Nancy Reagan Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== Extravagance ==== Approximately a year into her husband's first term, Nancy explored the idea of ordering new [[White House china|state china service]] for the White House.<ref name="apchina">{{cite news|author=Santini, Maureen|title=Nancy Reagan's White House china: $209,508|date=September 12, 1981|agency=Associated Press, published in The St. Petersburg Times}}</ref> A full china service had not been purchased since the [[Presidency of Harry S. Truman|Truman administration]] in the 1940s, as only a partial service was ordered in the [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administration.<ref name="apchina" /> She was quoted as saying, "The White House really badly, badly needs china."<ref name="apchina" /> Working with [[Lenox (company)|Lenox]], the primary porcelain manufacturer in America, the first lady chose a design scheme of a red with etched gold band, bordering the scarlet and cream colored ivory plates with a raised presidential seal etched in gold in the center.<ref name="apchina" /> The full service comprised 4,370 pieces, with 19 pieces per individual set.<ref name="apchina" /> The service totaled $209,508.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lenox.com/index.cfm?ss=services&cat=about&lp=whitehouse|title= Lenox: White House|access-date= June 2, 2007|publisher= Lenox, Inc|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090111183137/http://www.lenox.com/index.cfm?ss=services&cat=about&lp=whitehouse|archive-date= January 11, 2009|df= mdy-all}}</ref> Although it was paid for by private donations, some from the private [[Joseph P. Knapp|J. P. Knapp Foundation]], the purchase generated quite a controversy, for it was ordered at a time when the nation was undergoing an [[Early 1980s recession|economic recession]].<ref>Klapthor, Margaret Brown (1999), p. 184,</ref> Furthermore, news of the china purchase emerged at the same time that her husband's administration had proposed school lunch regulations that would allow [[ketchup as a vegetable|ketchup to be counted as a vegetable]].<ref name="time-2016"/> [[File:Reagans with Jackie Kennedy.jpg|thumb|right|President Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan and former first lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] at a fundraiser for the [[Kennedy Presidential Library]], 1985]] The new china set, White House renovations, expensive clothing, and her attendance at the [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer|wedding of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales]],<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/diana/background/wedding1.htm|title=Britain Celebrates, Charles Takes a Bride|access-date=November 16, 2007 |newspaper= The Washington Post|date=July 30, 1981|author=Downie, Leonard Jr.}}</ref> gave her an aura of being "out of touch" with the American people during the recession.<ref name="First Lady Nancy Reagan" /> This built upon the reputation she had coming to Washington, wherein many people concluded that Reagan was a vain and shallow woman,<ref name="time-2016">{{cite news | title=Remembering Nancy Reagan: The End of a White House Love Story | magazine=Time | date=March 6, 2016 | first=Nancy | last=Gibbs | url=http://time.com/4248899/nancy-reagan-death-obituary/}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and her taste for splendor inspired the derogatory nickname "Queen Nancy".<ref name="First Lady Nancy Reagan" /> While Jacqueline Kennedy had also faced some press criticism for her spending habits, Reagan's treatment was much more consistent and negative.<ref name="burns-148" /> In an attempt to deflect the criticism, she self-deprecatingly donned a [[baglady]] costume at the [[Gridiron Club|1982 Gridiron Dinner]] and sang "Second-Hand Clothes", mimicking the song "Second-Hand Rose".<ref name="Husband's Past will shape Nancy Reagan's future">{{cite news |url= https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-06-13-nancy-reagan_x.htm|title= Husband's Past will shape Nancy Reagan |access-date=March 8, 2007 |work= USA Today|date=June 13, 2004|author=Page, Susan}}</ref> The skit helped to restore her reputation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/19/local/me-deaver19?pg=4|page=5|title=Michael K. Deaver: 1938–2007 – Image guru set the stage for Reagan|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 29, 2009|date=August 19, 2007|author1=Neuman, Johanna |author2=David Willman |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> Reagan reflected on the criticisms in her 1989 autobiography, ''[[My Turn (memoir)|My Turn]]''. She described lunching with former [[Democratic National Committee]] chairman [[Robert S. Strauss]], wherein Strauss said to her, "When you first came to town, Nancy, I didn't like you at all. But after I got to know you, I changed my mind and said, 'She's some broad!'" Reagan responded, "Bob, based on the press reports I read then, I wouldn't have liked me either!"<ref>Reagan, Nancy (1989), p. 56.</ref> [[File:George HW Bush, Nancy Reagan, Raisa Gorbachova 1987-12-08 C44086-07.jpg|thumb|left|Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]], Reagan, and [[Raisa Gorbacheva]] (spouse of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]) in Washington, D.C., 1987]] After the presidency of [[Jimmy Carter]] (who dramatically reduced the formality of presidential functions), Reagan brought a [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]]-esque glamour back into the White House.<ref name="Nancy's Closet">{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=West|title=Nancy's Closet|url=http://www.wmagazine.com/society/2007/10/nancy_reagan|magazine=[[W (magazine)|W]]|access-date=May 15, 2009|date=October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925011727/http://www.wmagazine.com/society/2007/10/nancy_reagan|archive-date=September 25, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2009/01/18/features/ig-michelle18|author=Moore, Boothe|access-date=February 5, 2009|date=January 18, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Can she stay 'everywoman'?|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629170627/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/01/18/features/ig-michelle18|archive-date=June 29, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> She hosted 56 [[state dinner]]s over eight years.<ref name="dinners">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nancy-reagan-i-still-see-ronnie-in-my-bedroom-1694535.html|title=Nancy Reagan: I still see Ronnie in my bedroom|author=Usborne, David|date=June 2, 2009|access-date=June 3, 2009|work=The Independent|location=London|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061112/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nancy-reagan-i-still-see-ronnie-in-my-bedroom-1694535.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> She remarked that hosting the dinners is "the easiest thing in the world. You don't have to do anything. Just have a good time and do a little business. And that's the way Washington works."<ref name="dinners" /> The White House residence staff found Reagan demanding to work for during the preparation for the state dinners, with the first lady overseeing every aspect of meal presentations, and sometimes requesting one dessert after another be prepared, before finally settling on one she approved of.<ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), pp. 110–112.</ref> In general, the First Lady's desire for everything to appear just right in the White House led the residence staff to consider her not easy to work for, with tirades following what she perceived as mistakes.<ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), pp. 7, 75, 134, 274.</ref> One staffer later recalled, "I remember hearing her call for her personal maid one day and it scared the dickens out of me—just her tone. I never wanted to be on the wrong side of her."<ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), pp. 132–133.</ref> She did show loyalty and respect to a number of the staff.<ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), pp. 133, 167–168.</ref> In particular, she came to the public defense of a maid who was indicted on charges of helping to smuggle ammunition to Paraguay, providing an affidavit to the maid's good character (even though it was politically inopportune to do so at the time of the [[Iran–Contra affair]]); charges were subsequently dropped, and the maid returned to work at the White House.<ref name="upi-maid">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19861104&id=hwBRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6721,3644423&hl=en | title=Charges Against Nancy Reagan's Maid Dropped | first=Paul | last=Grant | agency=[[United Press International]] | newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] | date=November 4, 1986 | page=14A | access-date=May 10, 2015}}</ref><ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), p. 117.</ref> In 1987, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became the first Soviet leader to visit Washington, D.C. since [[Nikita Khrushchev]] made the trip in 1959 at the height of the [[Cold War]]. Nancy was in charge of planning and hosting the important and highly anticipated state dinner, with the goal to impress both the Soviet leader and especially his wife [[Raisa Gorbacheva]].<ref name="sj165">Schifando and Joseph (2007), p. 165.</ref><ref>Brower, Kate Andersen (2015), pp. 112–113.</ref> After the meal, she recruited pianist [[Van Cliburn]] to play a rendition of "[[Moscow Nights]]" for the Soviet delegation, to which Mikhail and Raisa broke out into song.<ref>Schifando and Joseph (2007), pp. 169–172.</ref> Secretary of State [[George P. Shultz]] later commented on the evening, saying "We felt the ice of the Cold War crumbling."<ref>Schifando and Joseph (2007), p. 175.</ref> Reagan concluded, "It was a perfect ending for one of the great evenings of my husband's presidency."<ref>Schifando and Joseph (2007), p. 173.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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