El Salvador: calls for justice in, 163; D’Aubuisson and ARENA, 73; human rights abuses in, 39, 78–81, 102–3, 105–6, 266, 296–97, 350n15 (see also Nicaragua); and Iran-Contra operations, 184; Reagan’s/U.S. support for military government, 39, 66, 77–80, 81–82, 102–3, 105–6; refugees/immigrants from, 80–81, 158
embassy bombings, 111, 186, 187
employment: CEO pay, 284, 355n25; gender differences, 289–90; job loss, 84, 88, 90, 283, 285, 291; minimum wage, 281, 354n7; Wal-Mart’s tactics, 287; of women, 281, 289–90. See also unemployment
Enterprise, the, 184–85, 191, 195. See also Iran-Contra scandal
environmental issues, 43–44, 45
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 44
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 42, 43
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), 15, 22
ERTA. See Economic Recovery and Tax Act
espionage, 228
Estonia, 273
Ethiopia, 39
Evans, Rowland, 12
executive branch, 40. See also Reagan administration; and specific departments and appointees
Fadlallah, Mohammed Hussein, 187
fairness issue, 94–95, 162. See also poor, the
Fairstein, Linda, 155
Falkland Islands, 76–77
Falwell, Jerry, 25, 210, 211, 212
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), 78. See also El Salvador
Farm Aid, 147
farmers, 147
Farrakhan, Lewis, Rev., 157
“Fast Car” (Chapman song, 1988), 160
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982 film), 122
FBI. See Federal Bureau of Investigation
fear: of AIDS, 133–34 (see also AIDS epidemic); of communism, 36 (see also communism); generally, 139; of homosexuality, 130, 131; of nuclear war (see nuclear weapons); racial fear and tension, 139–40, 247 (see also Horton, Willie); of violence, 139, 147–48. See also crime; terrorism
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 85–87
federal budget. See budget, federal
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 163, 228, 266
federal deficit. See deficits, federal
Federal Republic of Germany. See West Germany
Federal Reserve (“the Fed”): Beige Books, 88, 90–91, 98–99, 315n13; hostility toward, 89; manufacturing devastated by Fed policy, 84–85, 90, 283; monetarist policy pursued, 89–90; and the recession of 1981–82, 84–85, 89–91; Volcker as head of, 18, 85, 89
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, 205. See also savings-and-loan crisis
feminist movement, 135. See also Equal Rights Amendment; women
Fernandez, Keith, 121–22
Ferraro, Geraldine, 168–69, 173–74
finance. See Wall Street
FIRE sector, 283. See also banking industry; savings-and-loan crisis; Wall Street
Fitzgerald, Francis, 210
flag, American, 251, 259–60, 348n28
Flavor Flav, 157
Florida: and the 1984 presidential election, 171, 332n25; and the 1986 midterm elections, 203; drug smuggling into, 122; HIV-positive students expelled, 134; immigrants in, 150, 158, 159; military training camps in, 77. See also Southern states
FMLN. See Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Foley, Michael Stewart, 4
Foley, Thomas (“Tom”), 194, 257, 266, 348n46
Ford, Betty, 15–16
Ford, Gerald, 7, 14, 15–16, 36, 37
Ford, Ita, 79
foreign aid, 21. See also Angola; El Salvador; Nicaragua
foreign investment in the U.S., 283
foreign policy: and the 1988 election campaign, 244; ABM treaty, 108, 231, 232, 234; Afghan mujahideen supported, 228, 239, 274–76, 352nn50–51; Africa policy, 38–39, 268–69; anti-Soviet policy, before Reagan, 36–38; arms-for-hostages deal with Iran, 182–83, 189–200, 335n8, 336nn31, 33, 338–39n81; under Bush, 224; of Carter, 19, 36, 274; China policy, 24, 263–64; dictatorships partnered with, 38–39, 73, 82–83; and freedom/democracy abroad, 3, 9, 235, 261–69, 278; illegal aid for Contras, 181–86, 191, 195, 197, 199–200, 335nn2, 14, 16; INF Treaty, 230, 231, 235–36; Latin America policy, 39, 66, 72–73, 76–83, 101–6, 238, 264–68, 296–97; Middle East policy, 75, 186–93, 274–79; “military superiority” policy toward Soviet Union, 22, 66–69, 106–12 (see also military, U.S.: Reagan’s military buildup); Nixon-Ford détente, 35, 37; opposition to détente, 15, 31, 35–40, 239; planes sold to Saudi Arabia, 75; Reagan legacy, 292, 295–96; Reagan’s interest in disarmament, 67–68, 107, 110–11, 113, 116–18, 226, 232–33, 320n36; responsibility for unclear, in Reagan administration, 70–71; SALT II treaty, 27, 229, 230; Shultz and, 103–4 (see also Shultz, George); South Africa policy, 7, 8, 9, 38–39, 180, 268; START treaty, 231, 236–37, 239; strategic parity as goal, 109, 224, 226–28, 239; Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, 239; U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations (1985–88), 3, 224–28, 230–40, 344–45n38); U.S. military buildup as deterrent, 39–40, 66–69; U.S. unilateralism, 73; Weinberger and, 104; West German wreath-laying ceremony, 179–80. See also military, U.S.; NATO; nuclear weapons; State Department; and specific countries, regions, and individuals
Fort Wayne, Ind., 94
Frank, Barney, 257
Fraser, Douglas, 86
freedom: communism vs., 67 (see also Central America; communism; Soviet Union); conservative views on (1960s), 12; and democracy abroad, 3, 9, 235, 261–63, 264–69, 278
Friedman, Stanley, 206
Fukuyama, Francis, 278–79
Fuller, Craig, 245
Fullilove v. Klutznick, 42
Fussell, Paul, 120
Galston, William, 166–67
Garcia, Robert, 206
Garland, David, 148
Garn-St Germain Act (1982), 204
Gates, Bill, 285–86
Gates, Robert, 352n50
gay men. See homosexuality
Gemayel, Bashir, 76
gender gap, 174, 289–90, 291–92
General Electric (GE), 285
Geneva summit (1985), 226–27
Geoghegan, Thomas, 252–53
Georgia (state), 28, 133. See also Southern states
Gerasimov, Gennadi, 272
German Democratic Republic. See East Germany
Germany. See East Germany; West Germany
Ghorbanifar, Manucher, 192
Gilder, George, 128
Gingrich, Newt, 163, 255–56, 257
Ginsberg, Douglas, 222
Glaspie, April, 277
glitz, 210. See also wealthy, the: ostentatious lifestyle of
globalization, 288
Goetz, Bernhard, 152–53, 328–29n62
Goldwater, Barry, 8, 11–13, 15, 47, 96, 165
González, Felipe, 227
Goodin, Mark, 257
Goodman, Robert, 168
Gorbachev, Mikhail: about, 225; and Afghanistan, 275–76; China visit, 264; and the collapse of the Soviet Union, 269–72, 351nn32, 47; on nuclear danger, 229–30; and the Persian Gulf War, 278; Reagan’s relationship with, 226, 232–33, 235–36, 237, 239–40; on superpower involvement in Africa, 268; unilateral arms-reduction moves, 225, 238; and U.S.-Soviet arms negotiations (1985–88), 3, 224–28, 230–40, 344–45n38. See also Soviet Union
Gordievsky, Oleg, 115–16, 320n51
government: American perceptions of government power, 4, 300n7; employees forbidden to strike, 85–86; government bailouts, 23; Reagan’s views on, 22–23, 46, 172; tax burden of, 282–83. See also budget, federal; executive branch; military, U.S.; Reagan administration; and specific departments and agencies
Gradison, Willis, 49
graffiti, 151
Graham, Bob, 203
Graham, Katherine, 50
Gramm-Rudman law, 178, 258, 333n58
Gray, C. Boyden, 45
Gray, Edwin, 204
Gray, Robert K., 128
Great Britain, 40, 41, 67, 76–77. See also Thatcher, Margaret
Greenberg, Stanley, 174–75
greenmail, 207
Greenspan, Alan, 34, 60, 162, 306n13
Griffith, Michael, 153
Griggs et al. v. Duke Power Co., 42
Gromyko, Andrei, 38, 117, 225–26
Grove City College v. Bell, 222, 342–43n66
Guatemala, 80–81, 158, 314n57, 357n66
Guillermoprieto, Alma, 80
Hacker, Andrew, 140
Hahn, Jessica, 210
Haig, Alexander, 70–71, 72, 75–79, 312n18
Ham, Larry, 94
Hance, Kent, 56
Haring, Keith, 151
Hasenfus, Eugene, 195
Hatch, Orrin, 218
Hatfield, Mark, 146
Havel, Václav, 270–71
Hawkins, Paula, 203
Hawk missiles, 191, 197, 199, 339–40n81. See also Iran: arms-for-hostage deal
Hayakawa, S. I., 96
hedonism, 2, 3, 119–21, 129–30, 292. See also greed
Heinz, John, 92
Helms, Jesse, 95–96, 163, 317n46)
Hermannsson, Steingrimur, 233
Hightower, Jim, 248
hijackings, 187–88, 336nn28, 29
Hinckley, John, Jr., 57–58, 310n25
hip hop, 156. See also rap music
Hispanic Americans, 152. See also Latinos/as
HIV. See AIDS epidemic
homelessness, 6, 144–46, 154–55, 203, 326n27
homosexuality: and the AIDS epidemic, 129, 130–34, 214–15 (see also AIDS epidemic); Bakker accused of, 211; Christian conservatives’ disapproval of, 128–31, 202; gay conservatives, 128–29; gay rights movement, 214–15, 341n40; gay senators and representatives, 257
Honecker, Erich, 271–72
Hooks, Benjamin, 163–64
Hoover, J. Edgar, 163
Horton, Willie, 245–46, 250, 253–54, 348n34
hostages, American: arms-for-hostages deal, 182–83, 189–200, 335n8, 336nn31, 33, 338–39n81 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); Iran hostage crisis (1979), 18, 27, 114, 303n27, 305n57; Middle Eastern terrorism and, 186–90, 193, 195
Howard Beach incident, 153, 156
Hudson, Rock, 132–33
Hughes, Robert, 121
Human Events (magazine), 89
human rights: in Asia, 82, 264, 314n60); Carter’s concern over, 71, 82; in Chile, 264; for gay Americans, 214; Gorbachev on America’s rec ord, 238; in Latin America, 39, 77–81, 102–3, 105–6, 264, 266, 296–97, 314n57, 350n15; police brutality in the U.S., 151, 154–55; in the Soviet Union, 238. See also South Africa
Hunter, Tera, 144
Hussein, Saddam, 189, 276, 277
IBM (International Business Machines), 125–26, 285–86
Icahn, Carl, 125
ICBMs. See intercontinental ballistic missiles
Iceland. See Reykjavík summit
Illinois, 168, 280. See also Chicago
Illinois v. Gates, 124
immigration, 26, 80–81, 156, 158–59, 172, 330n86
Immigration Performance Control Act (1986), 159, 330n86
inaugurations: Carter, 47, 110; Reagan, 41, 46, 47–48
incarceration rates, 5, 124, 149
income, household, 280–82, 353nn5–6. See also economy; employment; taxes
income tax. See Internal Revenue Service; taxes
Indian immigrants, 159
individualism: hedonism and, 3, 129–30; Reaganism and, 2, 6, 294, 295 (see also corruption)
industrial states, 23–24, 28, 84–85, 99. See also manufacturing sector
inflation: in the 1970s, 17; 1981–82 forecast, 55; during the 1981–82 recession, 90, 98; after the recession, 161, 170, 176, 180; anti-inflationary policy, 89–90, 100, 176
information technology (IT) sector, 285–86, 289
INF Treaty (Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces), 230, 231, 235–36
Ingraham, Laura, 127–28
Inouye, Daniel, 217
insider trading, 207, 284. See also Wall Street
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs): deployed in NATO states, 67; fictional depiction of, 116; reduction proposals, 226; SALT II treaty and, 27, 229; Soviet advantage perceived, 37–38; Soviet missile warning system error re, 113; U.S.-Soviet arms-control talks and, 231–33
interest rates: under Carter, 18; under Reagan, 84, 85, 89–90, 98, 147, 170
International Court of Justice, 165–66
investment banks, 126
Iran: arms-for-hostages deal, 182–83, 189–200, 276, 335n8, 336nn31, 33, 338–39n81; hostage crisis (1979), 18, 27, 114, 303n27, 305n57; Iran Air flight IR655 shot down, 276, 352n64; Iran-Iraq War, 189, 276–77, 352n61; revolution (1979), 17; and terrorism, 75, 189–90; and the TWA 847 hostages, 187
Iran-Contra scandal: arms-for-hostages deal with Iran, 182–83, 189–200, 335n8, 336nn31, 33, 338–39n81; Boland Amendment and, 166; Congressional inquiry, 215–20; documents destroyed, 197, 338n75; illegality of, 181–82, 199–200, 334n2; North’s role, 182–86, 191–93, 194–95, 197; origins, 181–82; Reagan’s knowledge of, 7, 9, 181–85, 190–93, 195–200, 203, 216–17, 219–20, 334–35n7; secret/third-party Contra aid, 181–86, 191, 195, 197, 199–200, 335nn2, 14, 16; televised coverage of, 203, 216, 221
Islam, Afghan mujahideen and, 275
Israel: and Contra funding, 182, 184; El Al airline bombings, 188; and the Iran arms-for-hostages deal, 189–91, 196, 197, 336–37n34; Israeli-Egyptian peace accords, 19; and the Persian Gulf War, 277; Reagan’s relationship with, 75; war in Lebanon, 75–76, 313n40 (see also Lebanon)
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Public Enemy album, 1988), 156–57
Jackson, Henry (“Scoop”), 35
Jackson, Jesse, Rev.: and the 1984 campaign, 151, 167–68; and the 1988 campaign, 243, 247, 248, 346n2; on the Chin case, 151–52; and King, 331n18
Jacobs, Andrew, 260
Jameson, Frederic, 134
Jaruzelski, Wojciech, 269–70
JBS (John Birch Society), 12
Jencks, Christopher, 145, 326n27
Jenco, Fr. Lawrence, and family, 188, 339n81
Jepsen, Roger, 20
Jews: and the 1980 election, 28, 305n61; and affirmative action, 16; antisemitism, 7, 147, 168; and Carter’s foreign policy, 19; Reagan’s appeal for Jewish voters, 16, 28; Reagan’s attitude toward, 7
job loss, 84, 88, 90, 283, 285, 291. See also unemployment
John Birch Society (JBS), 12
Johnson, Gregory Lee, 259
Johnson, Haynes, 221–22
Johnson, Lyndon B., 174
Jones, Cleve, 214
Jones, Jim, 58
Jones, Thomas, 69
Jordan, Michael, 288–89
judiciary, federal, 178–79, 220–22, 290. See also Supreme Court
junk bonds, 126, 208, 283, 285
Justice, Department of: and the Chin case, 151–52; Civil Rights Division, 42, 43; IBM antitrust suit dropped, 125–26; Meese as Attorney General, 166, 177–78, 197–98, 206, 221; Noriega indicted, 267; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 205; and school prayer, 96
Karmal, Babrak, 275
Karnow, Stanley, 262
Kazel, Dorothy, 79
Kean, Thomas, 250–51
Keating, Charles, 204
Kemp, Jack, 20, 21, 33, 163, 164
Kemp-Roth income tax cut proposal. See under taxes
Kennedy, Anthony (Justice), 179, 222, 259–60
Kennedy, Edward, 18, 19, 220–21, 248
Kennedy, John F., 37–38, 47–48
Kennedy, Robert, 175
Kidder Peabody, 208
Kimche, David, 190
Kim Young Sam, 263
King, Coretta Scott, 163
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 163–64, 296, 331nn5, 18
Kirk, Paul, 175
Kirkpatrick, Jeane, 35–36, 78, 82, 113
Kissinger, Henry, 37, 38, 109, 235–36, 270
Klein, Calvin, 121
Klinghoffer, Leon, 188
Knight, Phil, 288
Koch, Edward, 132, 150, 153, 154
Kohl, Helmut, 115, 179, 271–73
Koop, C. Everett (Surgeon General), 202, 212–13
Korean Air Lines flight 007, 111–13
Kozak, Michael, 267
Kozol, Jonathan, 146
Krauthammer, Charles, 261, 279
Krugman, Paul, 89, 306n8, 332n26
Kuwait, 187, 189, 194, 276, 277
labor relations, 85–87, 88. See also organized labor
Laffer, Arthur, 33
Laffer curve, 33–34
Lapham, Lewis, 47
Latin America: Bush policy in, 266–68; human rights abuses in, 39, 77–81, 102–3, 105–6, 264, 266, 296–97, 314n57, 350n15; immigrants and refugees from, 80–81, 158–59; Reagan policy in, 39, 66, 72–73, 76–83, 101–6, 238, 264–66 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); spread of democracy in, 264–68. See also Central America; and specific countries
Latinos/as, 126–27, 150, 328n43. See also Hispanic Americans
Latta, Del, 58
Latvia, 273
Lauren, Ralph, 119
Lavelle, Rita, 44
Law of the Sea treaty, 73
Laxalt, Paul, 199
Lebanon: Israeli war in, 75–76, 313n40; U.S. hostages in, 186, 190, 193; U.S. intervention in, 111, 114, 168, 187, 188, 274, 336n27; U.S. targets bombed, 111, 114, 186
Lee, Spike, 156
Leeden, Michael, 72, 189, 190, 336–37n34
Legislative Strategy Group (LSG), 52
Levine, Dennis, 207–8
Lewis, Drew, 86
liberals and liberalism: and the 1984 election, 167–68; and the culture wars, 260; identified with advocacy for African Americans, 174–75; liberals as percentage of population, 4, 300n7; negative view of the Reagan years, 9; Reaganism opposed by, 4; Republican denigration of, 247, 252, 257; and the Sandinistas, 194. See also Democratic Party
Libya, 19, 66, 71, 74, 193, 228
Liebman, Marvin, 128
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (television show), 120–21
Like a Prayer (Madonna album/video, 1989), 136–37
Like a Virgin (Madonna album, 1984), 136
Liman, Arthur, 218
Liquid Sky (1983 film), 135
Los Angeles: 1984 Summer Olympics, 146, 169; black mayor, 141; gangs in, 142; homelessness in, 146; immigrants in, 81, 158, 159; police technology and gang profiling, 157–58
Los Angeles Times, 131
Losing Ground (Murray), 143
lotteries, 280
Lovesexy (Prince album, 1988), 137
LSG (Legislative Strategy Group), 52
Lugar, Richard, 262
Machel, Samora, 268
Mack, John, 256–57
Maddox, Alton, 153–54
Madonna, 136–37
Magaña, Alvaro, 105
Malta summit, 270
Mandela, Nelson, 180, 269, 296
manufacturing sector, 84–85, 90, 99, 283, 284, 291. See also industrial states
Marcos, Ferdinand, 9, 82–83, 261–63, 314n61, 349n4
Marcos, Imelda, 83
Mariam, Mengistu Haile, 39
marijuana, 122, 222. See also drugs
Martin Luther King Day, 163–64, 331n5
Mason, C. Vernon, 153–54
Massachusetts: economic boom, 243; furlough program, 245, 246, 253 (see also Horton, Willie); Pledge of Allegiance bill, 244–45, 246 (see also Pledge of Allegiance); property tax law, 20. See also Dukakis, Michael
“Material Girl” (Madonna song/video, 1984), 136
materialism, 19–20
Matthews, Chris, 256
Mattox, Jim, 291
McCartin, Joseph, 87
McDonald, Larry, 112
McDuffie, Arthur, 150
McFarlane, Robert (“Bud”): and the arms-for-hostages deal, 189–92, 195, 198, 336–37n34; and illegal Contra funding, 181, 182, 185, 186, 334n2; named national security adviser, 113–14; and North, 182, 338n75; and Reagan’s Soviet policy, 227; and SDI, 107
McGovern, George, 28
McKay, James, 206
Medicaid: and abortion, 43, 317n46; budget cuts and benefit reduction, 60, 94, 95
Medicare, 59
Meese, Edwin: as Attorney General, 166, 177–78, 197–98, 206; as constitutional originalist, 221; corruption and downfall of, 6, 165, 177, 206, 249; and Iran-Contra operations, 192, 195–98, 335n8, 338n75; position in Reagan White House, 50–51, 113, 309n21; and Shultz, 105
Meili, Trish, 155–56
mental illness, 145, 249, 326n27, 347nn21, 22
Miami Vice (television show), 122
Michelle Remembers (Smith), 147
Michigan, 19, 96, 151, 175, 242, 243. See also industrial states
Microsoft, 285–86
middle class: black middle class, 141–42; and the Democratic Party, 174; and drugs, 123; immigrants, 159; income and debt among, 205, 281–82; and the JBS, 12; and the Tomkins Square Park incident, 154–55; and yuppies, 126–27
Middle East: Bush’s foreign policy in, 274, 276–78, 279; Carter’s foreign policy in, 19; Reagan’s foreign policy in, 74–76, 186–93, 274–76 (see also Lebanon); Soviet influence in, 75; terrorism in, 74–75, 186–90. See also specific countries
military, U.S.: aircraft sold to South Korea, 82; Big Pine I and II exercises, 101, 104–5; Carter’s military buildup, 19, 39–40, 54, 67, 68–69, 303n30, 307n32; defense budget/spending, 39–40, 54–55, 59; Grenada invasion, 114–15; in Lebanon, 111, 114, 168, 187; and Libya, 74, 193; NATO nuclear war-games exercise, 115–16; Panama invasion, 268; and the Persian Gulf, 274, 276–78, 279; planes sold to Saudi Arabia, 75; Reagan’s military buildup, 3–4, 26, 31, 39–40, 66–69, 307–8n32; SDI missile-defense program (“Star Wars”), 107–10, 111, 225, 226, 230–36, 319n23; Soviet defenses probed, 112, 115; Soviet spies in, 228; U.S. missiles in NATO states, 67, 117–18, 226; and the war on drugs, 122
Milken, Michael, 126, 208, 209, 257, 284–85
Miller, Angela, 245, 253. See also Horton, Willie
Miller, Mark Crispin, 94–95
Minnelli, Liza, 201
misery index, 17
missile-defense program (“Star Wars”). See Strategic Defense Initiative
Mississippi, 24
Missouri, 290
Moakley, Joseph, 266
Mondale, Walter, 166–67, 171–76, 333n47
Montt, Efraín Ríos, 81
Moral Majority, 25
Mountain West, 28, 35, 254–55. See also specific states
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 52, 163
Mubarak, Hosni, 187
mujahideen, 228, 239, 274–76, 352nn50–51. See also Afghanistan
Mulroney, Brian, 40–41
Murtha, Jack, 262
Murtha, John, 186
music, 99, 136–38, 144, 156–57, 160
mutual assured destruction (MAD), 108–9, 303n30
MX missiles, 68–69
National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), Reagan’s speech to, 106–7
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 147
National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 110
National Endowment for Democracy (NED), 264, 266
National Labor Relations Board, 44
National School Lunch Program (NSLP), 60, 91–93, 316n29
National Security Act (1947), 199–200
National Security Council (NSC): Allen at, 71; and the arms-for-hostages deal, 189, 191; Clark at, 81–82, 104, 105, 113; and illegal Contra funding/operations, 181, 183, 186, 335n8 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); NSC 68 (document), 36, 230. See also McFarlane, Robert; North, Oliver; Poindexter, John
National Security Planning Group (NSPG), 181–82, 197, 334n2
NATO: military spending, 303n23; missile deployment in NATO states, 67, 117–18, 226, 233; nuclear war-games exercise, 115–16; and SDI, 109; and the Soviet draw-down in Europe, 238; united Germany in, 271, 272; and U.S.-Soviet relations, 229
Nebraska (Springsteen album, 1982), 99
neoconservatives: and anti-Soviet policy, 35–38; appointed to Civil Rights Commission, 162; and post-1990 foreign policy, 292; race-conscious policies opposed, 164 (see also civil rights); on U.S. primacy, 278–79. See also conservatives and conservatism
New Hampshire primary, 21, 167, 242, 243
New Jersey (state), 19, 26, 159
New Mexico, 81
New Republic (magazine), 72
news media: and the 1984 presidential election, 173; and the AIDS epidemic, 132–33; and the Iran-Contra scandal, 185, 186, 193, 203, 216 (see also Iran-Contra scandal: televised coverage); Nancy Reagan and, 48; Reagan refused airtime to defend Bork, 221–22; and the Wright corruption investigation, 255–56. See also specific publications and individuals
Newsweek, 127
New York (state), 19, 23, 28, 168
New York City: black middle class/elites in, 141–42; class tensions in, 154–55; corruption in, 207–8 (see also Wall Street); crime in, 151, 152–54, 155–56; demographics, 158, 328n46; gay life and the AIDS epidemic in, 129, 131, 132, 215; government bailouts, 23; immigrants in, 158; Koch as mayor, 132, 150, 153, 154; nuclear freeze protest in, 69; police brutality in, 151, 154–55; Reagans and Marcoses in, 83. See also Wall Street
New Yorker, The, 143
New York Times, 80, 93, 94, 132, 186. See also Rosenthal, A. M.
New York Times Magazine, 71
New Zealand, 40
Nicaragua: Argentina’s support for Contras, 77; Big Pine I and II exercises around, 101, 104–5; harbors mined by CIA, 165–66; illegal aid for Contras, 181–86, 191, 195, 197, 199–200, 335nn2, 14, 16 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); immigrants from, 158; oil depot raided by CIA contract employees, 106; peace agreement and elections, 265–66; possibility of direct U.S. action in, 115; Sandinista government, 72–73, 103, 185, 194, 265–66; Sandinista movement, 39; and terrorism, 66, 189–90, 337n35; U.S. aid to Contras, 66, 72–73, 77–78, 82, 101, 166, 193–94, 216, 218, 238, 265, 342n48
Nicholson, Arthur (Maj.), 228
Nike, 288–89
Nir, Amiram, 192
Nitze, Paul, 36–37, 38, 109, 227, 230–31, 233
Nixon, Richard: antidrug policies, 122; Democratic view of, 29; foreign policy, 35, 37; Haig recommended, 70; inflation under, 90; racism of, 8; on the Reykjavík summit, 233; Watergate scandal, 14
Nofziger, Lyn, 205–6
Noonan, Peggy, 296
Noriega, Manuel, 267–68
North, Oliver (Lt. Col.): and Arias, 265; documents destroyed, 197, 338n75; and Iran-Contra operations, 182–86, 191–95; testimony of, 194, 203, 216–20, 221, 334–35n7
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. See NATO
Novak, Robert, 12
NSC. See National Security Council
NSLP. See National School Lunch Program
NSPG. See National Security Planning Group
nuclear weapons: ABM treaty, 108, 231, 232, 234; antinuclear protests, 27, 110; Carter and nonproliferation, 27, 110; fictional depictions of nuclear war, 116, 117; Gorbachev on dangers of nuclear war, 229–30; INF Treaty, 230, 231, 235–36; mutual assured destruction (MAD), 108, 109, 303n30; NATO nuclear war-games exercise, 115–16; nuclear freeze movement, 69–70, 106–7, 110, 319n33; possibility of nuclear war, 68, 69, 101, 106, 112–13, 116–17, 320n51; Reagan and disarmament, 67–68, 107, 110–11, 113, 116–18, 226, 232, 233, 320n36, 344–45n38; SALT II treaty, 27, 229, 230; SDI missile-defense program and, 107–10, 111, 225, 226, 230–36, 319n23; Soviet advantage perceived, 37–38; START treaty, 231, 236–37, 239; U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations (1985–88), 3, 224–28, 230–40, 344–45n38; U.S. missile deployment in NATO states, 67, 117–18. See also intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
Obey, David, 48–49
O’Connor, Sandra Day (Justice), 15, 43, 179
October Surprise (Sick), 305n57
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 31, 53. See also Stockman, David
Official Preppy Handbook, The (Birnbach), 119
Ohio, 23, 96, 205. See also industrial states
oil crisis (1970s), 16, 17–18, 302n16
Olympics, 19, 146, 169, 171, 263
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA; 1981), 59–60. See also budget, federal: 1982 budget
O’Neill, Thomas (“Tip”; Speaker of the House), 49, 56, 58, 177, 186, 201
OPEC. See Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
optimism, 23, 170. See also patriotism and national pride
Organization of American States, 268
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, 114, 320n47
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 16, 17, 302n16
organized labor: 1981–82 recession and, 87–88; and Democratic campaigns, 252–53; FIRE sector’s unionization rate, 284; influence of, 41; and Mondale, 171; power eroded, 86–87, 88; strikes, 85–87; as target of Reagan administration, 44; unemployment a concern for, 17; union jobs lost, 283 (see also manufacturing sector); Wal-Mart and, 287
Ortega, Daniel, 194, 265, 350n14. See also Nicaragua
Owen, Robert, 186
Packwood, Bob, 96
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 66, 76
Palestinians, 19, 71, 75, 187–88
Palme, Olof, and the Palme Commission, 227, 343n18
Pan American Airlines Flight 103, 193
PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization), 85–87
patriotism and national pride: 1988 presidential campaign and, 247, 250–51, 253 (see also Pledge of Allegiance); American flag, 251, 259–60, 348n28; conservatism and, 10, 292; Dukakis, the Pledge of Allegiance bill, and the 1988 election, 244–46; Reagan and, 4, 10, 26, 161–62, 169–70, 172, 201, 295; Vietnam War’s impact on, 4, 14
peaceful coexistence principle, 237–38
Pentagon. See military, U.S.
People Like Us (Moyers; CBS, 1982), 94
Perelman, Richard, 285
Perle, Richard, 35–37, 68, 104
Perpich, Rudy, 87
Persian Gulf, 274, 276–78. See also Middle East; and specific countries
personal attacks, as political tactic, 255–57, 348n46. See also Bork, Robert; Dukakis, Michael
Petrov, Stanislav (Lt. Col., USSR), 113
Philippines, 82–83, 163, 261–63, 314n61, 349n4
Phillips, Kevin, 295
Pickens, T. Boone, 125
Pickering, Thomas, 105
Piketty, Thomas, 284
Pipes, Richard, 36, 67, 70–71, 72, 239
Pledge of Allegiance, 244–45, 250, 253. See also elections: 1988 presidential campaign and election
Plunkitt, George Washington, 204
Podhoretz, Norman, 36–37
Poindexter, John, 191–98, 219–20, 334–35n7
police, 5, 124, 148–49, 151, 154–55, 157–58
political appointees, ideology of, 40–41
political protest: AIDS activism, 214–15; antinuclear protests, 27, 110; anti-Reagan protests, 92, 163; gay rights movement, 214, 341n40; and political repression, 266; Tiananmen Square, 264; UC-Berkeley student rally, 14
Politics of Rich and Poor, The (Phillips), 295
poor, the: and crack cocaine, 123–24; growing income inequality, 281; increased imprisonment of, 5; lack of compassion for, 5–6, 60, 85, 92, 94–95, 140, 297, 325–26n16, 326n23; Paine’s sympathy for, 5; poverty rate, 85, 143; race and poverty, 142–45; Reaganism’s negative impact on, 7, 294–95; spending cuts’ impact on programs for, 59–60, 65, 85, 91–93, 94, 95, 310n51
pork-barrel projects, 59
postmodernism, 134–36
Postol, Theodore, 319n23
Powell, Colin (Gen.), 192
Powell, Lewis, Jr. (Justice), 222
prisons, 5, 259. See also incarceration rates
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), 85–87
PTL Club, The, 210–11
Public Enemy (PE; rap group), 144, 156–57
public housing, 142–43
Purple Rain (Prince album/movie, 1984), 137
Qaddafi, Moammar, 74, 192, 193
Quayle, J. Danforth (“Dan”), 96, 249–50, 251
Quilt (AIDS Quilt), 214–15
Rabin, Yitzhak, 190–91
race and racial (in)equality, 42; and the 1984 presidential election, 170–71; and the 1988 presidential election, 243, 247, 253–55 (see also Horton, Willie); poverty and, 142–45; race and the Democratic Party, 174–75, 333n43; racial fear and tension, 139–40, 149–58; Reagan and Reaganism’s racial stance, 7–9, 24–25, 140, 301n17; and Reagan’s judicial appointees, 178; white opposition to antidiscriminatory laws, 7–8, 12–13, 15, 16; white racism, 147, 175. See also African Americans; civil rights
Rachel and Her Children (Kozol), 146
Rafsanjani, Ali, 187
Raines, Howell, 94
Rand, Ayn, 32
Ravitch, Richard, 151
Ray family, 133
Reagan, Nancy Davis: at the 1984 Republican convention, 172; influence on Reagan, 12, 333n55; and the Marcoses, 82–83; style, 48, 120; and the war on drugs, 122; and White House staff, 52, 113
Reagan, Nelle (mother of Ronald), 15, 300n12
Reagan, Ronald: 1964 political speech, 11–12, 172; and the 1976 presidential campaign, 14–16; 1980 campaign and election, 2, 11, 21–30, 88, 99–100, 304n41, 305n58; and the 1982 budget, 56–60, 91, 95; and the 1982 midterm elections, 96–97; 1984 campaign and election, 169–76, 333n47; and the 1987 budget, 203; and the 1988 Bush campaign, 242, 249, 254, 347n22; and abortion, 13, 15, 29, 31, 43, 95–96; access to, during presidency, 51; and administration corruption, 6, 165, 206; and the Afghan mujahideen, 274–75; and the AIDS epidemic, 6, 129, 132, 213–14; and the air traffic controllers’ strike, 85–86; as ally of the rich, 6, 32, 295 (see also taxes); anticommunism of, 9, 11–12, 66, 261, 269 (see also communism); antigovernment message, 22–23, 41, 46; assassination attempt against, 57–58, 71; and Bork, 220–22; as California’s governor, 13–14; and the Caribbean basin, 101, 102, 114–15 (see also Latin America); and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 147; and Central America, 66, 72–73, 77–82, 101–6, 166, 193, 265, 296–97 (see also Central America; El Salvador; Iran-Contra scandal; Nicaragua); and the Challenger disaster, 201; in China, 263; and civil rights, 7–9, 12, 13, 24–25, 41–43, 162–63, 222; compassion for the disadvantaged lacking, 6, 92–95, 140, 145, 146, 162, 296–97 (see also poor, the); death, 293; as Democrat, 11–12; détente opposed, 15, 31, 39, 224, 239; disregard for truth and the law, 6–7, 9, 80, 196–97, 296 (see also Reagan, Ronald: and Iran-Contra operations); and the downed Iranian passenger jet, 276–77; on the downing of flight KAL007, 112–13; economic/fiscal understanding lacking, 53, 306n13; and freedom and democracy abroad, 3, 9, 235 (see also Angola; El Salvador; Nicaragua; Philippines); Gorbachev’s relationship with, 226, 232–33, 236–37, 239–40; and immigration, 159; inauguration (1981), 41, 46, 47–48; and Iran-Contra operations, 7, 9, 181–85, 190–93, 195–200, 203, 216–17, 219–20, 334–35n7, 336nn31, 33; and the judiciary, 178–79, 220–22, 290 (see also specific appointees); and the Lebanon war, 75–76, 313n40; legend and legacy, 293–97; and Libya, 74, 193; lifestyle, 32, 47–48, 92, 120; and Marcos, 82–83, 262–63, 314n61; marriages, 15, 302n14 (see also Reagan, Nancy Davis); and Martin Luther King Day, 163–64, 331n5; mental faculties, 173, 198, 200, 293; and the military budget, 39–40, 54–55; military buildup under, 3–4, 26, 31, 39–40, 66–69; and national pride/patriotism, 4, 10, 26, 161–62, 169–70, 172, 201, 295; and Noriega, 267; and nuclear disarmament, 67–68, 107, 110–11, 113, 116–18, 226, 232–33, 320n36, 321n56, 344–45n38; on nuclear war, 70; optimism of, 23, 170; Paine and Reagan’s ideology, 2, 5, 23, 295; popularity, 9–10, 93–94, 97, 161, 176, 293, 295–96; postpresidential life, 293; racial attitudes, 7–9, 24–25, 140, 301n17; and the recession of 1981–82, 84–85, 88–89; and the sale of planes to Saudi Arabia, 75; and SALT II, 27, 229; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 205; and the school lunch program, 91–93; and the SDI missile-defense program, 107–10, 225, 230–34, 236; and Shultz, 104–5; social agenda, 95–96 (see also abortion); and Social Security, 24, 52, 162, 282 (see also Social Security); and South Africa, 7, 8, 9, 38–39, 180, 268–69; and Soviet–U.S. arms negotiations (1985–88), 3, 224–28, 230–40, 344–45n38; Soviet Union as “evil empire,” 106–7 (see also foreign policy; Soviet Union); and Stockman, 64–65; and taxes, 31–34, 60–64, 283, 311n54 (see also economic policy; taxes); and terrorism, 187–90, 195 (see also terrorism); tough-on-crime stance, 140; and traditional values, 2, 295 (see also abortion; AIDS epidemic; drugs; traditional values); U.S. supremacy equated with peace, 109; on war (generally), 27–28; and the war on drugs, 122 (see also drugs); Washington elite courted, 49–50; in West Germany, 179–80; White House staff appointed, 50–51; and women’s rights, 15. See also economic policy; foreign policy; Reagan administration; Reaganism
Reagan administration: and the 1981–82 recession, 84–85, 88–90; and the 1984 election, 169–71; and the AIDS epidemic, 132, 212–14; assistance to poor and jobless curtailed, 85; compassion for the disadvantaged lacking, 85, 92; corruption in, 6–7, 164–65, 177, 205–6, 294, 331n8; early Congressional support for, 48–49; essential daily meetings, 52; foreign policy responsibility unclear, 70–71; ideology of appointees, 40–41; jellybeans at cabinet meetings, 92; as “men’s club,” 15; and the Nicaraguan Contras, 72–73, 77–78 (see also Iran-Contra scandal); People Like Us criticized, 94; pre-inauguration transition period, 40, 308n33; press secretary, 52, 57, 310n25 (see also Brady, James); pro-business, antiregulatory stance, 41, 43–46; and racial discrimination, 41–42; second-term administration, 177; war on drugs, 122 (see also drugs); White House staff, 50–52, 177 (see also specific individuals). See also economic policy; foreign policy; Iran-Contra scandal; Reaganism; taxes; White House; and specific individuals, agencies, and departments
Reaganism: and the 1988 election campaign, 244, 251; American politics of reshaped by, 2–3; compassion for the disadvantaged lacking, 5–6, 60, 85, 92, 94–95, 140, 297, 325–26n16, 326n23; components of, 1–2, 294; conservatives’ post-1990 relationship to, 292; and corruption, 6 (see also corruption); and crime and social disorder, 139–40; crisis of legitimacy, 202–3, 204; distrust of government reinforced by, 294–95; fiscal legacy, 280–85 (see also Wall Street); and individualism, 2, 6, 295 (see also individualism); legacy and achievements, 293–97; liberal and moderate opposition to, 4 (see also Democratic Party); limits/defects as governing ideology, 5–6 (see also specific issues); and post-1990 foreign policy, 292; public dissatisfaction with, 180, 201–2, 222–23, 241; and racial tensions, 139–40; racism of, 7–8, 140; underprivileged distrusted by, 296. See also conservatives and conservatism; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan administration; Republican Party
recession: 1970s, 16–17; 1980s, 82, 84–85, 87–91, 97–100
Regan, Donald: fired, 217, 333n55; and Iran-Contra operations, 190, 195–96, 198; Miller’s criticism of, 95; on Reagan’s tax-cut proposal, 32
Rehnquist, William (Chief Justice), 179
RENAMO. See Mozambique
Republican National Committee, 257. See also Republican Party
Republican Party: 1964 national convention, 12–13; and the 1978 midterm elections, 20–21; and the 1980 presidential campaign and election, 2, 22–23, 28–30; and the 1982 midterm elections, 96–98, 317n54; and the 1984 presidential campaign and election, 170–74, 211; and the 1985 budget, 164; and the 1986 midterm elections, 203; and the 1988 presidential campaign and election, 241–42, 246–47, 249–51, 254–55, 347nn21, 22, 348nn28, 34 (see also Atwater, Lee; Bush, George H. W.); anti-Soviet thinking within, 36; balanced budgets preached, 34; corruption scandals and, 206, 248–49, 294 (see also corruption); early support for Reagan proposals, 49; and the fairness issue, 95; and the farm belt, 147; in Florida, 332n25; and the gender gap, 291–92; John Birch Society and, 12; and Martin Luther King Day, 163; Miller’s criticism of, 94–95; Moral Majority and, 25; and Nicaraguan elections, 266; personal attacks, as political tactic, 255–57; pro-business, antiregulatory stance, 41; racism of, 140; and the Reagan legacy, 295; Southern Republicans, 12–13, 16, 35, 43, 333n43; split over “new right” social agenda, 95–96; Stockman seen as disloyal, 64; and the Voting Rights Act, 43; and the wars on drugs and crime, 124; wealthy Americans and, 174 (see also wealthy, the). See also Christian conservatives; Congress; conservatives and conservatism; elections; Reagan administration; and specific individuals
Republic of Korea. See South Korea
retail sales, 286–89
Reykjavík summit, 230–34
Reynolds, William Bradford, 42
rich, the. See wealthy, the
Richards, Ann, 248, 290–92, 356n51, 356–57n53
Robb, Charles, 177
Roberts, Paul Craig, 34, 88–89
Robinson, Jackie, 12–13
Rodriguez, Felix, 184, 195, 335n14
Roe v. Wade (1973), 179, 222, 290, 317n46. See also abortion
Roh Tae Woo, 263
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 22, 304n41
Ross, Ricky, 123
Rostenkowski, Dan, 61
Roth, William, 20
Rubin, Jerry, 121
Rudman, Warren, 178, 199. See also Gramm-Rudman law
Rumsfeld, Donald, 87
rural America, 146–47, 159. See also specific states
Rushdie, Salman, 194
Russia. See Soviet Union
Rust Belt. See industrial states
Sadat, Anwar al-, 75
Saez, Emmanuel, 284
Sakharov, Andre, 235
Salomon Brothers, 208
Sandinistas. See Nicaragua
Sarotte, Mary Elise, 271
Saudi Arabia: and Afghanistan, 274; and Contra funding, 181, 182; and Iraq, 189, 276, 277; and the Lebanon war, 336n27; and the Persian Gulf War, 277–78, 279; U.S. planes sold to, 75
savings-and-loan crisis, 202, 204–5, 256, 339n11
Scalia, Antonin (Justice), 179
Scarface (De Palma film, 1983), 122
Schlafly, Phyllis, 15, 108, 213
Schneider, William, 112
school busing, 8
school lunch program, 60, 91–93, 316n29
Schwarzkopf, H. Norman (Gen.), 278, 353n69
Schweiker, Richard, 52
Scoblic, J. Peter, 108
Scowcroft, Brent, 264, 269, 349n9
SDI. See Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
search warrants, 124
Secord, Richard, 184, 191, 192, 219–20, 265
Securities and Exchange Commission, 125
service sector, 289
sexual liberation, 130, 131, 136
Shakur, Sanyika, 142
Sharon, Ariel, 75–76
Shaw, Bernard, 252
Shearson Lehman Brothers, 208
Shelby, Richard, 203
Shevardnadze, Eduard, 225, 226, 230, 235, 236–37
Shocked, Michelle, 151
Shultz, George: about, 103; and Africa policy, 268; and Aquino, 262; and Central America policy, 81, 104–5; on the downing of flight KAL007, 112; and Iran-Contra operations, 181–82, 184, 190, 192, 195–96, 198–99, 334n2, 336n34; Kirkpatrick thought unsuitable as national security adviser, 113; and the Lebanon war, 313n40; and the marine barracks bombing in Beirut, 114; in the Nixon administration, 42, 54; and Noriega, 267; and nuclear disarmament, 116; and SDI, 107; and U.S.-Soviet arms-control talks, 225–27, 230, 233, 235, 236
Sidey, Hugh, 47
Sloan, John, 283
Small, Pamela, 256
Snyder, Mitch, 146
social programs. See Aid to Families with Dependent Children; Medicaid; school lunch program; food stamps; Medicare; Social Security; welfare
Social Security: attempts to cut benefits, 52, 62, 85, 145, 162; commission on, 162; disability payments, 85, 145, 326n27; elimination considered, 24; exempted from budget cuts, 59; taxes and, 162, 282, 354n11
sodomy laws, 133
Solidarity (Polish movement), 92, 269–70
Solidarity Day rally (U.S. protest), 92
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander, 319n19
Somoza Debayle, Anastosio, 39
Souter, David (Justice), 258–59
South Africa: and the Angolan conflict, 38–39, 73, 268; apartheid, 8, 269; and Contra funding, 184; Reagan’s support for apartheid government, 7, 8, 9, 38–39, 180, 268. See also African National Congress
Southern Democrats, 35, 49, 56–57, 177
Southern Republicans, 12–13, 16, 35, 43, 333n43
Southern states: and the 1980 presidential election, 28; and the 1982 midterm elections, 96–97; and the 1984 presidential election, 170–71, 173; and the 1988 presidential election, 254–55; boll weevil in, 56. See also specific states
South Korea (Republic of Korea), 82, 263, 314n60, 349n7. See also Korean Air Lines flight 007
Southwest, 12, 28, 35, 80–81. See also specific states
Soviet Union (USSR): and the ABM treaty, 108, 231, 232; Afghanistan war, 18, 24, 228, 274–76; in Africa, 38–39, 268; arms sales by, 74, 75; Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 229–30; Cold War lost, 3–4; collapse of, 269, 351n47; elimination of nuclear weapons desired by, 233; espionage by, 228; as “evil empire,” 106–7, 319n19; Gorbachev’s ascension announced, 225; incoming missile erroneously detected, 113; influence and interference elsewhere, 38–39, 66, 115; internal political change, 239; KAL007 shot down, 111–13; leadership changes, 83, 117, 225–26; military spending, 225, 343n4; missile deployment by, 67–68; and the NATO nuclear war-games exercise, 115–16; and nuclear disarmament, 116 (see also nuclear weapons); and the Olympics, 19, 169; perceived threat of, 37–38, 66; possibility of nuclear war with, 68, 69, 101, 106, 112–13, 116–17, 320n51; Reagan’s hard-line policy toward, 83; Reagan’s “military superiority” policy toward, 22, 66–69, 106–12; Reagan’s visit to Moscow, 237–38; Reagan’s willingness to discuss disarmament with, 107, 110–11, 113, 116–18; RYAN program, 112, 320n40; SALT II treaty, 27; and terrorism, 66, 71–72, 75, 115; unilateral arms-reduction moves, 225, 238, 343n7; U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations (1985–88), 3, 224–28, 230–40, 344–45n38; U.S. military buildup and, 66–68, 118 (see also military, U.S.); U.S. policy and attitudes toward, before Reagan, 15, 18–19, 27, 36–38 (see also foreign policy: opposition to détente); and Warsaw Pact nations, 238, 269–72, 351n32. See also Andropov, Yuri; Brezhnev, Leonid; Gorbachev, Mikhail
space shuttle disaster, 201
Speakes, Larry, 310n25
special interest groups, 53
spending cuts. See budget, federal; and specific programs
Springsteen, Bruce, 99, 136, 169
START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), 231, 236–37, 239. See also foreign policy: U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations
“Star Wars” missile-defense program. See Strategic Defense Initiative
State Department: and Africa policy, 268; embassies bombed, 111, 186, 187; under Haig, 70–71 (see also Haig, Alexander); under Shultz, 81–82, 103–4, 185–86, 198 (see also Shultz, George); and South Korea, 263; on U.S. actions against Nicaragua, 166; U.S. embassy in Beirut bombed, 111. See also foreign policy
states’ rights, 24
Statue of Liberty, 26, 159, 172, 201
Stenholm, Charles, 56
Stethem, Robert, 187
Stockman, David: about, 52–54; economic policy memorandum, 31, 306n1; and the federal budget, 55–56, 58, 60–61; Greider article on, 63–64; influence lost, 64–65; Jim Wright feared by, 203; and the military budget, 53–54; named to head OMB, 31, 53; on Reagan’s economic views, 88; and tax cuts, 60–62
stock market crashes (1987, 1989), 208–9, 285
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. See START
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), 107–10, 111, 225, 226, 230–36, 319n23
Strike from Space (Schlafly and Ward), 108
strikes, 85–87
student protests, 14
Suazo Córdova, Roberto, 185
Sullivan, Brendan, 216, 217, 218
Summers, Lawrence, 332n26
Superfund toxic-waste clean-up program, 44
supply-side economics, 33–34, 63–64, 84–85, 98, 282, 306n8. See also economic policy
Supreme Court: abortion rulings, 290 (see also Roe v. Wade); antisodomy ruling, 133; Bush appointee, 258–59; civil rights and federal funding ruling, 222, 342–43n66; flag destruction ruling, 259–60; Miranda decision, 148–49; police search rulings, 124; racial discrimination rulings, 42; Reagan appointees, 178–79, 220–22 (see also Kennedy, Anthony; O’Connor, Sandra Day; Scalia, Antonin)
Swaggart, Jimmy, 73–74, 211–12
Symms, Steve, 251
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA), 62–63, 95, 205
taxes: in the 1970s, 17, 20; and the 1988 election, 243; Bush and, 244, 251, 255, 258; capital gains tax, 20, 44, 61–62, 255; corporate tax rates, 62; and economic inequality, 281–82; income tax cuts, 20, 26, 31–35, 59, 63, 64t, 97–98, 282, 353n5; Kemp-Roth income tax cut proposal, 20, 26, 32–33, 61; Mondale on, 171–72; property taxes, 17, 20; Reagan tax cuts, 31–35, 60–62, 63, 97–98, 282, 311nn54, 57; Social Security tax (payroll tax), 282, 354n11; state tax cut proposals, 20, 303n34; tax burden of government on economy, 282–83; tax increases, 62–63, 95, 164, 258; Tax Reform Act (1986), 178. See also budget, federal
“Teflon” president, 93–94
telephone tax, 62–63
TERFA. See Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act
terrorism: Libya and, 74, 193; Middle Eastern terrorism, 74–75, 111, 186–90, 195 (see also hostages, American); Soviet Union/communism allegedly tied to, 66, 71–72, 75, 115
Terror Network, The (Sterling), 71–72
Texas v. Johnson (1989), 259–60
Thatcher, Margaret: conservative government of, 40, 41, 45; and the Falklands war, 76; and the NATO nuclear war-games exercise, 115; Reagan’s relationship with, 40, 76; on SDI, 109; and strategic parity, 227
Third World, Reagan’s stance toward, 38–39, 72–73. See also specific regions and countries
Thomas, Clarence, 42
Thompson, Nancy, 48
Thomson, Meldrim, Jr., 163–64
Thriller (Jackson album and videos, 1982), 137–38
Tiananmen Square massacre, 264
Time magazine, 47, 140, 194, 242, 255
Tower Commission, 184, 198–200. See also Iran-Contra scandal
TOW missiles, 190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 199, 339–40n81. See also Iran: arms-for-hostage deal
traditional values: 1990s turn toward, 292; on the defensive, 223; Gilder and, 128; homosexuality disapproved of, 128–31, 202 (see also AIDS epidemic; homosexuality); Pledge of Allegiance, 244–45, 250, 253; Reaganism and, 2, 295; school prayer, 7, 96. See also abortion; Christian conservatives
Trans World Airlines 847 hijacking, 187, 336nn28
Traub, James, 207
Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, 239
Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces. See INF Treaty
trickle-down economics, 63–64. See also supply-side economics
Triumph of Politics, The (Stockman), 62. See also Stockman, David
Tuttle, Holmes, 32
Tutu, Desmond (Archbishop), 7
UN. See United Nations
Under Fire (North), 220. See also North, Oliver
unemployment: in the 1981–82 recession, 84–85, 89–90, 93, 97–99; in 1983, 161; among African Americans, 17, 93, 143; under Ford and Carter, 17; organized labor’s power weakened by, 88; unemployment insurance (UI), 85. See also job loss
Unequal Democracy (Bartels), 4
UNESCO, 73
unilateralism, 73, 225, 238, 343n7
unions. See organized labor
United Nations (UN), 19, 73, 117–18, 238, 268, 277
United States: foreign appreciation for, 21; national pride/self-confidence, 4, 14 (see also patriotism and national pride); preeminence, after the Soviet collapse, 278–79; Reagan’s optimism re, 23, 170. See also budget, federal; Congress; economic policy; foreign policy; government; military, U.S.; Reagan administration; and specific departments, institutions, states, and topics
United States v. Leon, 124
University of California at Berkeley, 13–14
U.S. Sentencing Reform Act (1984), 124
USSR. See Soviet Union
Ustinov, Dimitri, 116
Van de Water, John, 44
Velvet Revolution, 270–71
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 214
Vietnam War: contrasted with Soviet war in Afghanistan, 228, 239; effect of on U.S. policy, 35–37, 39, 78; effect on national pride/confidence, 14; Hart and, 167; North and, 183, 217; Quayle and, 250; Reagan on, 24; Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 214
Vincennes, USS, 276–77
Virginia, 141
Voting Rights Act (1965), 8, 43, 174
wages: CEO pay, 284, 355n25; minimum wage, 281, 354n7. See also income, household
Walker, Alice, 140
Wallison, Peter, 198
Wall Street. See also business
Wall Street (financial world): celebration of, 125; corruption and dirty tactics by, 202, 207–9, 284–85; dominance of, 124; and economic policy, 63, 98; mergers and acquisitions, 125–26, 285; sense of doom on, 202. See also FIRE sector
Wall Street (Stone film, 1987), 202
Wall Street Journal, 33
Wal-Mart, 286–88
Walsh, Lawrence, 335n8
Walton, Sam, 286–88
Ward, Chester, 108
War Games (1983 film), 117
Warhol, Andy, 121
Warsaw Pact nations, 238, 269–71, 351n32. See also specific nations
Washington, DC: African American population, 141; AIDS activism in, 214–15; assassination of Reagan attempted in, 57–58; CCNV homeless shelter in, 146; political protests in, 92, 110, 163, 214–15; Reagan National Airport, 9
Washington, Harold, 149–50
Washington Post, 71, 80, 92, 129, 168, 186. See also Graham, Katherine
Washington Times, 72, 127, 201
Watergate scandal, 14
Waxman, Henry, 132–33
wealthy, the: admiration/resentment felt toward, 126–27; Bush linked to, in 1988 campaign, 252, 255; celebration of wealth, 202; CEO pay, 281, 355n25; concentration of wealth, 280–81; exploitation of, 6; ostentatious lifestyle of, 47–48, 120–21, 205, 210; and the Republican Party, 174; tax cuts aimed at, 32, 53, 61, 63, 255, 281; unfitness for leadership, 295; wealth gospel, 210. See also Wall Street; and specific individuals
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), 290
Wedtech scandal, 206
Weicker, Lowell, 96
Weidenbaum, Murray, 55
Weinberger, Caspar (“Cap”): about, 103–4; and Iran-Contra operations, 184, 189, 190, 192, 195–96, 198; and the military budget, 54; military strategic goals, 68, 69; military strategy goals, 318n9; Miller’s criticism of, 95; and the national security adviser vacancy, 113; on Reagan and terrorism, 188–89; and SDI, 234; and Shultz, 103–4; on the U.S. presence in Beirut, 114
Weir, Benjamin, Rev., 190, 339n81
Welch, Jack, 285
Weld, William, 206
welfare: benefits cut to working poor, 59–60, 94, 310n51; budget cuts to, 59–60, 95, 98, 162; negative perceptions of, 8, 143–44, 325–26n16, 326n23; Reagan’s views on, 8–9, 12, 65, 172, 172; school lunch program as, 92, 93; and single parenthood, 143–44. See also Aid to Families with Dependent Children; food stamps; Medicaid
Westad, Odd Arne, 269
West Germany: Berlin Wall, 67, 235, 272; and German unification, 271–72; missile deployment in, 67–68; Reagan’s visit to Bitburg military cemetery, 179–80; Red Army faction, 71; West Berlin nightclub bombing, 193
Weyrich, Paul, 256
White, Byron (Justice), 133
White, Robert, 79
White House: “donations” to redecorate, 48; Michael Jackson’s visit to, 137–38; Reagan’s staff, 50–52, 113–14. See also Reagan administration
White Noise (DeLillo), 134–35
whites: and the 1988 presidential election, 243; death rate, for young males, 327n40; incarceration rates, 328n43; opposition to antidiscriminatory laws, 7–8, 12–13, 15, 16; percentage of, in New York City, 328n46; race and the Democratic Party, 174–75, 333n43); racism and white backlash, 7–8, 12–13, 16, 147, 175, 327n36 (see also race and racial [in]equality)
white-supremacist movement, 147, 327n36
Whitten, Jamie, 79
Wigton, Martin, 208
Will, George, 32
Willders, James, 97
Williams, Clayton, 291, 356–57n53
Williams, Vanessa, 161
Wilson, Charles (“Charlie”), 59, 79
Wilson, Pete, 292
Wirthlin, Richard, 23
Wolfe, Tom, 125
Wolfowitz, Paul, 262
women, 48; and the abortion issue, 290 (see also abortion); African American women, 143–44; churchwomen murdered in El Salvador, 39, 79; clothing, 119–20; equal rights, 15, 22, 342–43n66; feminism and postmodernism, 135; first vice presidential candidate, 168–69; gay women, 214; judicial appointees, 178–79 (see also O’Connor, Sandra Day); rap music’s misogyny toward, 144, 157; Reagan’s attitude regarding, 15; single parents, 142, 143–44; women voters, 28, 174, 254, 290–92, 356n53; in the workforce, 281, 289–90. See also specific individuals
Wonder, Stevie, 163
working class, 93, 281–82. See also manufacturing sector; organized labor; unemployment
Wright, Jim (Speaker of the House): and the 1982 budget, 56, 58; bills pushed through House, 203; downfall, 255–57; on H. Baker as chief of staff, 217; and the Nicaraguan peace agreement, 265; on Reagan’s veracity, 203–4; and the savings-and-loan crisis, 204–5
Wyman, Jane, 302n14
Yakovlev, Aleksander, 233
Young Americans for Freedom, 46, 73
yuppies, 126–27
Zablocki, Clement, 103
Zimbalist, Efrem, Jr., 47