Revisit Reagan’s Thanksgiving speech to Congress as it was broadcast.
1. “A good day for the whole world” – Reagan described the world situation in a way that was very different from what followed when he was in office. He spoke about the world as a whole, not just the United States alone. He pointed out the need for international dialogue and for the US to support and participate in resolving international problems.
And he spoke about the special relationship between the United States and India. He thanked India for its help to the United States during the Viet Nam War.
“The people I have met in this great land of ours are great, they are good Americans and good Indians,” Reagan told Congress. “We share a deep commitment in defense of freedom, and a special relationship of friendship, friendship, and more friendship. A real friendship where we know the other can count on us, not because we do it well, but because we do it honestly.”
2. “The world, on a Saturday morning, calls” – The speech began with a joke about the day’s business, the “Saturday morning” business, and Reagan’s famous line about “a Saturday morning quarterback.” He said that the nation needed to get back to work to “help bring honor to our great flag, and to help the world celebrate the great state of Virginia.”
3. “I know this is a good day for the whole world” – Reagan said that as he got ready to go to Washington for the holiday, he could “only think of the great people I had met in this great land of ours.” As he sat in his car at the airport waiting on his connecting flight, he remembered how on the drive to the hotel from his home in California he had stopped at the store where President Nixon had stayed when he was president, and had bought some of Nixon’s favorite cookies.
4. “For now that we have spoken, I remain a citizen of the world” – Reagan said that as Congress was going home for the weekend, the people whose
