It's odd how most people I've talked to about this over the years (myself included) mis-remember the assassination attempt on Reagan as happening a couple years into his presidency when in fact, it happened just two months after his inauguration.

If this was a successful Deep State attempt to reign him and prevent him from 'rocking the boat', they wasted no time, and it's possible the remaining eight years of Reagan's presidency was just eight more years of the status quo or, the first two terms of Bush Sr.