The President's Been Shot (page 5 of 5)

Back in the Saddle

Eight Days Later
By April 9 the President's fever was gone. In his 11 days in the hospital, he had lost a dozen pounds or so. Despite spokesmen saying he was "wolfing down" food, even Nancy was having trouble getting him to eat. Mrs. Reagan had friends from California transport soups -- split pea, turkey and hamburger soups, his favorites. That didn't work either. Reagan wanted to go home to the White House, and departure was set for Saturday, April 11.

Steven Weisman of The New York Times wrote the pool report for distribution to other reporters that morning: "The President, before leaving the hospital entrance, received warm applause from about 40 or 50 people inside. Reagan emerged with Nancy clutching his right arm and daughter Patti holding his left. He seemed pale and a little stiff but he was grinning broadly. Asked how he was feeling he said, 'Great ... great.' "

There was more cheering after the President arrived at the White House. He was wearing a red sweater, and a grin too. Upstairs, he collapsed into a chair, and that night in his diary he wrote: "Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can."

On April 28, the President made his first public appearance since the shooting, a 9 p.m. speech to a joint session of Congress, on live television. "The place went nuts," said one commentator. Representatives and Senators stood and applauded, then cheered and whistled for three long minutes.

"Thanks to some very fine people, my health is much improved," Reagan said. "I'd like to be able to say that with regard to the health of the economy."

Then he got to specifics: "The House will choose between two different versions to deal with the economy. One is the measure offered by the House Budget Committee. The other is a bipartisan measure introduced by Congressman Phil Gramm of Texas and Del Latta of Ohio." The Administration, he said, would embrace Gramm-Latta.

"The answer to a government that's too big is to stop feeding its growth," he went on. "Government spending has been growing faster than the economy. The massive national debt we accumulated is the result of the government's high-spending diet. Well, it's time to change the diet."

Interrupted frequently by more cheering and applause, toward the end he said, "The poet Carl Sandburg wrote, 'The republic is a dream. Nothing happens unless first a dream.' That's what makes us, as Americans, different. We've always reached for a new spirit and aimed at a higher goal."

Back at the White House, the President said that he was amazed when he saw 40 or so Democrats standing and applauding. "Boy, that took guts," he said. He joked, "That reception was almost worth getting shot."

The Democratic Majority Leader of the House, Jim Wright of Texas, wrote in his diary that night: "We've just been outflanked and outgunned. The aura of heroism which has attended him since his wounding, deserved in large part by his demeanor under the duress of his physical ordeal, assured a tumultuous welcome. It was a deceptive, extremely partisan and probably very effective presentation."

Speaker Tip O'Neill said, "The President has become a hero. We can't argue with a man as popular as he is. I've been in politics a long time. I know when to fight and when not to fight."

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