Early in his presidency, Ronald Reagan was embroiled in a scandal involving several hundred American hostages who had been held in Iran for more than a year. Some time after their release, Reagan made a curious admission:

"A few months ago I told the American people that I did not trade arms for hostages," he explained. "My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not."

[In 1958 Reagan appeared with wife Nancy in a Thanksgiving special on General Electric Theatre (which Reagan hosted). The show's title? "A Turkey for the President".]