VLVL2(3): Shortly after Reagan was Elected

[Dave Monroe]

   "He showed up first in Zoyd's life shortly after
Reagan was elected governor of California." (VL, Ch.
3, p. 22)

1966 

January 1: Reagan announces candidacy for governor of
California. He promises to reduce the waste in
government and to "clean up the mess at Berkeley." 

November 8: Reagan elected by almost 1 million votes
more than incumbent Democratic governor Edmund G.
("Pat") Brown.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/timeline/index_2.html

The son of a shoe salesman, Ronald Reagan was born in
Illinois in 1911. Said Reagan, "We didn't live on the
wrong side of the tracks, but close enough to hear the
train whistles." Reagan was a construction worker, a
life guard, radio announcer and actor. After serving
in the airforce he returned to acting, becoming known
as "the Errol Flynn of the B-movies." He eventually
served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and
during his tenure became active in politics. The
Republican party was impressed with his political
views and charisma and Reagan, who had not held public
office before, was elected Governor with their
backing. During his term in office, Reagan approved
the construction of an elaborate new Governor's
Mansion. However, construction was not completed until
after he left office. Reagan holds the distinction of
being the only California governor to become President
of the United States. 

http://www.governor.ca.gov/govsite/govsgallery/h/biography/governor_33.html

... On Election Day I defeated Brown by a margin of
fifty-eight percent to forty-two percent. 

In different ways, the election changed the lives of
everyone in our family that night. Although I may have
been (as the papers put it) a "citizen politician"
whom reporters liked to compare to the Jimmy Stewart
character in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I knew that
reality often turned out to be a lot more complicated
than Hollywood portrayed it, and I knew I had to do
some quick homework about my new job before arriving
in Sacramento. After years of criticizing government,
I was about to stick my head into the lions' den and
the lions would be waiting for me. 

http://www.ronaldreagan.com/campaign.html


Cf. ...

   "Later than usual one summer morning in 1984 ..."
(VL, Ch. 1, p. 3)

1980

November 4: Reagan trounces Carter, winning 44 states
in the general election, and Republicans gain control
of the Senate for the first time since 1964.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/timeline/index_3.html

1984

July 19: Walter Mondale accepts the presidential
nomination at the Democratic convention. "I mean
business. By the end of my first term, I will cut the
deficit by two-thirds. Let’s tell the truth. Mr.
Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell
you. I just did."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/timeline/index_4.html

For their part, Reagan's team all but ignored Mondale.
Their campaign ads never even mentioned his name.
Instead, Reagan's television spots presented idyllic
images of "Morning in America": weddings,
flag-raisings, home buying, and peaceful, scenic
vistas. Ronald Reagan, the ads implied, had made all
this possible.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/reagan_politics.html

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