NationStates Jolt Archive

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Former President George H.W. Bush: “We had been political opponents and became close friends. Barbara and I mourn the loss of a great president and for us a great friend,” Bush said. “He could take a stand ... and do it without creating bitterness or creating enmity on the part of other people.”
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Former President Bill Clinton: “Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere. It is fitting that a piece of the Berlin Wall adorns the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.”
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Former President Gerald Ford: “Betty and I are deeply saddened by the passing of our longtime friend, President Reagan. Ronald Reagan was an excellent leader of our nation during challenging times at home and abroad. We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to Nancy and his family.”
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Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass: “Even when he was breaking Democrats hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate,” Kerry said. “The differences were real, but because of the way President Reagan led, he taught us that there is a big difference between strong beliefs and bitter partisanship,” Kerry said. “Today in the face of new challenges his example reminds us that we must move forward with optimism and resolve. He was our oldest president, but he made America young again.”
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Queen Elizabeth the Second led British tributes. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman says “the queen is saddened by the news” of Reagan’s death at the age of 93.
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Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Reagan’s ideological soulmate and personal friend, mourned “a truly great American hero.” Thatcher called Reagan “one of my closest political and dearest personal friends.” She added: “He will be missed not only by those who knew him and not only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued.”
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French President Jacques Chirac: “A great statesman who through the strength of his convictions and his commitment to democracy will leave a deep mark in history.”
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Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill: "A giant left us today," Hyde said. "Ronald Reagan had a sense of principles he believed in, and no amount of polling data or press could cause him to alter these principles. He was a great patriot, a great optimist and one of the greatest presidents in our history. We should thank God for letting us have him as long as we did,” Hyde said.
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: “President Ronald Reagan proved that an American, raised in difficult family circumstance, in a small town, with no personal money could not only could succeed but could rise to lead the cause of freedom and declare victory over the tyranny of the former Soviet Union," Gingrich said. “All free people stand on Reagan’s shoulders. His principled policies proved that free markets create wealth, that the rule of law sustains freedom, and that all people everywhere deserve the right to dream, to pursue their dreams, and to govern themselves."
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Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist: “President Reagan’s bold leadership in difficult times provided Americans with tremendous strength and inspiration. Above all, he was a true patriot, whose endless optimism inspired America’s continued ascent to greatness. Undoubtedly, Ronald Reagan has left an indelible mark on our country and our global community.”
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Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle: “America has lost an icon. Ronald Reagan’s leadership will inspire Americans for generations to come. His patriotism and devotion to our country will never be forgotten.”
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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif: “Ronald Reagan served our country with dignity and he died with dignity. As an American, I appreciate Ronald Reagan’s great leadership and service to our country. As a Californian, I admire the special grace and humor that endeared him to millions. I hope it is a comfort to Nancy Reagan and the entire Reagan family that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time.”
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Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass: “We often disagreed on issues of the day, but I had immense respect and admiration for his leadership and his extraordinary ability to inspire the nation to live up to its high ideals. The warmth of his personality always shown through, and his infectious optimism gave us all the feeling that it really was ‘morning in America.’ On foreign policy he will be honored as the President who won the Cold War, and his ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’ will be linked forever with President Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’
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Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie: “Ronald Reagan was a president of great historic impact who led the United States with strength and conviction, and the positive impact of his policies is still felt today here and around the world. More than two decades after he was first elected president, the Republican Party still bears his imprint. Because Ronald Reagan lived, people across the globe live in greater freedom and prosperity.”
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Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe: “Democrats faced off against Ronald Reagan in many battles but he was always the Republican Party’s Happy Warrior. Reagan represented the best of civility in American politics and the finest traditions of standing up nobly for what you believe in. Even during the toughest political fights, he and former House Speaker Tip O’Neill could always sit down together after the workday was done, as friends and fellow patriots. Today there is mourning in America because this is not just a loss for Republicans -- it is a loss for all Americans."
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Lt. Col Oliver North, National Security Council official under Reagan: “Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime -- and he will be regarded as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had ... a man of extraordinary vision, great compassion and resolute leadership. He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.”
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Sen Chris Dodd, D-Conn: “Ronald Reagan was a patriot who reflected the eternal optimism of our nation. His charm, wit and character were evident throughout his long life, and his public service will never be forgotten.”

Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who met Reagan on a number of occasions, called him a "great president", thanks to whom the Soviet Union and America had begun a difficult but crucial dialogue.

He was the Republicans' favorite president of the 20th century and he was the Democrats' favorite Republican of that time, too.

Even when many Americans didn't like what Ronald Reagan did and stood for, most could not help but like the man. In that curious circumstance is a legacy that all his successors may have difficulty living up to.

Ronald Reagan set one high standard for leadership: He made most Americans feel pretty good about that guy in the White House, and in doing that he made much of the country feel good about itself.

Historians and Reagan biographers do not agree on whether Reagan will be remembered in the distant future as a great president. His record of achievement, they do agree, is mixed.

In what he entered office most determined to do in what most people seem to think he did do he did not succeed. Not quite. He didn't shrink government. The day Reagan entered office there were 2.8 million federal civil servants. The day he left there were 3 million of them.

And yet, observes James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, "He cut down the scope of government. He shifted the scope from federal to state government. He expressed the conservative and populist philosophy that distrusted government."

Presidential scholars say that because Reagan, "the Great Communicator," expressed that philosophy so well, he did much to legitimize it. Reining in government remains the fundamental belief of the Republicans in control of Congress today.

If he failed to actually shrink the federal bureaucracy himself, it was because of what he did to end what he called "the evil empire" the Soviet Union.

How that came about is a favorite story of one of his military advisers, the late Gen. Vernon Walters, who recounted a meeting that occurred shortly after Reagan first became president. There was a briefing by top security officials on the comparative strengths of the United States and the USSR.

"Do we have more guns?" Reagan wanted to know.

"No," he was told.

"More missiles?"

"No."

"More ships?"

"No."

"Well what do we have more of?" Reagan wondered.

And somebody tossed out, almost laughingly, "Money."

"That's it," said Reagan. "We'll beat them with money."

Reagan began a massive military buildup. He demanded a 600-ship Navy. He ordered a Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, popularly known as "Star Wars," a high-tech gamble on intercepting missiles in space. His own experts told him it couldn't work but the Soviets couldn't be sure of that.

Moscow tried to keep up, and the USSR went broke.

When Reagan became president, it was a bipolar world. When he left office, it was on the way to becoming unipolar. The United States was soon to be the only surviving superpower.

Reagan biographer Lou Cannon remembers covering the Reykjavik, Iceland, meeting between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for The Washington Post: "The most stunning thing I ever covered. Here were two leaders way ahead of their own ministers and governments, both essentially nuclear abolitionists. Out of it came the arms reduction treaties."

Cannon blames Reagan for letting the budget get out of hand, for leaving office with a huge budget deficit that resulted from his accelerating the arms race while giving the people tax cuts. But he credits Reagan for something he thinks outweighs this domestic fault: Winning the Cold War.

"The Cold War had to be ended," says Cannon. "You couldn't go on forever with all those missiles pointed at each other and not have a calamity. While the danger is not completely removed now, we've certainly reduced the chances of destroying all life on the planet.

"That's his singular achievement."

What seems to set Reagan apart from most modern American leaders was his core beliefs. He hated communism. He believed in capitalism. He thought government should provide some basic services, like a strong defense, but not intrude on peoples' liberties. He was intent on breaking the welfare syndrome. And when he believed, he didn't waver.

"One thing Reagan will be remembered for," says longtime aide Lyn Nofziger, "will be that he restored the climate of optimism, the old American can-do spirit, that seemed sadly lacking ever since Watergate. He's still remembered so affectionately today by a good part of the American people because he made them feel good about themselves."

If that and destroying the Soviet empire were Reagan's shining legacies, there is a dark one, also.

The Office of the Independent Counsel arising from the Watergate scandal grew in significance during the Reagan presidency. The office probed that administration's Iran-Contra dealings, the secret funneling of money to guerrilla forces opposing the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua.

Though Reagan's direct involvement was never proved, the investigation by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh dwarfed Kenneth Starr's probe of President Clinton's scandals, lasting six years and costing more than $100 million before Congress let the independent counsel statute die.

"Reagan infuriated some Democrats in the same way Clinton infuriates Republicans," observes Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "Neither group could understand these presidents' success and viewed their presidencies as illegitimate. The Democrats thought Reagan was an amiable dunce. The Republicans think Clinton is an immoral phony."

Beyond partisan feuding, Sabato believes Reagan's influence will continue to be felt in a larger way.

"Unlike most presidents, he helped to fundamentally change American politics. He engineered a realignment in philosophy that has lasted right through to the present. It's a philosophy of less rather than more government, with individualism as its center, preferring state government to the federal government whenever government is necessary. It's a philosophy that gives every sign of continuing into the 21st century."

good job. i needed that :D you see, he was the embodiment of what an american president should be, a strong leader who can make you feel good about your self, and take pride in your country. president reagan, i salute you. :cry:

good job. i needed that :D you see, he was the embodiment of what an american president should be, a strong leader who can make you feel good about your self, and take pride in your country. president reagen, i salute you. :cry:

He was a bit of a figurehead, though ...

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)

you're damn right

More reactions coming in from around the world.
Flags ordered flown at half staff on all government owned property for the next 30 days. This order came from President Bush.
Reagan was the 40th president of the US, taking office at the age of 69, the oldest to do so. He lived longer than any US president.
Among the many tributes, ex-UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher spoke warmly of the man many regarded as her ideological soulmate during the Cold War years.


"President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends," she said.

She credited him with having "won the Cold War for liberty... without a shot being fired."

"To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero."
US President George W Bush

This is a sad hour in the life of America. A great American life has come to an end.

Ronald Reagan won America's respect with his greatness, and won its love with his goodness. He had the confidence that comes with conviction, the strength that comes with character, the grace that comes with humility, and the humour that comes with wisdom.

He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair

At home, his vision and leadership restored national self-confidence and brought some significant changes to US politics.

Abroad, the negotiations of arms control agreements in his second term and his statesmanlike pursuit of more stable relations with the Soviet Union helped bring about the end of the Cold War.

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher

President Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal friends.

He will be missed not only by those who knew him, and not only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued.

Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty, and he did it without a shot being fired.

To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

I feel great regret.

Reagan was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the better, stop the nuclear race, start scrapping nuclear weapons, and arrange normal relations between our countries.

Former US president George Bush senior

People ask me, 'Well, what was so special about President Reagan?'

And on a personal basis, it was his kindness, his decency, his sense of humour - unbelievable - and he had a wonderful way where you could disagree with him.

Pope John Paul II's spokesman

The Pope received the news of President Reagan's death with sadness.

Two days ago, when he met President Bush at the Vatican, the Pope sent a warm message of best wishes to Mrs Reagan, knowing that her husband was very sick.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell

President Reagan fuelled the spirit of America.

His smile, his optimism, his total belief in the ultimate triumph of democracy and freedom, and his willingness to act on that belief, helped end the Cold War and usher in a new and brighter phase of history.

Like Reagan, Schwarzenegger has moved from film star to politician
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

I am deeply saddened by the passing of President Reagan.

He was a great American patriot. I did not just admire him, I was fortunate enough to know him.

He was a hero to me.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry

Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious.

Even when he was breaking Democrats hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate.

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere.

French President Jacques Chirac

A great statesman who through the strength of his convictions and his commitment to democracy will leave a deep mark in history.

Former Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone

He was a great president who led the Cold War against communism to the victory of freedom and democracy. We attended five summits together and he guided them to success with his leadership and tactful jokes.

Lt Col Oliver North, Reagan's former national security aide

Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime.

He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

I express my deep regret because Reagan died before facing justice for his ugly crime that he committed in 1986 against the Libyan children.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev hailed Ronald Reagan as a great U.S. president on Sunday and said he was distraught by news of his death, the Interfax news agency reported Sunday.


"I deem Ronald Reagan a great president, with whom the Soviet leadership was able to launch a very difficult but important dialogue," the agency quoted Gorbachev as saying on Ekho Moskvy radio. The news of Reagan's death on Saturday "upset me very much," he said.

"Reagan was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the better, stop the nuclear race, start scrapping nuclear weapons, and arrange normal relations between our countries," Gorbachev said, according to the agency.

"I do not know how other statesmen would have acted at that moment, because the situation was too difficult. Reagan, whom many considered extremely rightist, dared to make these steps, and this is his most important deed," he was quoted as saying.


President Reagan delivered one of his most memorable speeches 20 years ago Sunday on the 40th anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy. World leaders mark the 60th anniversary on Sunday. Reagan’s speech:


We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, wind-swept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers — the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.” I think I know what you may be thinking right now — thinking, “We were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.” Well, everyone was.

Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren’t. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him. Lord Lovat was with him — Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, “Sorry I’m a few minutes late,” as if he’d been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he’d just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken. There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.

All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland’s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England’s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard’s “Matchbox Fleet” and you, the American Rangers. Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt. You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you. The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They thought — or felt in their hearts, though they couldn’t know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we’re about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.

When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together. There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall Plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall Plan led to the Atlantic alliance — a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace. In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They’re still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, Allied forces still stand on this continent.

Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose — to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest. We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent. But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.

It’s fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action. We will pray forever that someday that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it. We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

Some qoutes from Reagan.

Ronald Reagan spent his formative years as a radio announcer and a film actor. Few presidents have demonstrated Reagan’s gift for delivering telling phrases that stuck in the public mind and defined issues in stark, simplified terms. Here is a selection of some of those phrases —some that made Reagan famous and others that he made famous.

‘One for the Gipper’
"Someday when things are tough, maybe you can ask the boys to go in there and win just one for the Gipper." —Portraying football player George Gipp in the film “Knute Rockne, All American,” 1940

'Shining city on a hill'
Let us resolve tonight that young Americans will always ... find there a city of hope in a country that is free.... And let us resolve they will say of our day and our generation, we did keep the faith with our God, that we did act worthy of ourselves, that we did protect and pass on lovingly that shining city on a hill." — Election Eve speech, Nov. 3, 1980

‘We have piled deficit upon deficit’
"For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?" —Inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1981

‘Tear down this wall’
“If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” —Speech at the Berlin Wall, June 12, 1987

‘Grown beyond the consent of the governed’
"We are a nation that has a government — not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed." —Inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1981

‘A special interest group that has been too long neglected’
"We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.

"It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers.

"They are, in short, 'We the people,' this breed called Americans." —Inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1981

‘I forgot to duck’
"Honey, I forgot to duck." — 1981, Reagan to his wife, as he recovered gunshot wounds after an assassination attempt by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981

‘A time of reckoning’
"An almost unbroken 50 years of deficit spending has finally brought us to a time of reckoning. We have come to a turning point, a moment for hard decisions. I have asked the Cabinet and my staff a question, and now I put the same question to all of you: If not us, who? And if not now, when? It must be done by all of us going forward with a program aimed at reaching a balanced budget. We can then begin reducing the national debt." —Second inaugural address, Jan. 21, 1985

‘Render nuclear weapons obsolete’
"For decades, we and the Soviets have lived under the threat of mutual assured destruction; if either resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, the other could retaliate and destroy the one who had started it. Is there either logic or morality in believing that if one side threatens to kill tens of millions of our people, our only recourse is to threaten killing tens of millions of theirs?

"I have approved a research program to find, if we can, a security shield that would destroy nuclear missiles before they reach their target. It wouldn't kill people, it would destroy weapons. It wouldn't militarize space, it would help demilitarize the arsenals of Earth. It would render nuclear weapons obsolete." —Second inaugural address, Jan. 21, 1985

‘Whatever else history may say’
“Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears....

“May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance and never lose your natural, God-given optimism.” —Speech to Republican National Convention, Aug. 17, 1992

‘Go ahead, make my day’
"I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day." —March 13, 1985, in a speech threatening to veto legislation raising taxes.

You don't become president of the United States’
"When people tell me I became president on January 20, 1981, I feel I have to correct them. You don't become president of the United States. You are given temporary custody of an institution called the presidency, which belongs to our people." — Address to the Republican national convention. Aug. 15, 1988

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who with his wife joined the Reagans in crooning “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” at a summit in Quebec in the 1980s, called Reagan’s death “a great loss for the United States and the world.”

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent President Bush a letter of condolence Sunday over Reagan’s death, saying he had received the news with “great sadness.” “His engagement in overcoming the East-West conflict and his vision of a free and united Europe created the conditions for change that in the end made the restoration of German unity possible,” the chancellor wrote.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who with his wife joined the Reagans in crooning “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” at a summit in Quebec in the 1980s, called Reagan’s death “a great loss for the United States and the world.”

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent President Bush a letter of condolence Sunday over Reagan’s death, saying he had received the news with “great sadness.” “His engagement in overcoming the East-West conflict and his vision of a free and united Europe created the conditions for change that in the end made the restoration of German unity possible,” the chancellor wrote.

Remember what they said on Saturday Night Live? "Elect that other guy president, make Reagan king!"

The king is dead; long live the king.

I do not condone monarchy, I'm merely paying my last respects.
I think we'll all miss him.

I saw in an article somewhere the only two world leaders that were happy he died: the Sadinista leftovers in Nicuaragua, and Col. Qadafi of Lybia. Then again, I can't blame Qadafi. A US bomb did kill his daughter. It was hell to wage war back in the days of the dumb bomb.

*yawn :roll:

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)Oh so true. If only more people could learn that from him.

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)Oh so true. If only more people could learn that from him.like Karl Rove

He was a great person, no matter your political views.

The world has lost a good man, but he is in a better place now.

He was a great person, no matter your political views.

The world has lost a good man, but he is in a better place now.

Whittier, you have made my day. You have done a great job, and a service to all of us. While the Gipper has left us, his wit and wisdom will live on with all of us (even those who don't admit it.)

God bless Ronald Reagan.

Lt. Col Oliver North, National Security Council official under Reagan: “Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime -- and he will be regarded as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had ... a man of extraordinary vision, great compassion and resolute leadership. He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.”All things aside, that is a disturbing name to be on the list.

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)Oh so true. If only more people could learn that from him.like Karl Rove

This thread had basically no politics involved, and then you come and start trolling. That was not smart.

Lt. Col Oliver North, National Security Council official under Reagan: “Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime -- and he will be regarded as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had ... a man of extraordinary vision, great compassion and resolute leadership. He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.”All things aside, that is a disturbing name to be on the list.No kidding. I like Ollie, but he should have taken the opportunity to stay off the scope on this one.

He proved you could disagree without digressing into bitter personal attacks (or flaming as certain people seem to enjoy.)Oh so true. If only more people could learn that from him.like Karl Rove

This thread had basically no politics involved, and then you come and start trolling. That was not smart.Don't worry about TRA. He never misses a chance to make himself look like a dunce.

Lt. Col Oliver North, National Security Council official under Reagan: “Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime -- and he will be regarded as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had ... a man of extraordinary vision, great compassion and resolute leadership. He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.”All things aside, that is a disturbing name to be on the list.

There are few names that should not be on the list but they were included to illustrate that even most of his opponents have only nice things to say about him.
Even the Chinese are saying he was a good President.
If you notice, the only person who said anything negative was Qaddafi, the man who invented terrorism. But that is becuase Reagan killed his month old daughter in an air strike when Libyan agents shot down Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Sotland. The airstrikes were quite justified mind you.
Since then, Libya hasn't dared start anything with any one. Reagan put Libya in its place.

Five days of mourning planned for Reagan
Former president's body to lie in state in Capitol

The burial will be preceded by five days of mourning beginning Monday with a private family service at the library. Afterward, the body will lie in repose at the library for public visitation throughout the night and Tuesday until 6 p.m.

On Wednesday, the body will flown to Washington, D.C., where it will be taken to the Capitol by horse-drawn caisson in a procession up Constitution Avenue.

After a state funeral ceremony Wednesday evening, the body lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol throughout the night and all day Thursday.

On Friday morning, Reagan's body will be taken by motorcade through Washington to the National Cathedral for funeral services expected to be attended by numerous heads of state, some of whom will be in the country for the G-8 Economic Summit earlier in the week on Sea Island, Georgia.

President Bush will deliver the principal eulogy, but it was unclear who else will speak.

That afternoon the body will be returned to California for the private funeral and burial planned for sunset.

Lt. Col Oliver North, National Security Council official under Reagan: “Ronald Reagan was easily the greatest president of my lifetime -- and he will be regarded as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had ... a man of extraordinary vision, great compassion and resolute leadership. He brought down the Evil Empire and made the world safer for my children and theirs.”All things aside, that is a disturbing name to be on the list.No kidding. I like Ollie, but he should have taken the opportunity to stay off the scope on this one.He was a funny one wasn't he. Good ol' Uncle Ollie, the war criminal.

He's on Fox now, with his own program.

That's enough of the partisan politics.
Anymore, and I'll ask the mods to lock the thread.