On this day in 1964: Reagan gives his "A Time for Choosing" speech

It was 50 years ago today when Ronald Reagan, an Illinois-born actor widely viewed as a has-been, gave a televised speech on behalf of the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign that became known as "A Time for Choosing." The Republican was clobbered in the election by liberal Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, but conservatism finally triumphed when Reagan won the presidency in 1980.

"We have so many people who can't see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one," Reagan said that night. "So they're going to solve all the problems of human misery through government and government planning. Well, now, if government planning and welfare had the answer—and they've had almost 30 years of it—shouldn't we expect government to read the score to us once in a while? Shouldn't they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help? The reduction in the need for public housing?"

President Obama needs to watch this speech.

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