The Gripper Runs For President January 13, 2008

You know him as “the gipper,” but now he’s running for president. Only a few days ago he was in Detroit, Michigan, where he earned the Republican nomination. His name, Ronald Reagan. It’s really a wonder how an actor became interested in politics. Some people say he wanted to be president because he was losing popularity as an actor. Others say it was because he was inspired by president Franklin Roosevelt.No matter what you believe about his reasons, he has already proven himself a natural leader. Why? He’s popular, and a great speaker. He went to Eureka collage and earned degrees in economics, and sociology. Plus, he was President of the Screen Actor’s Guild, and a radio announcer.In 1941, Reagan testified before the FBI about communism in the movie business. In 1964 he campaigned for Barry Goldwater. He spoke about the obnoxious high taxes, the government wasting money, getting larger agencies, and the rampant problem of crime. The speech was so popular that it made people take him seriously as a politician.In 1966 he won the California Gubernatorial Race. He was now the governor of California. It was not easy working with the Democratic legislature. He was upset that he could not make a difference with high taxes. he tried to use television to win support, but that still did not work.While he was governor, he had the idea of building a federal dam, the Dos Rios. If he had not had that idea, a lot of Indian valley ranches could have been flooded.Now that it’s 1980, Ronald Reagan is running for president. Will he win, or will he loose?