# The Day Reagan was shot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364 "2003-07-18T11:26:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/1 "2003-07-18T11:26:17Z")
Anybody see this [film](http://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/d/dayreaganwasshot.q.shtml)? I saw bits of it while my GF was on the phone, but it looked like a hoot. Made the white House look like _Faulty Towers_. I was thinking this HAD to be fictionalized (and made by us liberals). The site I found for it says it’s reasonably accurate. I find that a little hard to believe. Anybody seen it all the way through? What was your take on it? Dreyfuss gives a 1st rate performance as Haig, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/2 "2003-07-18T11:27:54Z")
Never saw the film. I was watching TV when the breaking news came on. Even as a kid, I was torn between shock and a slight disappointment that he missed. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/3 "2003-07-18T13:28:40Z")
I was 20 at the time. And John Hinckley didn’t “miss”; he put an explosive bullet in the President’s chest. Fortunately it didn’t explode. Crappy as the Reagan administration was (although it seems like a happy dream now by comparison with the current simpering buffoon and his cutthroat gang of criminals), I have to admit Reagan showed real class that day. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/4 "2003-07-18T13:50:06Z")
Yes, but because of Hinkley, Law-Abiding Americans who own Fire-Arms have to deal with James Brady and his Wife, who want to Outlaw Guns, because some Nut-Case tried to Shoot and Kill Reagan - but didn’t get the Job Done, and unfortunately Shot Brady, which made him Brain Damaged, and ruined his Life. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/5 "2003-07-18T14:30:44Z")
iTereStiNg usE OF cApiTaLiZAtioN, THERE iNtaGLIo ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/6 "2003-07-18T14:43:14Z")
btw, it’s in the $5.88 DVD bin at W **M** \* ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/7 "2003-07-18T14:50:49Z")
Hell, I remember the day clearly. Junior year in college, I was in the ABC soap opera lounge in the student union, ready to watch the nuptials between Luke and Laura. When they were pre-empted by this! Not to diminish the significnce of the event, but that was a high water mark in the annals of newsmaking in terms of **We have absolutely nothing new to tell you, so we will just reshow the same film clip over-and-over, interspersed with a talking head looking somber and endlessly rephrasing the same 5-10 sentences.** Oh, for those who might have missed. When it showed the next day, Laura looked lovely, and - gasp - Scotty showed up to catch the bouquet! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/8 "2003-07-18T14:51:56Z")
Didn’t see the movie but I remember the day vividly – all of us sneaking away from out desks one by one so we could find a TV. It’s hard to imagine the amount of chaos that was going on. The President had been shot and wasn’t supposed to be badly hurt – oh wait, they’re saying he’s dead. There were bystanders lying on the street, the Vice President was out of contact, etc. etc. And no one could have made up Alexander Haig. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/9 "2003-07-18T15:39:41Z")
I was shooting _Deathtrap_ that day—Sidney Lumet called us all over and made an announcement. Reagan had just made some cuts to the arts, among other bone-headed moves, so there were not many tears shed on the set. We all got right back to work. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/10 "2003-07-18T15:46:30Z")
plnnr - I use Capitalization to show Emphasis. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/11 "2003-07-18T15:56:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Intaglio \* > \*\*plnnr - I use Capitalization to show Emphasis. \*\* I used to use giant letters, funny fonts & bright colors for emphasis, **Intaglio**. But I’m feeling _much_ better, now. Just a hint. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/12 "2003-07-18T16:04:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > **I was shooting _Deathtrap_ that day—Sidney Lumet called us all over and made an announcement.** Wow, I didn’t realize you actually worked in film, **Eve** - I thought you just wrote about it. Were you in the crew or the cast? [/tangent] ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/13 "2003-07-18T16:08:53Z")
My biggest impression from that day was that a Secret Service agent had been shot throwing himself between Hinckley & Reagan. I was only 10, but I was awed by the commitment of someone whose job was to take a bullet, no questions asked. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/14 "2003-07-18T16:18:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olentzero \* > \*\*Wow, I didn’t realize you actually worked in film, **Eve** - I thought you just wrote about it. Were you in the crew or the cast? > [/tangent] \*\* I was an extra—not terribly impressive, though I _was_ in a scene with Michael Caine. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/15 "2003-07-18T17:23:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*I was shooting _Deathtrap_ that day—Sidney Lumet called us all over and made an announcement. Reagan had just made some cuts to the arts, among other bone-headed moves, so there were not many tears shed on the set. We all got right back to work. \*\* Well, good thing he made all those nasty cuts. Otherwise, you might have wasted sympathy on someone just because he got shot. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/16 "2003-07-18T18:34:46Z")
**Shodan** , didn’t you get the memo? People with different values _deserve_ to get shot. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/17 "2003-07-18T19:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > plnnr - I use Capitalization to show Emphasis. So, how’s the weather in the Eighteenth Century? I kid, I kid. Let’s see, if Reagan had died that day, GHW Bush would have been sworn in as President, and would have appointed somebody VP. He undoubtably would have run in 1984, but if he won, he would have been ineligible to run in 1988. So we probably wouldn’t have invaded Panama… well, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/18 "2003-07-18T19:16:05Z")
thanks FOR clearing that UP for me ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/19 "2003-07-18T19:48:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jackelope \* > \*\ ***Shodan** , didn’t you get the memo? People with different values _deserve_ to get shot. \*\* Sorry, I forgot. Let’s see - didn’t vote for Kennedy, so I won’t waste any sympathy on him getting shot. Same for his brother. McKinley and Lincoln were both Republicans, so I guess I should feel sorry for them. Is this just politicians, or people in general? Because if it is people in general, I wasted a lot of my time being sorry for John Lennon and Matthew Shepard. Guess I should have just shrugged my shoulders and got back to work. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364/20 "2003-07-18T23:29:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > \*\*My biggest impression from that day was that a Secret Service agent had been shot throwing himself between Hinckley & Reagan. I was only 10, but I was awed by the commitment of someone whose job was to take a bullet, no questions asked. \*\* I had the same thoughts! It amazed me that someone could agree to take a bullet for another person who wasn’t a loved one or family member. I remember being just astounded that their job was to protect (with their own life if neccessary) any president, regardless of whether they loved or hated him. I was at the mall with my family when it happened. We were buying some clothing (I can’t even remember who for) and the cashier had a little radio which reported the news. When we got to the car, we learned that James Brady was dead. Then, when we got home, we found out he was alive. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-reagan-was-shot/189364.md?page=2)