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TLS as president, one page, 7 x 10.5, White House letterhead, August 11, 1987. Letter to Ruth Marsh, in full: "Thanks for all the trouble you went to in getting the cartoon for me. For me, it was worth it. I hadn't seen it, and all of us in the West Wing really enjoyed it. But, again, I feel I should say a big thank you for the lengths you went to. We are all happy that the big Capitol Hill carnival ended its eleven-week run without a curtain call. I've always liked those shows where the lynch mob fails to hang the victim. I'm grateful to you for your prayers and those of your church. I believe deeply in such prayer and know I'm receiving help because of it. When he was living in this house, Abe Lincoln said, 'I have often, been driven to my knees because there was no other place to go.' Give my regards to Paul." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original White House mailing envelope.
Written just eight days after the conclusion of the eleven-week Iran-Contra hearings, Reagan’s letter offers a strikingly personal reaction to the investigation that had dominated Washington for months. Referring to the proceedings as a “big Capitol Hill carnival,” he casts himself as their intended victim, remarking, “I’ve always liked those shows where the lynch mob fails to hang the victim.” The timing is particularly significant: the very next day, August 12, Reagan addressed the nation from the Oval Office to discuss the lessons of Iran-Contra, acknowledging that his Iran policy had gone astray while again denying knowledge of the diversion of funds to the Nicaraguan Contras. Against this backdrop, his private letter to Marsh moves from defiance over the congressional investigation to an expression of personal faith, thanking her and her church for their prayers and affirming, “I believe deeply in such prayer and know I’m receiving help because of it.” He closes the thought by invoking Abraham Lincoln and the familiar quotation about being “driven to my knees because there was no other place to go.” Together, the references to Iran-Contra, Lincoln, and his reliance on God make the letter an unusually candid expression of Reagan’s state of mind as he sought to move his presidency beyond the defining scandal of his second term.
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