37 years ago today -- in 5 minutes actually -- President Reagan was shot and nearly killed. The would-be assassin's bullet lodged an inch from his heart. The 70-year-old president lost half of his blood. Going to drop some of what I learned while researching my book, Rawhide Down
This is one of the most dramatic days in U.S. presidential history, and it revealed much about Reagan's character and courage. It established a strong bond between the president and the American people when they saw his mettle.
March 30, 1981, was gray and rainy in DC. The only thing of note on Reagan's schedule was a speech to the AFL-CIO at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Speech was a little bit of everything: shrinking govt, cutting taxes, addressing high crime rates.
He had been very excite to speak to this group because as a former president of the Screen Actors Guild he was a long-time member of the union. 
In fact he rewrote and fussed with the speech all weekend (this was a Monday). And he ended it with one of his signature lines from the 1980 campaign. Will be very familiar to you.
He finished up the speech and headed for the waiting presidential limousine. A Lincoln. Called the beast. Code name: Stage Coach. Jerry Parr, head of the @SecretService White House detail, was just behind him.
At 2:27 pm John W. Hinckley couldn’t believe his luck. Standing in a crowd behind a rope line, he was just 15 feet from Reagan. He pulled out his .22-cal revolver. He opened fire.
He got off 6 shots in 1.7 seconds. The first hit press secretary Jim Brady in the head. The second hit DC police officer Tom Delahanty.
At this moment, Jerry Parr is already reacting. He grabs Reagan and shoved him toward the open limo door.
Hinckley‘s third shot went high.
Hinckley‘s third shot went high.
The fourth hit Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy in the abdomen. He had turned and assumed a blocking stance and took a bullet got the president. No bullet-resistant vest.
The fifth shot hit the bullet-proof window of the limo (its doors opened backwards. They called them suicide doors bc they could rip off if opened while driving.) ironic on this day as it absorbed H’s 5th bullet.
The sixth shot cracked across the Hilton driveway. Only later does everyone learn it slapped against the limo and slipped between the door and the door frame. The flattened shrapnel hit Reagan just below left arm pit.
The door slams shut. Agent Drew Unrue slams on the gas. He was worried about his buddy McCarthy whom the 6 1/2 ton limo would crush if it ran over him.
Everything seemed fine at first. Part checked out Reagan in the backseat and then ordered the limo to the White House.
Parr’s wife was at the scene (@CarolynParr). She worked in a building across the street and rushed to the Hilton after the shooting.
Anyway, back in the Limo, things quickly deteriorated. Reagan was short of breath and complaining about pain in his chest.
And then:
Parr knew this was very serious. He ordered the limo (there is no motorcade yet except for the follow-up car of agents racing behind the Lincoln) to the hospital.
They got there in 3 minutes. Reagan insisted on walking inside under his own power. About 30 feet into the ER he collapsed. A paramedic told me:
In the trauma bay, they cut off his brand-new suit (a gift from Mrs Reagan). Reagan was in bad shape. Most medical personnel thought he was a goner.
They eventually stabilized him. Realized he had been shot. They inserted a chest tube, which usually takes care of the problem. But he kept bleeding.
Before they could take him to surgery, we get some insights into Reagan, the person. They brought in Nancy Reagan to see him.
Now, most gunshot victims cry. They scream. Not Reagan. He seemed nervous but was always calm and polite, as if he didn’t want to pester those around him.
And they bring in Mrs. Reagan who saw her husband with his chest tube and looking pale and a team of doctors and nurses around him. Reagan’s instinct isnt to complain or make it about himself. He wants to calm his wife. So he cracked a one-liner.
And as they wheel him into surgery, he spots his Troika (Baker, Meese and Deaver). He cracks another one. And he winks.
Before surgery, Reagan realizes he needs to calm the doctors, too. And he knows he is on the biggest stage of his life. So he reprised a quip that has fallen flat in the ER:
The doctors operate. Stop the bleeding. A surgical intern at one point gently cupped the president’s besting heart and nestled it aside to give the surgeon more room to work. A surgical intern literally held the beating heart of the president in his hand!
Anyway, Reagan survives. He issues another series of one-liners to his nurses via handwritten notes. Just so calm under fire.
His courage on this day formed a tight bond with the American people. His actions dispelled many doubts about his fitness for office and the idea he only was able to read a script. I interviewed David Broder just before he died. And this is what he said (Lou Cannon agreed).
oh, quick aside. So nobody was really prepared to receive Reagan at the hospital. They were shocked. This anecdote always stuck with me:
Another anecdote that always stuck with me: Reagan was an empathetic guy. He could read people. McCarthy was having a hard time with having been shot. When he visited Reagan, the president picked up on it.
And he was devastated by what happened to Jim Brady.
Something that also emerges about Reagan. He was completely secure in himself. He had a fully formed political consciousness. The son of an alcoholic shoe salesman, he had already achieved so much before the presidency.
Reagan had gone from nothing during the Depression to being a radio star, a movie star, and a governor. He was president because he wanted to be. He didn't need it. Completely humble. He was like an anti-narcissist. Wonder if @CraigSBPA would agree. May be oversimplifying it.
Anyway, if you want to learn more, I can recommend my own book: rawhidedown.com. Lou Cannon wrote a masterful biography. Shirley has written excellent books about R, his life, career. The Parrs wrote a lovely memoir.
The American people hear about all of this. And a bond is formed. Ask David Broder, whom I interviewed just before he passed away. Lou Cannon, Reagan’s biographer, also agreed.
