| 1983: | Reagan appoints long-time crony William Clark to replace James Watt as Secretary of the Interior. Since Clark is as un-knowledgeable on the environment as he was on foreign policy when appointed Undersecretary of State and later National Security Adviser, this is greeted with some disbelief. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker says, in all sincerity, "You're kidding. Now tell me who it really is." Larry Speakes later writes that the move was engineered by James Baker and Michael Deaver in order to get Clark out of the job of National Security Adviser. |
| 1987: | Reagan's Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is about to be rejected by the Senate, and Reagan vows, if this happens, to find another appointee they'll object to just as much. He stands by this promise in selecting Douglas Ginsburg, and only his third choice, Anthony Kennedy, is eventually confirmed. |
| 1988: | A full-page ad is published in major newspapers, demanding that Dan Quayle's scholastic records be released. "If he has nothing to hide, why has he permitted rumors to persist, not only about poor grades, but disciplinary actions for plagiarism and the hiring of surrogates to take exams?" |