LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ronald Reagan: White House
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For eight years Ronald Reagan kept a meticulous record of his presidency. That insider's account of life at the helm of the world's superpower will be publicly available with the publication of Reagan's White House diaries.
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Former First Lady Nancy Reagan has told Democratic Senate nominee James Webb not to use video of Ronald Reagan praising him in campaign ads. Nancy Reagan has ordered Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb, a former Reagan White House military aide, NOT to use video of her husband praising Webb in an upcoming campaign ad.
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Reagan was widely criticized in 1985 for an incident related to an official visit to West Germany. On April 11, the White House announced that Reagan would be visiting the Bitburg military cemetery, to lay a wreath in honor of German soldiers who died in both World Wars. This became controversial when it came to public attention that a small number (variously reported as 49 or 56) of gravesites contained remains of soldiers who had served in Waffen-SS units. Despite protests from various quarters, most notably Elie Wiesel, Reagan proceeded with the visit on the grounds that it would promote reconciliation between the former adversaries.
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The other major blot on Reagan's presidency was the Iran-Contra scandal. With his blessing, US arms were secretly shipped to Iran in an attempt to secure the freedom of US hostages in Lebanon. White House aides then diverted the proceeds from those arms sales to the Nicaraguan Contras, in defiance of a congressional ban on such support. Reagan denied knowing of the diversion, but on this matter he was, for once, not convincing, and in any case he had no answer to the charge of appalling judgment and slack management.
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Sixty-nine days after taking office, Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin. When his wife Nancy arrived at the hospital Reagan told her, "Honey, I forgot to duck." The incident and Reagan's quick recovery increased his popularity, but did not change his pro-gun views, even though White House press secretary Jim Brady, who was crippled by the shooting, became synonymous with the U.S. gun control movement (the Brady bill, passed in 1993, mandated criminal background checks for gun buyers and instituted five-day waiting periods).
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Reagan was seriously wounded by John Hinckley, and the day after the shooting, Friedersdorf got a call in the White House from James Baker, Reagan's chief of staff, who was at the hospital. "Get over here," Baker commanded.
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