| 1981: | Ronald Reagan suggests that the proposal to count ketchup and pickle relish as vegetables in school lunches may have been put forth by a dissident faction in the Department of Agriculture as an act of "bureaucratic sabotage". |
| 1982: | Reagan attacks those who say that "our administration fights inflation by putting people out of work," calling that charge "the most cynical form of demagoguery." Reagan is apparently unaware that several of his cabinet members and other appointees have said that recession and unemployment are necessary to fight inflation, including Treasury secretary Donald T. Regan, Commerce secretary Malcolm Baldridge, budget director David Stockman, and press spokesman Larry Speakes. |
| 1988: | It is reported that Marilyn Quayle and her parents are dedicated followers of Robert B. Thieme, a far right wing preacher and former Air Force colonel who wears his uniform in the pulpit and specializes in preaching about armageddon. |
| 1988: | George Bush debates Michael Dukakis. Dukakis claims to be "very tough on violent crime" and is laughed at. Bush claims that he doesn't uncritically approve of every weapons expenditure there is -- he names three that have already been cut as ones he opposes. He objects to a scene showing cocaine use in the movie "Crocodile Dundee" and uses the phrase "narcotics-wrapped-up guy" to refer to addicts. |