A distraught Nancy arrived as Reagan was being prepped for surgery. “Honey,” he told her, “I forgot to duck.” His nonstop wisecracking must have been simultaneously reassuring and maddening, scribbling down W.C. Fields’ quip to his nurse that “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” Once in the operating room Reagan took a second to remove his oxygen mask and tell the assembled surgical team that “I hope you’re all Republicans!”
