President Reagan's humor

On October 18, 1981, President Ronald Reagan delivered these remarks during a dinner hosted by Governor John Dalton of Virginia. The dinner took place at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the festivities celebrating the 200th anniversary of the American victory at the Battle of Yorktown:

“I wish I could take the time to salute all the rest of you individually, but where would I begin? If I may paraphrase a former President, this is the most extraordinary collection of human talent ever to gather in Williamsburg since Thomas Jefferson walked these streets alone.”

Of course Reagan’s quote famously paraphrased President John F. Kennedy, who had made a similar remark in April 1962 while hosting Nobel Prize winners at the White House: https://www.thomasjefferson.com/jefferson-blog/president-kennedys-humor