Thirty years ago

The assassination attempt on President Reagan, March 30, 1981 on ABC News. It is worth watching till 4:10 when Frank Reynolds is handed the note with the news. It's also worth watching on to the point when Al Haig announces that he is now in charge. That faux pas was not forgotten or forgiven.



I have always maintained that by surviving the assassination attempt, Ronald Reagan broke Tecumseh's curse. After all, he did not die in office and neither did George W. Bush who was elected in 2000.

The best account and analysis of that momentous event is in John O'Sullivan's The President, the Pope and the Prime Minister about Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II, all three of whom survived assassination attempts.