Press Release

It is common for politicians to write their speech (or have it written for them) and for a copy of the speech to be given to the press shortly before the speech is to be given. Reagan's speeches were no exception.

However, Reagan, being an experienced radio-man and actor, was adept at going off-script and still hitting all his points (telling a joke along the way, often to break the ice). With this in mind, its not surprising that a transcript of the speech merely resembles, rather than mirrors, the document given to the press.

The fact that Reagan might alter a speech on the fly can sometimes help in research. In one speech transcript, he might refer to "a Democrat said", while in the press copy, the name is given and quotation marks help determine the beginning and end of the quote.

This wiki includes both the speech transcript and the press copy of several of Reagan's speeches, when available.

These Press Editions are:

• 1961's Encroaching Control
  The Reagan Presidential Library did not have a copy of the transcript, just the press document, until this Wiki's administrator created one. This wiki is currently the only site with that transcript available.
• 1964's A Time for Choosing
  Numerous websites (and other locations, I'm afraid to say) confuse the press version of A Time for Choosing with the actual speech. They are quite different.
• 1976's A City Upon a Hill

Differences may be subtle or they may be dramatic. In reviewing these, A Time For Choosing seems to show the most differences.