 That's great. Thank you. Thank you very much for talking with me. I really appreciate it. First time I've ever interviewed a president, so if I pass out, just revive me. I wanted to ask if there was any one thing that brought home to you the awesomeness of the office, like whether it was the hotline or Air Force One or the situation room or anything that made you realize power and awesomeness. I don't know whether it reminded me of awesomeness or power or something, but early on I had an experience. If you're interested, it made me aware that I ought to be a little careful about what I said or did. We were invited down to James J. Kilpatrick, Jack Kilpatrick's home down in Virginia for a Sunday lunch, and the helicopter took us off the lawn here at about 35 minutes or so. We were at his farm, landed, and in walking to the house, Jack was telling me about how they'd been there for a few days putting in the phones. Well, this was a surprise to me, and I said, wait, the phones? And then he told me that I could reach anyone in the world and so forth from there. And I said, well, you mean, you know, just to have lunch or having a hold away from the White House, they have to put, well, I guess it's true, they do, for whatever might happen. But he was telling me that he didn't believe them when they were putting in the phones that they could reach anyone in the world, and he was kind of, and they said, well, name someone. Well, he had a son who was on guard at an embassy in the military in Africa, and they got the son on the phone and his mother got to talk to him and so forth. So he had another son who was an enlisted man, a quartermaster on the USS Pratt, and he asked, well, okay, what about him? The Pratt was in the Mediterranean, and they had to say to him, no, they couldn't get him because the fleet was on maneuvers, and when the fleet was on maneuvers, only the White House could reach them. How about, well, I should ask you, how about the hotline? Well, I was going to say, well, wait a minute, he told me this, and when we got inside, I met the young man's wife, the one that was on the destroyer, very lovely young lady and hadn't seen her husband for months. I went back out and said to these fellows, is this true that I can reach someone on the USS Pratt? And they said, oh yes, sir. I said, well, get him. And I went back and got her, and she got to talk to her husband. I hadn't really thought the thing through very much until I got a letter from him, the young man, and he told me what it was like when the fleet was on maneuvers, how I hadn't even thought about that the last part of that call was got to go by air, that the air is full of radio traffic ships, talking to ships, admiral's talking to admiral's, and then a voice on the air said, White House calling. And he said, someone said, what code is that? And someone else said, well, maybe it is the White House. And he said, even Hollywood couldn't have silenced the air as quickly as that it was silenced. And so the phone call went through. And of course, it must have been pretty public with the whole fleet that was being in. And in his letter, he then said this line. He said, it was as if God had called the Vatican and asked for an altar boy by name. Oh, that's great. But it suddenly, believe me, it sobered me a little bit to discover that I could just say this and then all of this could happen. And I was almost scared to death of what I might have done to the fleet maneuvers. I wanted to ask you that. Man, you don't have to tell me anything about the hotline, huh? Is it right by your bed? Well, there are hotlines everywhere that I am. Is it red? Some but not always. The, as a matter of fact, a number of them are black phones. And it isn't just a phone that is used for emergency at all. It's used quite a bit. It's an embassy can be calling and knowing that calls are really monitored that they're not very secure. They use that instead. So it's a secure line? Yes, it's a secure line. That's what it really is. I wanted to ask you when things are going badly or if you've had to wrestle with a difficult problem or if you've heard of a great tragedy like San Lebanon, what you do to find serenity? Well, there are many things of that kind that the murder of that fine young officer down in El Salvador. The tragedy, of course, in Beirut of our embassy was you can't help but feel those things personally. And I guess you just have to say what I've tried to say sometimes to a family of someone. That is, you just have to believe in God's mercy. Do you find you might go for a walk or that, you know, you might go riding or just to re-establish your own harmony? Well, you can't just do that so much because the schedule depends on where you are and when something has happened. I must say that going for a ride is something that I have. Whether it's in connection with the tragedy, that kind is something that I have always found very beneficial. Riding has been a very definite part of my life. Why? I don't know. I can't tell you. I only know that, you know, I couldn't say, well, I was raised in a farm at all. In fact, I was grown up and out of college before I actually took up riding. But all I know is that without having any experience or exposure to it or not, knowing people that rode back there in a small town, in an even smaller town where I went to college, I only know that I had increasingly in my days, particularly in college, a desire to horseback ride. Because you like communicating with the horse? I just, I don't know what it was. Nature. Then when I got on radio, there was a sports announcer and there were a couple of people at the studio that rode, just go out and rent a horse at a riding academy and ride, I went with them. But there was another fellow at the studio who was a reserve officer in the cavalry. And in Des Moines, Iowa, at that time, the 14th Cavalry was stationed at Fort Des Moines. And there was a program between the two World Wars, World War I and II, in which you could enlist as a candidate for a commission, a reserve. You did enlist. What? You were in the cavalry. As a reserve officer. This enlistment is only then, at the same time, you apply to be a candidate so you are not... I have to ask you another question. How you enjoy life, what you do to cheer yourself up, whether it's having a really good glass of wine or sitting next to a beautiful woman or walking through a field of flowers, what might be something that you do to enjoy life? Well, I live for the days that we can get to our ranch in California and moving back to ranching and riding. The routine is usually the same. Ride in the morning, Nancy and I ride. And the afternoon is spent with all the things that need doing, whether it's restoring the supply of firewood, because the only heat we have at the ranch is two fireplaces, whether it's going down a clearing trails again, they get overgrown on the riding trails and you have to go through and pruning them out, cleaning them out, things of that kind. I had one question on what do you think about when you chop wood? The wood. It's very satisfying. You know, such a sense of accomplishment when you see the pile of roll. But other things right now, we'll be going to the ranch shortly. And I picked another place that I think ought to be fenced. And the fences that I started with up there are made out of telephone poles. So we will be building about 400 feet of telephone pole fence. And what's your greatest, this is probably the same thing, what's your idea of heaven on earth? Being at the ranch. But part of the question you said about sitting beside a beautiful woman, yes, that's very much part of my life as long as she's nasty. That's very nice. I wanted to ask you a question about, it's sort of a word association. In a few words, what qualities you admire in leaders? In a leader. And I had some ideas of leaders like just a few words, what qualities you might admire in a leader. And let's say somebody like FDR. Is there like a few words that you just think of off the top of your head that you admire about him? Well, in those days, I wasn't a New Deal Democrat. In fact, the first vote I ever cast was cast for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But any kind of quality things about him? Yes, there's no question that he came in at a time when there was no previous experience in our history to give any leaves as to what you did then. People who did not experience the Great Depression and have only heard it compared to recessions that we've had since the war and the present recession and so forth, cannot understand what it was like. There were no programs of such things as unemployment insurance or anything like that. I know all these leaders that I have here, at least a few words. I also have like, if you had a few words on what you admired about someone like say LBJ or Jimmy Carter, these are like predecessors, men who sat here. If this is a done question, you don't want to answer if that's okay. Well, I think you learn and you have to say about any of them. They learned in here that Harry Truman's line is right, that you can't turn and look over your shoulder for somebody to pass the decision on to. I wanted to ask you what you'd like least about the job. I think that would have to be the today because of the world we live in, the features of it that make you a group wherever you go. It's hard to remember that there was a time when a president maybe had one or two Secret Service agents with him. There are things that you don't feel free to do anymore because of the discomfort you caused to others. As a matter of fact, we don't go to church as often as we would like anymore. Do you remember the secret service that makes me nervous when Mary Martin was here? Oh, I had never heard that song before. They're looking and the daughter can't even kiss her boyfriend. But it isn't so much that I must say they're wonderful about not imposing themselves on you. It's the knowledge that, well, for example, I don't know how a president anymore could go to the first ball game and throw the ball out as they used to do. How do you provide security with 50,000 people or 100,000 people around you? And as I say, like going to church, you know that you can't help but be a disruptive influence in what should be an hour of worship. So there are things that you just have to rule out. And what do you like the best about living in the house? Living in the white house? Well, there is no question there is a great feeling of the history of this home and who has lived there before. But it is also most gracious and comfortable living. Is it the most gracious and comfortable living you've experienced? Well, you would have to say that. All of this is provided there. There's a wonderful feeling about the people who work in the white house. They're such an esprit de corps. They're pride in being a part of that institution that is very heart-wrenching. From my view that you wonder about what present you'll give a manicurist. And you know, you're very careful yourself to return to give back to the pot whatever you're taking out of it. That you're careful to thank people for the little things that they do for you. I thought that was much appreciated. I want to ask you how you pace yourself. Well, I've, maybe it's the experience of having been governor for eight years. I've often wondered what this job must be like for someone who hasn't had that same experience. The, and by this without many way meaning to demean the Congress or the Senate, that cannot be as much the same experience as having been governor. As a matter of fact, I think that being a governor in this country is the closest thing to the presidency. I think as a governor I read that you took catnaps occasionally. You knew just how to pace yourself, how to take advantage of the five minutes. No, I don't take catnaps, but I sleep well, so I'm an eight hour fellow at night in sleep. I've got a little period of exercise. I've always enjoyed staying fit. I wanted to ask you the five most interesting people that you've met among the five most interesting people. Could be any leader or... Oh my, it would have to be a mom. I've met by now how many heads of state I... But you know, your wife's father might be an actor for it. Just whoever comes to mind is like among the five very interesting people. You should have given me some advance warning on that. I mean, if you're going back over the entire life... I could say off the top of your head... I could say that an almost unforgettable man that I have ever met was the program director that gave me my first job in radio. Peter McArthur. Anyone else you can think of? Well, let me just say a word or two about him. Peter McArthur was, from the time I first met him, almost totally crippled from arthritis. I met him when he was on two canes. I saw him go to two crutches. And, of course, eventually bedridden and died. But this man was the first man that anyone would seek out if they had troubles. I don't know how to describe it, but he was... And I don't mean that he was sanctimonious or anything of that kind. He was a rough, tough, former vaudeville. He came to this country from Scotland with Harry Lauder's troop. All right, now wait, okay, now. I mean, that's a wonderful answer. I wanted to ask you, it's nothing to do with politics, but if there are any heads of state who you've met, who you feel a sort of a simpotica with, that you think if it were another life and time, this guy and I would really be good friends. A great many. Now, whether it's the fact that we have the same job and the same problems, I don't know, but I do know that there is a kind of an immediate bond. And for example, when Sedat was assassinated, he had been here. Now, you're only together for a couple of days on a state visit of that kind. But when that tragedy occurred, Nancy and I were both amazed that suddenly we realized that our sorrow was not that of just the tragedy of the event and the great man that had been wiped out. It was personal. That we felt a personal sense of loss of a friend. It's amazing it could happen so quickly. Yes. But it's intense. I would imagine living here is very intense. In things of that kind, yes. Incidentally, and among most interesting people and admired people in my life also as the Prime Minister of England to Margaret Thatcher. Any certain quality about her that you, you know, whether it's grit or moxie? It's, well, it's courage, forthrightness, dedication. I wanted to ask you how you define a civilized man, what you think are the qualities going to be? Well, someone wants to define a gentleman as someone who always says and does the kindest thing. So that would be the same. Who do you think that you've met who personifies a gentleman? Oh, I think I've met a great many. A gentleman that I just mentioned, a teacher I once had, B.J. Fraser. In college? In high school. What did he teach? English, and he was the director of the plays, the high school plays, which I participated in. Was he a gentleman because he always stood up for a lady or was he open the door? No, he was, again, there was a real kindness about him. There was a helpfulness. He was one of those unusual teachers that came to a school and suddenly he had a constituency in the student body. I wanted to ask you how you feel about Mrs. Reagan. Well, I once described that number of years ago How do you describe what it feels like to come in out of the cold in the warm room? I just can't conceive of being without her. And how do you like her to look? I mean, my husband will say, I hate that. No, I find I always like the way she looks. And what do you find most attractive in a woman? How do I describe that? I guess, being a woman. You're not going to tell me you're a legman. You know, whether it's eyes or a laugh. I know that there are great many women who wouldn't believe me of this, but I'm a great fan of your sex. I'm not questioning that. It's not a true question. I know this is a wrong time to ask, but this doesn't come out until November and by November that'll all be behind you. Listen, behind me, I regret very much that the stories that have come out about that are unfairly casting on the women because I couldn't have asked for a warmer, more gracious reception than I had. And just one woman is now being taken as well. No, I don't want to put you in the defense for that because I don't think you're going to have any problem with that one that comes to the show. I wanted to ask you, setting aside the political aspects of this question, what effect do you think you've had on the attitude of the American people towards themselves and towards their country? I don't know how to say this now with that. I don't want it to sound as if I think I did this enough, but I think that there has been a restoration of patriotism of pride in country and of optimism about our country in these few years. I think that Americans, after a lot of self-doubts that some of them were brought on by the Vietnam syndrome, some of them brought on by economic problems and all, but suddenly there is a can-do spirit that we always used to have and just took for granted. I think I'm more proud of almost anything, the extent to which the private sector, the people themselves, whether it's at a community level in a union, in a corporation or just a neighborhood have moved voluntarily to resolve some of the problems that we face today. We have a computer here now. We have a private sector initiative office and we have a computer with more than 3,000 programs in that computer that are programs that we have located and found that people are doing something for themselves out there in the community, or as I say, in associations that have gotten together of various kinds to resolve virtually every type of economic or social problem that you could think of. I wanted to ask you what you do for luck. If you have any love for Collins, you'll be able to. You know, for luck? Oh, I knock on wood. You know, you've got to remember that show business is the very center of superstition. You know, don't whistle in the dressing room. Don't throw your hat on the bed, so forth. I'm not superstitious. I just knock on wood and don't throw my hat on the bed and I won't whistle in the dressing room. I wanted to ask you, I read that you don't like to fly, and it makes you feel claustrophobic, and I wondered if it was easier on Air Force One. Oh, I have to tell you, the flying, not flying, was not the result of any fear or not liking it or anything else. Maybe it came from coming out of World War II, a lot of us, even though I'd never heard a shot of fire and an anchor. I had served at a fluid desk for the Air Force. I just don't ask me why. I got a hunch that I would get in the wrong plane and so I just didn't. And I was even in the contract for eight years of my television program with General Electric that I would not fly. And when I finally gave in and told some people who were after me to do it that I would run for governor, I knew that I would have to. And I did, and I, no, I'm not uncomfortable at all. And jet lag, do you do anything to prevent jet lag? Oh, that, I don't know. You try, but believe me, I know about jet lag now. I know that it's easier to go west than it is to go east. Like bring your own pillow or anything like that? No. I think you just have to let yourself get used to it and wait for it to take over. And I've got a few favorite questions. You just take a second. Your favorite room in the White House? Favorite room in the White House. There are quarters there and a very lovely bedroom and I have a study, I'll tell you what. The one that I spend the least time in but really get the most satisfaction out of is a room that we've made into a gym and every day I have about a 15-minute work out there. Your favorite White House meal? There, I couldn't pick. I have to tell you that the food is excellent. Yes, I can't remember any that I didn't like or approve of. Do you like a game like poker or any game of high stakes or risk or chance? It's been so long since I played any kind of cards. I just don't have any leaning or desire. Any material thing that you have that gives you the most pride? What? A material thing that gives you the most pride. Oh dear, the ranch. Do you prefer estate dinners or small private dinners? I think for sheer pleasure you prefer the small private dinners to be with some friends and have a dinner of that kind but I must say this, Nancy is the head honcho in the state dinners and I have found them most delightful. And any favorite time in history? I mean, is it history buffers? Is there any favorite time in history that you've gone to? Yes, there is. That early west period and the cavalry in the west time, I think that that is the closest thing to Britain's kippling time of the Burma Frontier and so forth. But the thing that we have and it has a romance to it that most countries cannot match, there isn't anything comparable to it other than that, let's say the Burma Frontier for the British. That's great. That's interesting. I appreciate this so much. I'm sorry I had to go along because everything you said I would like to have listened to everything but I had so many things to know in June, 20 minutes is too short to get to. Let me just go back to where you were talking about and I was talking about the president, whether the pressure or not, where I said that maybe being governor was part of it. When I first became governor and it was in almost like the same situation here, California was really in an emergency situation budget wise and things of that kind. And it seemed as if every day someone when I came in in the morning was almost immediately standing in front of my desk saying we have a problem and we were discovering all these and I got actually, I remember something that had happened when I was president of the Screen Actors Guild at the time of the first great strike that had ever hit our motion picture industry that was right after World War II and it was a jurisdiction strike and that was a time when there was a real communist effort and domination of some unions and an effort to infiltrate and take over the business. And I found myself almost like that looking over the shoulder thing. I was conscious that the members of the ship of the Guild would more or less accept what I recommended but that was frightening too because I thought, well, who am I to make decisions for all these thousands of people? How do I know that I'm right? And one night I just said to myself all I can do is to the best of my ability considering everything to make a decision based on what I honestly believe in my heart is the right thing to do. And I thought of that when I became governor and suddenly things changed. There is another little element about there. Lincoln explained it very well. He said, I would be the stupidest man on this footstole called Earth if I thought for one minute I could face the duties that confront me here if I could not turn to someone wiser and stronger and ask for help. Thank you very much. Thank you. I sure enjoyed it. Is this a California gold nugget? Yes. How did you guess? It looks like it's the state of California. Except that it is a nugget just as it came out of the river. Oh, you're kidding. In the Columbia River out there, the Columbia, what do I mean? No, at Columbia, California, the Twame River, the skin divers still go up there on weekends and dive in the river and come up with nuggets and they're little jewelry stores along the shore there where they make things out of this jewelry and all. And one of those skin divers found this nugget shaped like the state of California and gave it to me and I had it made at one of those places into a tie-tie. Isn't that nice? Isn't that great? That's really amazing. Because it looks very rugged. You can't imagine it was made to look like California but it looks exactly like California. It's just the way it came out of the river. Well, thank you very much. Thank you. I really enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed it. Thank you. Thank you. And if anything happened to that or didn't pick anything up, why? Something will murder us long.