Playbook has excerpts from James Kirchick’s new book, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington which details how far Ronald Reagan distanced himself from AIDS, even as thousands of Americans were dying.
Kirchick writes about a draft of Reagan’s statement after actor Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985: “In his public statement about the most famous figure in the world to die from AIDS, the president purged all references to the nature of their decades-long friendship, turning an expression of personal grief into one of anodyne regret.”



?Political Trivia
Eight moments in political history. Put them on a timeline.
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Five senators. Three bills. Can you guess how they all voted?
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Nine Justices. One case. How did they rule?
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Do you have your finger on the pulse of America?
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Four questions a day.
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A new game every day.