Phil Hartman as Ronald Reagan showed the president, often lampooned as forgetful, with a razor-sharp command of the Iran-Contra situation, cutting deals in Arabic and barking orders at his staff.
That was a classic. Another classic was Hartman as Clinton, “Jim, let me tell you something – there’s gonna be a lot of things we don’t tell Mrs. Clinton about. Fast food is the least of our worries.”
I think that portrayal of Reagan was accurate, even the Secret Service says that when Reagan was finished with the days public image Reagan, that he would then retire behind closed doors to read or study/work.
Watch Reagan on shows like Carson or Firing Line, and remember the surprise when people learned he was hand writing his thoughts from memory about world affairs for his radio commentary, Reagan always knew what he was talking about and was always working in an education for the listeners, he was a subtle teacher because he knew a lot.
I remember that Reagan sketch — Hartmann was great in it. I also can’t forget the sketch with Ackroyd playing Jimmah Cahtah in which he advised a caller not to take the brown acid.