Posted on 03/30/2010 4:39:06 PM PDT by gusopol3
On this day, March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr., outside the Washington Hilton Hotel north of Dupont Circle.
Hinckley was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and hoped to prove his worth by becoming famous.
Reagan was shot in the chest. Secret Service agents rushed him to George Washington University Hospital because its emergency room was expert at treating gunshot wounds. When first lady Nancy Reagan arrived, the president said, "Honey, I forgot to duck."
There was a great confusion about who was in control of the government at the time. Secretary of State Alexander Haig rushed into a news conference and announced incorrectly, "I am in control here."
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He remains confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Actually still remember that day. 5th grade...
Too bad they didnt put Hinkley’s sperm in Jodie Fosters turkey baster.
For some reason, it never made it as an iconic moment ,like JFK’s assassination, or the Challenger disaster. It’s a perfect demonstration of the (not so) subtle pull of leftist hatred on cultural perspectives.
Surprising no mention of Brady, or Frank Reynold’s (premature) announcement that Reagan (or was it Brady?) had died.
That's due to the fact that Hinkley's brain had the intelligence level of dog waste. There was no secret political conspiracy, no government overthrow, no foreign enemies involed, etc...A fruitcake with a gun doesn't rate much.
Myself and some friends were skipping study hall down in the dugout of the baseball field when we heard.
Man, can you just imagine how things would be different if Reagan had died that day?
Nonetheless, there were many dry eyes among the elites.
I certainly remember the moment I heard about it on the radio. I was driving North on I-25 almost to 38th Ave exit in my then-new 1981 VW pickup.
The fact that Reagan lived (thank God) minimized the event somewhat in the eyes of the Reagan-hating media.
That’s very true, and by that alone you’d figure Reagan a much more historically consequential figure than JFK, whose death seems of little difference to the course of the nation.
Brady Survived. This caused The Brady Gun control bill to be passed, as JFK caused the firearms Act of 1964. I have always thought the Gun grabbers cause these tragedies to further their agenda.
barbra ann
Hinckley was probably a Tea Bagger :).
I remember that day...one of the kids at school was running around celebrating this. Remember, all of our teachers had told us that Reagan was a cowboy and he was going to get us all blown up. It was a day of revelation to me - there is an undercurrent of evil to liberalism.
Hinckley was a member of the American Nazi party, circa 1979.
< Sarc/ >
And on March 31, actress Lee Grant appeared on GMA and announced ...”The NRA is a rifle organization! They should give up their handguns and they can KEEP their rifles!”
Meanwhile, Chinese and Egyptian AK-47 sport rifles were entering the US and no one was worried about them for another 8-10 years. Handguns were E-e-vil!
Hey John, Obama has been banging Jodie like a screen door in a hurricane.... just thought you might like to know.
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