Transcript: Chapter 11

Narrator: On March 30, seventy days into his presidency, Reagan delivered yet another pitch -- to a union convention at the Washington Hilton Hotel. At 2:25 he left the meeting and approached his limousine.

Deaver: I ran to the car behind the limousine. I thought we were going to the White House. We started going over dividers on Connecticut Avenue and I realized when we came into the port of the George Washington Hospital that we were going there. I jumped out of the car and Reagan's getting out of the car, and he always had this thing where he would pull his pants up to be sure they were just right, button his coat again, which he did when he got out of the limousine. And I thought, he's fine -- walked into the hospital, the minute he hit the door, he went down.

Nancy Reagan: When I got there, everybody's still telling me, he hasn't been shot, he hasn't been hit. And I think it was Mike Deaver who was standing waiting for me and I think he was the one who told me, that he'd been hit.

Narrator: A deranged lone gunman, John Hinckley Jr., had fired six bullets at the president. One ricocheted off Reagan's limousine, and tore into his left lung missing his heart by an inch.

Patti Davis: I was afraid he would die and that he would die without me really knowing who my father was. I knew how close to death he was once I got to Washington, the country didn't know until years later.

Nancy Reagan: He was so white. I have never seen anybody so white, and he had that thing over his face to help him breathe and there was blood. And he opened his eyes and saw me, and that's when he said, "Honey, I forgot to duck."

Narrator: Reports of Reagan's courage reassured an anxious nation.

Deaver: That was that moment when we really saw inside the man. We really saw what he was made of -- to be able to have that grace and that humor, at that particular time in this life.

Ron Reagan: The quips to the doctors, about you know, "I hope you're all Republicans" and all that kind of stuff, and "Honey, I forgot to duck." You know, that wasn't some invention of somebody. He was actually doing that. And you know, probably going through his mind is gee, I hope I'm not putting these people out.

Reporters : How are you feeling Mr. President? How do you feel? How do you feel?

Reagan: Great.

Reporters: What are you going to do when you get to the White House, Mr. President. What are you going to do when you get home?

Reagan: Sit down.

Narrator: Reagan returned to the White House twelve days after being shot. Only those closest to him knew how transforming his near death experience had been.

Smith: I think it confirmed everything he'd ever been taught, beginning by his mother about God's plan for him as an individual. Mother Teresa came to the White House, with no fanfare, not long after the assassination attempt, and met privately with the president. And at the end of the meeting, she told the president that God had a plan for him and that God had intended for him to suffer.

Morris: That was when he decided that the life which had been spared was now going to have to be put to the service of the God who had saved him. He became much more devout and evangelical from that moment on. His thoughts became slower, his speech became slower, he deliberated more, he hesitated more when he spoke. He lost his quickness and for the rest of the presidency, it was a very, very slow and steady mental and physical decline.

Sam Donaldson, Journalist: Mrs. Reagan never recovered. Mrs. Reagan was horrified and she gave immediate instructions to Michael Deaver who was her contact in the Chief of Staff's Office, words to the effect, "This will never happen again -- you see to it." And they saw to it. He never walked across an airport tarmac. He never worked a fence line. He never got out of his limousine on a public sidewalk but it began to close down the presidency, even more from the standpoint of access to the average citizen, the average voter in this country.

Lou Cannon, Biographer: It took Reagan out of most of the routine of being President. In a sense it aborted the inner life of the presidency.

Put the Reagan presidency on this track where Reagan was more distanced than he should have been from decision-making.

Narrator: On April 28, four weeks after the attempt on his life, a barely recovered Reagan received a hero's welcome from Congress

Reagan: Thank you. Thank you. You wouldn't want to talk me into an encore would you? Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished members of the Congress, honored guests and fellow citizens, I have no words to express my appreciation for that greeting. I have come to speak to you tonight about our economic recovery program and why I believe it's essential that Congress approve this package.

Christopher Matthews: There he was, almost Lazarus -- like standing before the Congress. Here's a guy who had survived a very deadly shot of an assassin and to come back with such élan and to ask for support was big stuff. I mean, you're talking about Hollywood drama here and he played it for all it was worth and he should have. And I think that that's when he probably ran his vote up over the top.

Congressman: On this vote the ayes are 238, the nays are 195.

Narrator: The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of his economic package. In the House, Reagan had convinced enough Democrats to break rank. He rejoiced in what he called "the greatest political win in half a century."

Tip O'Neill: Mr. President, congratulations, you're a tough adversary. Well. No hard feelings old pal. It's a great two party system we have. We gave our best, and you outdid us. As a matter of fact you stunned us. I never figured you could beat us that badly. You're a little stunned yourself. Well, listen, I want to wish you all the success in the world. The fiscal policy of the nation now belongs to you. You've got two clear-cut victories up here.

Narrator: On August 13, 1981 Reagan headed for his Ranch in the Sky to sign the bill which would turn his conservative agenda into law.

Darman: It was perfect for the imagery of the western romantic American tradition. Symbolically, an ideal place to start the ratification of step one of the Reagan Revolution ... And so, it was a well-chosen set, at least in concept. In reality, the particular day turned out to be one where you couldn't see much of anything. There was this tremendous fog that poured in. You could hardly see the President when he came out to sign the bill. So yes, the thought did cross my mind that maybe we were all doing something in a fog that is without as clear a vision as we should have had of what we were up to

Narrator: The bill Reagan signed that day did not include a balanced budget. Without further cuts, the United States would face the largest deficit in its history.

Reporter: How much more in budget cuts are you going to have to make over the next couple of years and will you still be able to balance the budget in '84.

Reagan: Well, this has always been our goal and will continue to be our goal, but remember that we always said that there were further budget cuts for the coming years, for '83 and '84.

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