1988 State of the Union Address

President Ronald Reagan with Vice President George H.W. Bush and House Speaker Jim Wright during the 1988 State of the Union address.

The 1988 State of the Union address was given by President Ronald Reagan to a joint session of the 100th United States Congress on January 25, 1988. The speech was the last State of the Union address of President Reagan's second term. Donald Hodel, the Secretary of the Interior, served as the designated survivor.^[1]

Summary

President Reagan addresses the Congress (excerpt)

President Reagan began by announcing that his speech would not be a litany of achievements over the past seven years of his administration, but that he would continue to propose policy initiatives. He outlined the following objectives:

1. Keep the economy strong and growing
2. Review the state of social programs
3. Continue spreading democracy around the world
4. Maintain a strong defense

Reagan discussed the federal deficit, the size of the federal budget, abortion, crime, drugs, the line-item veto, foreign relations and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He famously summarized the effect of government intervention on the poor:^[2]

Some years ago the federal government declared War on Poverty, and poverty won. Today the federal government has 59 major welfare programs and spends more than $100 billion a year on them. What has all this money done? Well, too often it has made poverty harder to escape. Federal welfare programs have created a massive social problem. With the best of intentions, government created a poverty trap that wreaks havoc on the very support system the poor need most to lift themselves out of poverty: the family.

In closing he returned to his vision of America as a city on a hill: "We can be proud ... that another generation of Americans has protected and passed on lovingly this place called America, this shining city on a hill, this government of, by, and for the people."

The speech lasted approximately 44 minutes and consisted of 4,955 words.^[3] The address was broadcast live on radio and television.

Opposition response

The Democratic Party response was delivered by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Speaker of the House Jim Wright of Texas.^[4]

See also

• United States presidential election, 1988

References

External links

• (full transcript), The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara.
• 1988 State of the Union Address (video) at C-SPAN

Ronald Reagan
40th President of the United States (1981–1989) 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975)
Life and politics	Birthplace Pitney Store Boyhood home Rancho del Cielo Filmography Presidential Library Death and state funeral Political positions Governship of California Namesakes and memorials
Presidency	First inauguration Second inauguration Domestic policy Economic policy Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 Tax Reform Act of 1986 Assassination attempt Strategic Defense Initiative Foreign policy Reagan Doctrine Cold War: first term second term 1985 Geneva Summit 1986 Reykjavík Summit INF Treaty 1987 Washington Summit 1988 Moscow Summit Invasion of Grenada Iran–Contra affair International trips Resolute desk The Grace Commission Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Supreme Court controversies Administration scandals
Speeches	Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine "A Time for Choosing" Reagan's Neshoba County Fair "states' rights" speech First inaugural address "Ash heap of history" "Evil empire" "Tear down this wall!" State of the Union: 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Books	An American Life (1990 autobiography) The Reagan Diaries (2007) Biographical works
Elections	California gubernatorial election, 1966 1970 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1968 1976 1980 1984 Republican National Convention 1968 1976 1980 1984 Ronald Reagan presidential campaign, 1980 "There you go again" "Make America Great Again" United States presidential election, 1976 1980 1984 "Morning in America" "Bear in the woods"
Popular culture	In fiction In music U.S. Postage stamps The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001 film) The Reagans (2003 film) Reagan (2011 documentary) The Butler (2013 film) Killing Reagan (2016 film) "What would Reagan do?"
Family	Jack Reagan (father) Nelle Wilson Reagan (mother) Neil Reagan (brother) Jane Wyman (first wife) Nancy Reagan (second wife) Maureen Reagan (daughter) Michael Reagan (adopted son) Patti Davis (daughter) Ron Reagan (son) Rex (dog)
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Related	Opposition party's response Designated survivor United States presidential address Joint Session of Congress (List) List of "Lenny Skutniks" Monroe Doctrine
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