[MUSIC PLAYING] It is three months my friends since I have talked to the people of this country about our national problems; but during this period many things have happened, and I am glad to say that the major part of them have greatly helped the well-being of the average citizens. In the short space of these few months, I am convinced that at least 4 million have been given employment-- or, saying it another way, 40% of those seeking work have found it. That does not mean, my friends, that I am satisfied, or that you are satisfied that our work is ended. We have a long way to go, but we are on the way. We come to the relief for a moment of those who are in danger of losing their farms or their homes. I have publicly asked that the foreclosure on farms, and chattels, and homes be delayed until every mortgagor in the country has had full opportunity to take advantage of Federal credit. And I make the further request that if there is any family in the United States about to lose its home or its farm, that family should telegraph at once, either to the Farm Credit Administration or the Home Loan Corporation in Washington requesting their help. I do not hesitate to say that although the prices of many products of the farm have gone up and although many farm families are better off than they were last year, I am not satisfied. It is definitely a part of our policy to increase the rise and to extend it to those products that have as yet felt no benefit. If we cannot do this one way we will do it another. But do it, we will. When we have restored the price level, we shall seek to establish and maintain a dollar which will not change its purchasing and debt paying power during the succeeding generation. I said that in my message to the American delegation in London last July. And I say it now once more. Our dollar is now altogether too much influenced by the internal policies of other nations. Therefore, the United States must take firmly in its own hands the control of the gold value of our dollar. And as a further effective means to that end, I am going to establish a Government market for gold in the United States. Therefore, under the clearly defined authority of existing law, I am authorizing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to buy or sell gold at prices to be determined from time to time after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the President. This is a policy and not a mere expedient. I have told you the story of our steady but sure work in building our common recovery. In my promises to you both before and after March 4, I made two things plain. First, that I pledged no miracles, and second, that I would do my best. I thank you for your faith. Our troubles will not be over tomorrow, but we are on our way and we are headed in the right direction.

Although Goldwater lost the election to the incumbent Lyndon Johnson, Reagan's speech had led a group of California Republicans to urge him to run for governor. Now that was the furthest thing from Reagan's mind. Besides, he and Nancy loved their current lifestyle and had no designs on changing it Reagan thought about it, but politely refused. They persisted, however, and he finally agreed to run. I won't estimate my numbers. I'll just settle even if it's for only the point after touchdown. But we're going to win. On a November evening in 1966, former sports announcer, movie star, and President of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan, learned he'd been elected Governor of the state of California. Immediately he realized that the previous administration had left the state in worse condition than he'd originally thought. California faced a deficit of over $200 million, and was spending $1 million a day more than it was taking in. It seemed that every morning Governor Reagan would walk into his office and find someone standing at his desk with a new problem he hadn't known about before. He said it was as if they opened a new drawer at midnight every day and uncovered a new crisis. Negotiate. What is to negotiate? What is-- --around it. I didn't advocate a bloodbath. And as a matter of fact, I think there's something neurotic in someone believing that anyone would be advocating solving a problem by bathing the students in blood. There is a small element of the student body that I could suggest a bath for. The Democrats controlled California's legislature. And according to the Governor, the last thing they wanted to do was reduce spending to allow the state to live within its means. Instead, they wanted to raise taxes. But Roosevelt's 1940s fireside chats had given Governor Reagan an idea. He'd go on television and radio and make what he called an end run around the legislators to tell the people of his state what was going on in Sacramento. It would, he was sure, get public opinion on his side. It worked. Reagan said for years I'd been giving speeches about the problems with government. Now after being dragged reluctantly into public office at a time when the state was facing a real emergency, I'd been given a chance to do something about the problems. The challenges before him were enormous. By tightening eligibility standards and eliminating loopholes, Governor Reagan turned a monthly increase in the welfare caseload of 40,000 into a monthly decrease of 8,000. California would no longer reign as the welfare capital of the country. The San Francisco Chronicle said, "We exaggerate very little when we say that Governor Reagan has saved the state from bankruptcy." The head of the AFL-CIO said this about Governor Reagan, "Governor Reagan has signed AFL-CIO backed bills for injured and unemployed workers for more than $266 million. No governor, Republican or Democrat, has ever done anything like that." The efficiency and remarkable effectiveness of the government of California under the leadership of Governor Reagan became a model for every state in the Union. During his second term, Reagan was able to announce a fourth rebate of state taxes. The biggest surplus in the state's history. In all, his administration returned more than $5 billion in taxes to the taxpayers, where Reagan felt the money rightfully belonged. Reagan humbly describes his eight year success as governor as having made the state government less costly, smaller, and more business like.