President Reagan Interview Analysis

Bermudez: What are your first thoughts about President Reagan.

Workman: I despised him.

Bermudez: Why did you despise him?

Workman: I thought he was unqualified to the president of the United States. Despite the fact, he had been governor of California I think first and foremost he was an actor. It seems to me he acted his way through the presidency. Furthermore, his policies were inhumane and self-serving. I can be more specific.

Bermudez: Okay. Do you recall and 1980 election?

Workman: He beat Jimmy Carter, is that right?

Bermudez: Yes.

Workman: I have never voted for a republican in my entire life. And I never will. I don’t mind telling you how old I am, I was born in 1950. So, in 1968—November of ’68 I was a sophomore
I also know that the university where I worked experienced a funding shortfall and I was the only untenured member of my department. The chairman move came to me at one point and said, “if I were you I would consider looking for other jobs not because we don’t want you, but because we might not be able to afford to keep you.” It was a scary moment, I don’t remember the rebound as well as I remember the downturn.

Bermudez: Do you feel that people or the public in general blamed Ronald Reagan for the recession?

Workman: No I don’t. I think that people were duped by Ronald Reagan, that was especially true in a place like Detroit where the phenomenon of the Reagan democrats became so apparent. People who were going to be negatively impacted by his economic policies nevertheless support him. Not unlike the people who support Donald trump. History is repeating itself. The people who are going to be most disadvantage are the people who supported him. Now I’m talking about trump but the same was true of Reagan.

Bermudez: What stood out the most to you about the eighties? Maybe the Chrysler minivan or a TV show that everyone was talking
I can tell you that when I arrived in Michigan I was driving a VW [Volkswagen]. I’m Jewish I come from New York City, my family are lifelong democrats and liberals. When I left Michigan, I left driving a Dodge and I was married to a catholic woman whose father worked for Chrysler. So, I think it’s a perfect metaphor for my life, I arrived driving a VW and left driving a Dodge. In terms of TV shows that is a hard one for me to answer because am not an avid fan of sitcoms and things like that. What I do remember is that I used to watch things like sesame street and Mr. Rogers and the Simpsons. What I mostly remember are the show’s I used to watch with my kids. But I don’t remember anything more specific than that. This same is true of music, I listen to classical music so I was not big on pop