The Ronald Reagan Presidency

Based on the clues, guess these facts about Ronald Reagan and his presidency.
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: August 23, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedJuly 9, 2013
Times taken21,550
Average score59.1%
Rating4.20
5:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 22 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Hint
Answer
His Vice President
George H.W. Bush
1984 election opponent
Walter Mondale
1980 election opponent
Jimmy Carter
First name of the First Lady
Nancy
State he governed
California
State where he was born
Illinois
His name for the Soviet Union
The Evil Empire
Nickname of his proposed missile defense system
Star Wars
Disease he was diagnosed with in 1994
Alzheimer's
Scandal where the U.S. sold arms to Iran
Iran-Contra
"Just Say No" to these, according to the First Lady
Drugs
Person who shot him in 1981
John Hinckley
His first wife
Jane Wyman
Space shuttle that exploded
Challenger
His nickname, because no scandals could stick to him
The Teflon President
Nickname, based on his speaking ability
The Great Communicator
Childhood nickname, based on his haircut
Dutch
Nickname, based on his role in "Knute Rockne, All American"
The Gipper
 
Fill the blanks in these quotes
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall
Honey, I forgot to duck
It's morning again in America
Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem
+4
Level 82
Jul 20, 2013
Didn't know his first wife or childhood nickname, though neither had much to do with his presidency. What's the "honey, I forgot to duck" line from? Sounds familiar.. is that from his commercial/spokesman/corporate shill (most important experience he had prior to becoming president) days?

oh wait, nevermind, just clicked... he said that after getting shot, right?

+6
Level 63
Mar 18, 2014
His most important achievement prior to becoming President was being a corporate spokesman? Seriously? Did you miss that whole "Governor of California" thing?
+10
Level 82
Mar 26, 2015
I didn't say achievement. I said experience. Considering he sold the country out to bankers and corporations, his experience as a corporate spokesman was apparently what he drew upon most when making decisions as president, yes.
+4
Level 37
Jul 17, 2017
He was a mediocre actor, a poor governor, a forgettable spokesman

and a disastrous president. Yes, he sold out to the bankers and other "elites". Hallmark of a former Democrat.

+4
Level 84
May 21, 2014
kalbahamut, your comments are typically well thought out, but are you just trolling with that comment about Reagan's experience?
+3
Level 82
Mar 26, 2015
No, not at all. Again, I wasn't saying it was his most significant achievement.
+5
Level 76
Sep 3, 2019
Is it possible to just take a quiz without being a totally pretentious d*ck? Just curious.
+5
Level 82
Sep 6, 2019
Yeah, pretty easy. Were you looking for instructions?
+1
Level 83
Jul 27, 2013
The real name of his defence programme was Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). 'Star Wars' was a pejorative nickname given to SDI by its opponents.
+5
Level 54
Aug 20, 2013
The question asks for the nickname.
+4
Level 68
Aug 20, 2013
It says nickname in the question....
+2
Level 27
Aug 20, 2013
Looks like he kind of invented the war on drugs.
+5
Level 28
Aug 20, 2013
Not really. The term was first used by Nixon in 1971, but even then, the actions and tactics to which he was referring to had been around for over 50 years.
+4
Level 75
Apr 2, 2017
war on drugs was invented by the 'Progressives' - in 1912!
+2
Level 82
Feb 10, 2022
His wife became something of a cheerleader for it, but the war on drugs is mostly Nixon's fault. Though... Johnson, Reagan, Bush, Clinton... all contributed toward it and share blame. Obama and Trump made very nominal efforts to try and address it, for obviously very different reasons, but in both cases not nearly enough. Doesn't look like Biden is going to do anything, either. Perhaps once the Nixon generation dies off and politicians aren't scared of their voting power anymore we'll finally be able to end it.
+3
Level 19
Aug 22, 2013
a President with a backbone
+2
Level 19
Aug 23, 2013
got them all with 3 mins left,a child of the 80's
+7
Level 39
Dec 24, 2013
worst president ever
+5
Level 28
May 15, 2014
Probably. Although I'd argue that Andrew Jackson, Buchanan, and Hoover were worse.
+3
Level 75
Dec 20, 2014
Current president isn't out of the running!
+16
Level 66
Oct 9, 2018
Shiloh376 your comment is a lot more applicable now than it was when you made it.
+5
Level 84
May 21, 2014
Maybe if you're talking about his predecessor
+3
Level 45
Jun 25, 2014
Never.
+3
Level 65
Oct 23, 2016
And why exactly is that? Any evidence to back your claim?
+5
Level 70
Aug 30, 2019
not even close lol
+2
Level 89
Jul 11, 2020
Definitely not the worst. But also far from the best.
+10
Level 63
Jun 26, 2014
Ronald Reagan is not the worst president ever, but even on his best day he was relatively mediocre. However because he is the only Republican president since Eisenhower to win the popular vote twice (and unlike the other two GOP presidents who were elected to two-terms, he did not leave office in disgrace) the Right reveres him with a religious-like devotion. They have created the myth of 'Ronaldus Magnus' and consider him either the greatest president ever or at least worthy of Mt Rushmore.

Reagan was mostly a bad president. He deliberately ignored congress regarding the Iran-Contra scandal and lied about it to congress and the American people (if it didn't happen so late in his 2nd term he might have been impeached). He also passed up a deal with Gorbachev for almost complete nuclear disarmament because of his attachment to SDI, which never worked anyway. And there is even evidence in the diary he kept for most of his life that he already had Alzheimer's before his 2nd term was up.

+1
Level 56
Jun 28, 2015
If Reagan wasn't the worst, who the heck do you think was?!!
+5
Level 63
Aug 7, 2016
So I just saw this, over a year after you wrote it!

I'm flattered that you'd ask my opinion, but I believe that James Buchanan is the worst president ever, since many of his key decisions (and his lack of decisions) helped bring about the Civil War and the deaths of around 750,000 Americans (not to mention all those wounded or those scarred mentally/emotionally after the war).

My top and bottom 10:

Top:

1.) Lincoln

2.) FDR

3.) Washington

4.) Wilson

5.) Teddy Roosevelt

6.) Jefferson

7.) Truman

8.) Eisenhower

9.) Obama

10.) Jackson

Bottom:

1.) Buchanan

2.) Harding

3.) George W. Bush

4.) Nixon

5.) Hoover

6.) Andrew Johnson

7.) Pierce

8.) Fillmore

9.) Tyler

10.) Carter

Rating the presidents since FDR died in 1945:

1.) Truman

2.) Eisenhower

3.) Obama

4.) JFK

5.) LBJ

6 (tie) George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton

8.) Reagan

9.) Ford

10.) Carter

11.) Nixon

12.) George W. Bush

+4
Level 80
Mar 11, 2017
Putting FDR at Number 2 and Wilson at Number 4 is laughable.
+2
Level 66
Oct 9, 2018
I'd put Wilson a little lower, but FDR is right where he belongs on that list. I think Teddy would have ranked even higher had the country faced worse crises than it did during his Presidency, but he did not have to lead the country through something as difficult as Lincoln or FDR did.
+4
Level 66
Oct 9, 2018
And while I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Hdny42's list, how bad do some of those administrations on the "worst" list have to be to rank below William Henry Harrison, whose major accomplishment as President was dying of pneumonia a mere month after taking office?
+2
Level 67
Aug 30, 2019
Most comments on here must be by progressives or socialists. That rating list is a joke as well, besides the first few obvious ones on each. Wilson is on the wrong list altogether. He was the worst type of progressive (possibly socialist) and a raging racist. Meanwhile the Reagan years brought the downfall of the USSR, the best economy since the 50s and ended a two decade downward spiral of political unrest, scandals and bad presidents.
+2
Level 81
Aug 30, 2019
^ but on which list?? ;)
+4
Level 82
Aug 30, 2019
Trump is way worse than Reagan, and Bush Jr. was worse, too, IMO though that is not as clear-cut. Though it would have been hard to see this from 2015.
+2
Level 82
Aug 30, 2019
Seriously Kal get a hobby. You can say republicans are idiots or democrats are idiots, but the people who vote/believe whatever their party tells them are the real idiots.
+4
Level 82
Aug 31, 2019
The real idiots are those that believe whatever they're told by the party? such as those who believe that Trump, current head of the Republican party, is not the worst president in US history - something that independent conservatives, liberals, and non-partisan observers can all pretty much agree on? Cool, thanks for the help sniffing out real idiocy. I'll keep my eyes peeled.
+10
Level 65
Feb 5, 2016
I typically think rather highly of everyone on this site given our shared interest in obscure, mostly useless information. The comments on anything political, religious, philosophical, etc. are beyond disheartening. I often tell people "there is no such thing as an open-minded intellectual". This is true whether you like to admit it or not. When it comes to contentious topics, people like us (including myself far too often) state our opinions as though they are facts. Nobody changes their mind based on facts but rather on emotion. They then seek to back up their feelings with cherry picked factual evidence from science and history. Intellectuals respect their opponents but never actually keep their minds open. The motto is "question everything, well, except for me of course". My point is that all of you quarreling in the comments above need to check your ego at the door. Stop being arrogant and keep your mouth shut. You cannot prove anything to anyone by slandering each other online.
+7
Level ∞
Jul 28, 2016
So true. You lose an online argument the moment you decide to participate in one. But I'm guilty of doing it too sometimes.
+4
Level 75
Oct 22, 2016
I agree slandering each other is not helpful, but on the other hand I enjoy some of the lively discussions I've seen in the comments, and quite often I learn new things or research a topic further on my own. So IMHO honest debate and open discussion is good, just don't get arrogant or mean-spirited with the comments.
+4
Level 82
Oct 22, 2016
Disagree wholeheartedly. I'll state why, and who knows, maybe even influence someone's opinion.

Most intellectuals I respect are true skeptics. A true skeptic is always open-minded. I'm very open-minded myself. And these people will always change their opinions based on facts and evidence, and actively resist things like beliefs based on emotion, confirmation bias, etc. It's not easy doing this, it is human nature, but it is possible.

Stating an opinion with confidence doesn't mean you are closed-minded. You'll annoy fewer people if you take the time to carefully state that everything you say is of course up for debate, and after every opinion add a caveat that you are not infallible, but this is tedious. I'm always open to the possibility that I might be wrong but I'm not going to add this as a post statement to everything I type.

+4
Level 82
Oct 22, 2016

People also often confuse a lot of different things (confidence, different opinions, knowledge) for arrogance. Especially people who prefer not to participate in contentious conversations. This is the majority of people out there. Maybe they believe that, because they would choose not to participate in a debate, other people doing so must have something wrong with them. They might perceive it as arrogance (oh, they think their opinions are sooo important and everyone just has to know what they think!), or pugnacity (oh! people are expressing different opinions! They must be fighting! Why can't we all get along!?), when really some people just enjoy a lively debate. If you do not... then don't read the comments. You'll just find them upsetting. And aside from Internet trolls, nobody is trying to insult, slander, or offend you.

+2
Level 55
Oct 22, 2016
Can't we all just get along? As pointed out above this is not a political website, nor should it be. No one will affirm Reagan's place in history via this string of comments. Now let's all get back to solving quizzes. :)
+3
Level 60
Oct 22, 2016
My favorite president for my birthday. Cool, I guess.
+2
Level 67
Oct 22, 2016
Happy birthday, Gamer!
+2
Level 60
Oct 22, 2016
Thank you!
+2
Level 25
Oct 22, 2016
Can you accept "Tefflon"?
+2
Level 48
Oct 25, 2016
One vote against. I prefer the correct spelling.
+2
Level 82
Oct 23, 2016
Does Alzheimer's really need that S in the quiz?
+2
Level ∞
Oct 24, 2016
I guess we can do without it
+2
Level 48
Oct 25, 2016
I will always remember Reagan pseudo-fondly, for creating a job for me by firing the air traffic controllers.
+2
Level 78
Aug 30, 2019
The comments here have been mostly against Reagan. Could someone in favor of his policies give their reasons?
+4
Level 75
Aug 30, 2019
It was a tremendous achievement to deflect attention from a bombing in Lebanon by invading Grenada with 6,000 Marines, fighting off nearly one hundred airport construction workers over the course of six hours, and then awarding those Marines 7,500 medals? Is that a good start?
+2
Level 78
Aug 30, 2019
I know. And I've only ever read and heard bad things about Reagan, except for rather insubstantial claims (he was "optimistic" and "honest", or, see above, "a president with a backbone", etc.). Yet I'm willing to listen to the other side and see where they're really coming from. I'm curious.
+2
Level 82
Aug 30, 2019
Reagan fans I think would say that he was a great communicator and charismatic leader. They credit his charisma and leadership with defeating the Soviet Union and winning the Cold War. They see him as tough on foreign policy. They also credit the economic boom of the 80s to Reaganomics - tax cuts and deregulation aimed at benefiting the wealthy elites and encouraging growth on Wall Street. (and ignore the recession that came shortly afterward) I agree with maybe 30% of this.
+3
Level 88
Oct 28, 2019
He was President when terrorists killed 300 Americans in one spot in a foreign country....which obviously the President didn't detonate the terrorist bomb, but...Benghazi!!!!

Never understood the partisan hacks' jump in logic there.

+2
Level 82
Aug 11, 2020
After the Obama administration got the 2008 economic crash turned around, the country had 75 consecutive months of job growth - an historical first. The S&P 500 almost tripled under Obama after it reached a low in March 2009, shortly after he assumed office. Unemployment was cut in half. Annual GDP growth after 2009 was a healthy and sustainable 2-3%. Some quarters over 4%. There was no recession under Obama just 8 years of growth.

If you look at all these and other economic indicators over the Obama and Trump years it is easy to see that they started their upward trend and then just continued along the same trend lines when Trump took over, if they did not falter and slow down. (and then, of course, eventually Trump's catastrophically inept handling of the pandemic resulted in more economic damage to the USA than any similarly developed country) Even Trump admitted, before deciding he was running for office, that Democrats were better for the economy than Republicans.

+3
Level 82
Aug 11, 2020
A lovely infographic here. Hard to argue with the hard data. Though this graphic only goes from Hoover through Bush Jr. If it included Obama and Trump then it would be even more lopsided. Some Republican administrations saw bigger growth than the average Democratic one, but typically that growth was not sustainable and led to either recessions or crashes. Republicans favoring deregulation means bigger, less predictable swings of the market, greater wealth concentration at the top, and a government less equipped to be able to respond to crises when they arise.

oh.. forgot to mention.. under Obama we also had 8 years of a shrinking deficit. Trump is the first president in history to *explode* the deficit during peacetime when the economy was great. No other president has managed to do that. Where's the tea party now?

+2
Level 82
Sep 18, 2020
Seems like TraderJoe went through and deleted almost all of his comments on the presidential quizzes. He commented above something about Trump's or Reagan's great economies probably, or Obama's being weak. I forget.
+2
Level ∞
Sep 18, 2020
No, @TraderJoes has been hidden, as well as @Jackinthebox. We don't appreciate users whose only contribution to JetPunk is partisan political argumentation. @Kal, you are mostly grandfathered in.
+2
Level 82
Feb 26, 2021
I don't make partisan political arguments; certainly not only. I adhere as closely as possible to objective reality. Reality in a 2-party system isn't always perfectly centrist, as much as this may upset those committed to being non-partisan (as best they can with the limited information they have, often so limited because these types don't enjoy reading about politics or conversing on the subject). Those who disagree about my posts may themselves be partisan, I've noticed that plenty of times, sometimes even in their own well-meaning but somewhat hamstrung endeavors to be or appear neutral themselves. I've had posts deleted for stating uncontroversial objective fact that may have appeared to those who don't know any better as partisan political opinion or argumentation. I've had posts deleted that stated no opinion at all; just listed the voting records at USSC nominee confirmation hearings. Not to imply that TraderJoe was muted unfairly, but this policy may be overused.
+2
Level 66
Apr 17, 2021
Yeah, I was surprised not to see anything relating to Grenada in the questions. I'm not an American and that was something I knew about, unlike some much more obscure to me questions (e.g. nicknames).
+6
Level 85
Aug 30, 2019
Forgot the obvious question. What did he destroy? The American middle class.
+1
Level 43
Aug 30, 2019
Driving past Dixon, IL on I-88 is pretty inspiring because it shows that even someone from a dump like that can become president. Although I hate the war on drugs and the effect it's had on black incarceration I do have respect for Reagan.
+2
Level 88
Oct 28, 2019
Anything you see from the freeway is irrelevant to the downtown that was there in the 1910s. It was a small, growing town in farm country.
+3
Level 73
Aug 31, 2019
I can't believe I forgot Walter Mondale, my childhood was scarred by memories of my dad and his mother arguing bitterly over that election...she was convinced Reagan was the devil incarnate.
+2
Level 88
Oct 28, 2019
How about for a quote:

"The bombing begins in 5 minutes."?

+1
Level 78
Dec 22, 2022
"Anne" should be accepted for the First Lady's name.