A Time for Choosing, also known as The Speech, was a speech presented during the 1964 U.S. presidential election campaign by future president Ronald Reagan on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.
Many versions of the speech exist, since it was altered over many weeks. Contrary to popular belief, however, the speech was not given at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California as a nomination speech for Barry Goldwater. Richard Nixon gave that nomination speech. Reagan, though he campaigned for Goldwater, did not use "A Time for Choosing" until October 27, 1964, when it was part of a pre-recorded television program, Rendezvous with Destiny. In his autobiography Reagan recalled going to bed that night "hoping I hadn't let Barry down." But "A Time for Choosing," replayed throughout the final week of the campaign, raised $8 million for Goldwater and launched Reagan's political career.
Soon afterward, Reagan was asked to run for governor of California. To this day, this speech is considered one of the most effective ever made on behalf of a candidate. Nevertheless, Barry Goldwater lost the election by one of the largest margins in history. Reagan was later called the "Great Communicator" in recognition of his effective speech-making skills.
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