 And here is the man who galloped into your home television sets as the legendary Wyatt Earp. It heads the youth foundation that bears his name, Mr. Hugh O'Brien and guest Mimi Friar. This next man is one of your favorites for his performances on Ozzie and Harriet and Hazel. Just finished two years as a presidential appointee to the advisory council to the Peace Corps. My daddy was also a good one. This beautiful lady swam her way into the hearts of moviegoers all over the world. And we'll never forget our grow balls, the White House and many other Republican functions. That should be the Republican leader of the California. Here is a distinguished Heston and his lovely Lydia. Do a lot of reminiscing when I think of this next man and the songs that he introduced to the world. Meet now if you will. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and Mrs. Reagan. I want to say first of all that this is a joyous night for all of us in the Republican Party to see our president looking and obviously feeling so well after his recent surgery. And I think we'll all join in and say we love you, Mr. President. Well, I've been asked to do something now that gives me a great somebody that we really want to acknowledge. This special lady and I'm convinced from the time she wakes up in the morning until she falls asleep at night her energies are spent working for the Republican Party. She supplies her own staff to arrange dinners like this one tonight and to raise funds for Republican candidates. As you may or may not know, our next guest has really served the people of California for a great number of years. California State Assemblyman, Los Angeles County Supervisor and Chairman of the California Republican Party to give the kind of strength to the spirit of and hope. But equally important, it is once again a very great honor and privilege for me to present to you the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you all very much. You haven't had dinner yet. Thank you. Thank you all very much. Governor Duke Masian, members of the Congress who are here, the Chairman Antonovich, ladies and gentlemen, and a special thanks to Margaret Brock for all she's done to make this the successful dinner that it is. And I'm more than a little overwhelmed now that I know that that building is what its name is going to be up until now the only thing named after me was a pub in Ballypourine, Ireland. Now you're going to make me respectable. Well, California is always in the forefront of new trends. Perhaps this idea of a before dinner speech, I'll make it a short window, will catch on. I was happy to see our friend John Gavin, our Ambassador to Mexico. And Jack, as you know, has done a superlative job there. I think he's one of the best ambassadors this country has ever had. And we're enormously pleased that he's going to stay on in his post and continue his great work. I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is for Nancy and me to be here with old friends and back in California. I've told Margaret Thatcher on several occasions that if only their people had come across the other ocean first, the capital would be in California. This is the first time that I've been with many of you since spending a little time in Bethesda. And Nancy and I want you to know how much your prayers and well-mishes and good wishes meant to us. We sat together and read many of the Get Well cards that you sent. Knowing you were with us in spirit was the best medicine of all. Some of those cards were pretty special and pretty memorable. Just one in particular said, Dear Mr. President, I was very concerned to hear that the doctors took two feet out of your inner workings. How did those two feet get in there? This was my second serious visit to the hospital since getting to Washington. And I'm not a little bit discouraged or anything about it. My father told me that optimism, and as Duke pointed out just a few moments ago, is something that is probably a part of my Irish heritage. As a matter of fact, there's a story that illustrates that. You knew that I'd get around to telling a story, didn't you? Had to do with a young Irishman that was bandaged from toes to nose as a result of an accident, couldn't move a muscle, he was in court suing, and he won the suit for four million dollars. And the lawyers for the insurance company went over immediately afterward and they said, you're not going to enjoy a penny of this. We know you're faking. We're going to follow you 24 hours a day and the first time you move, we'll have you. And he said, will you now? Well, let me tell you what's going to happen to me. In a few minutes they're coming in with a stretcher. They're taking me out of here and downstairs they're putting me in an ambulance. We're going straight to Kennedy Airport. There on the stretcher they're putting me in an airplane and we're flying straight to Paris, France. They're taking me off the plane on a stretcher, putting me in another ambulance, and we're driving straight to the Shrine of Lords and there you're going to see the greatest miracle you ever saw. Well, seriously though, I am feeling fine. And when we get back to Washington it's going to be full steam ahead. And if we're going to succeed, we'll need your help. I can count on you, can't I? I was hoping you'd do that. We've been through a great many political battles together. Mike Antonovich and Pat Nolan were just kids back in those days when I was making my first run for the governor's office. They were walking precincts for Youth for Reagan. And they called their gang, the brown is out to lunch bunch. I've still got the t-shirt they gave me. Well, now those same young people are assuming leadership positions in state government and some hold positions of responsibility in our administration in Washington. Perhaps the most heartening development in recent years is that today's crop of young people is turning to our party as never before. I used to say and sometimes discouraged back in an earlier time that every time I went to a Republican affair I thought the only young people there looked like they couldn't join anything else. But not anymore. In that 84 campaign all the way across the country and on a great many campuses and I could remember when if I went to a campus I started a riot but this time to see them all filled with energy and idealism at our Republican rallies all across America. Young voters will continue supporting us as long as we offer the way to a better future. As long as we're the can-do party with an agenda for an opportunity filled tomorrow the party with a positive strategy for freedom and growth. And today the Republican Party is the party of the open door. Here in California as in other states we're reaching out to Asians, Hispanics, blacks and it's making a difference. I know for example that a big factor in Bob Dornan's race for Congress was his going to the Hispanic community even though he was told why they belong to the other party well he got almost 50% of the Hispanic vote. Inroads are being made in the Asian community. You see the other party looks at all those groups and others and says they're ethnic groups. Well our party we look at them and we see Americans. More and more Democrats are realizing they have more in common with our goals than those targeted with the leadership of their own party and today we're a major political force for change in America. That's evident by the terrific job that Governor Duke Major is doing here in California and believe me we're seeing it all the way across the country. Now I hope indeed I know that all of you are going to do your best to re-elect him next year and I'll bet I know what his wish would be if he were blowing out birthday candles right now. It would be send him a legislature that he can work with. More Republicans. And while you're at it why not send another Republican to Washington as a senator to join the Republican senator we already have here. Now I hear there are quite a few people interested in the job and there's nothing wrong with that and I'm sure that practically any one of them would be an improvement. But may I make a suggestion 20 years ago our party in California gave a priceless gift to Republicans everywhere. The 11th commandment, thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. Have a spirited primary, but don't campaign against each other. Campaign against the incumbent and then stand united behind our party's choice and I mean not just talk about as we have maybe for too many years but let's go back to what it was like in that first year 20 years ago when the candidates themselves pledged to observe it and when Republican groups and organizations like the Federated Women said they would only support a candidate who subscribed to the 11th commandment. Let's bring that back and do it again and maybe this time it will catch on all over the country. I've been trying to spread the word about it for a long time and we'll get them every place. By being here tonight you're contributing to a registration drive that will give Governor Duke Magin the leverage he needs up in Sacramento to help us build a new coalition for opportunity and freedom. The other side would like to believe that our victory last November was due to something other than our philosophy or anything of that kind. They talked about personalities and things like that. I just hope they keep believing that. There's a change happening in America. Realignment is real. What the American people see is that the other party just keeps going in circles and it's just like, you know, when you get lost in the woods if every time you come to a decision you lean to the left you will wind up going in circles. Now in contrast we're going forward with confidence and with gusto. Gusto, that's Republican for vigor. A couple of administrations ago. We're not going to stop until we get the job done. Now I know that some of the same people who thought that we would be co-opted by the permanent government when we got to Washington a little over four and a half years ago now think the second term is going to be little more than a holding action. Well let me clear that up. Yeah, we're proud of what we've accomplished so far but we've got an agenda for the next few years and to borrow a phrase from that 84 campaign you ain't seen nothing yet. This fall we're going to campaign for the most extensive tax overhaul this country has had since the 1920s. It will bring down the rates and close the loopholes. It'll be fair and once in place it will energize our economy spurring investment and enterprise. People will have an incentive to channel the resources into job creating businesses and commercial investment rather than non-productive shelters and tax dodges. We're going to take our case directly to the people. It's a choice between the special interest and the general interest. This is a big one and with your help we're going to win it for America. Looking to the future we're moving forward with research on a project that offers us a way out of our nuclear dilemma the one that has confounded mankind for four decades now. The Strategic Defense Initiative Research Program offers us the hope of protecting ourselves and our allies from a nuclear ballistic missile attack. This will permit us to shift our focus to saving lives rather than avenging them. We seek an anti-nuclear shield using technology to make us safer. Our success will be measured by the number of people we can save not destroy. We keep hearing some self-declared experts and some of those blame America first crowd saying that our SDI concept is unfeasible and a waste of money. Well, if that's true, why are the Soviets so upset about it? As a matter of fact, why are they investing so many rubles of their own in the same technologies? One of the reasons the American people have turned to us is that we don't waver from our commitment to do what's necessary to keep our country safe and to secure the blessings of liberty for our children and our children's children. That is the Republican goal. And nowhere is this clearer than in Central America. We've turned around a desperate situation in the last four and a half years. One of the proudest accomplishments of this administration has happened slowly and quietly with little recognition. When we first got to Washington, the question we heard everyone where it was, will El Salvador fall to the communists? Well, today the question is, will democracy win in Nicaragua? And tomorrow the question will be, how soon? We've held firm. We'll continue to do what needs to be done to protect our country's security and help the people of Central America build free, prosperous and democratic countries. Today we have so many reasons to be grateful. Nancy and I have said a few prayers of thanks in these last few weeks, but all of us can be thankful that we're citizens of this blessed land. I want to thank all of you for what you're doing to keep it the good and decent land that God intended it to be. And I'm sorry we can't spend the rest of the evening here with you, but I appreciate, and I know Nancy does this opportunity at least for this limited time to be here with you. Just seeing you here like this makes me sure we'll preserve this last best hope of man on earth. God bless you all. Thank you all. Notice we're leaving to the right. The President says he wants you to notice that he's leaving to the right. One more time. Let's hear it, folks. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh, you're going to demote me now, huh? Thank you. Well, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your dinner. And this would be a good time to acknowledge Manny Harmon in the orchestra. They have been with us for...