President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

Josh Cryer · 2004-06-05 19:15:17

Ronald Reagan dies at 93

Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.

Reagan led a conservative revolution that set the economic and cultural tone of the 1980s, hastened the end of the Cold War and revitalized the Republican Party. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least late 1994.

His wife, Nancy Davis Reagan, and their two children, Ronald Jr. and Patty Davis, were with him at 1:09 p.m. (4:09 p.m. ET) when he died at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/ … index.html

~Eternal~ · 2004-06-05 19:44:45

I'm torn between my love of his good deeds and my hate for neoconservatives , alas a good man is still lost to the world.

PurduesUSAFguy · 2004-06-05 21:17:53

He was one of my personal heros, he will be missed.
I can't help but think maybe this is a blessing in disguise, living with alzheimers must have been hell.

I maintain he was the greatest American President, and statesmen in general of the twentieth century.

Dook · 2004-06-05 23:20:23

I would not put Reagan anywhere near the top in a ranking as the greatest American President. I think the adversity and troubling times the country faced while he was in office was nowhere near that faced by Lincoln, Washington, Roosevelt, or JFK but that does not mean I don't appreciatte his accomplishments. He fought and won the cold war without firing a shot but broke the bank doing it. The incredible national debt is primarily his creation. He also stood up to Libya's Khaddafi and backed it up with military force. He sent the marines in to Beirut to try to keep the Israeli's and Syrians apart but the marine officers failed and did not allow their own guards to have real ammunition. He tried to create a space based missile defense when the technology just wasn't mature enough to actually do it but I'm sure we learned from all of that research.

I think he wanted too much for the country, more than we were really able to accomplish but I still give him high marks as a leader. I would rather have goals that are too high than too low.

Cobra Commander · 2004-06-06 01:04:42

One of the greats, he will be missed. Watching President Bush speak on the matter today I couldn't help but wish he could be half the President Reagan was.

Mundaka · 2004-06-06 02:51:20

Josh Cryer · 2004-06-06 06:47:41

RIP, Ronald Reagan. My only gripe with him really was the deficits, and not because he actually did so much spending, but because no one really remembers.

Pretty decent president overall, though.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-06-06 07:16:32

I'm not American but I know how popular President Reagan was with the American people; I had quite a soft spot for him myself.
Although he was once thoroughly ridiculed and vilified by left-wing journalists all over the world, history has vindicated his strong stance against the Soviet Union.

I offer my condolences to the American people on the loss of someone I think was among the rarest of human beings, those who remain uncorrupted by great power.
I agree; he was a decent man.

clark · 2004-06-06 14:52:27

He served his country well, and led as best as he saw fit.

I just wish he had taken Gorby up on the trip to Mars...

Palomar · 2004-06-06 19:36:43

Ronald Reagan dies at 93

*I decided to wait to chime in on this thread, mostly because I wanted to refresh my memories a bit of Reagan (I feel we've been in hell the past few years, and my memory of The Ghost of America Past is a bit fuzzy...).

I voted for him in 1984, during my first opportunity to vote (age 19). Have been watching special tributes to him on various news channels. I'd forgotten his pluckiness, sense of humor, style, graciousness, etc. Yeah, he was cool and I miss him.

Anyone else here see Robin Williams' portrayal of Reagan in a Saturday Night Live sketch around 1986-87? Hilarious.

I really REALLY loved his "I hope you're all Republicans" quip to the attending surgeons after the assassination attempt (that's 23 years ago already??) and just prior to surgery. Then his brave smiling and (IIRC) blowing the public a kiss from his hospital window. He had grace and style for sure.

Cobra: Watching President Bush speak on the matter today I couldn't help but wish he could be half the President Reagan was.

*Agreed.

I do also remember Nancy being so hated and reviled in the early 1980s, nearly as badly as Hillary Clinton later. Being a teenager at the time, I only paid sporadic attention to that situation and never did figure out why Nancy was so hated. As much as Reagan was liked his wife was disliked...I wonder how much emotional pain that caused him.

They had over 50 years of marriage, which is fabulous. Tragic that Alzheimer's disease robbed them of their last living years together.

Don't mean to get this thread off-topic, but do want to say this: It's been marvelous, looking back at clips of America in the 1980s. Really wish we could get some semblance of aspects of PRE-9/11 America back...

My biggest gripe about the Gipper? Helping the Bush family arise to such political prominence.

--Cindy

REB · 2004-06-07 06:29:53

President Reagan was the first president I voted for. He made me proud to be an American.

I think the greatest thing he did was put aside his hate for the communist to establish a relationship with Gorbachev to end the Cold-War.

I do not forget living during the Cold War, wonder not if, but when the US and USSR would annihilate each other with nuclear weapons. Reagan and Gorbachev put and end to these fears. When Reagan became president, the Cold War was stronger than ever. When he left, Americans and Russians were at peace.

Reagan was truly one of America’s greatest presidents.

Mark Friedenbach · 2004-06-07 20:13:39

Not so. The debt incurred from the Reagan and Bush administrations was actually turned into a surplus by the time Clinton left office. The debt we have now is an entirely new debt.

Your mixing up the debt and the budget. The budget had a surplus for a short while under Clinton, but the debt wasn't repaid.

Dook · 2004-06-09 15:04:33

The incredible national debt is primarily his creation.
Not so. The debt incurred from the Reagan and Bush administrations was actually turned into a surplus by the time Clinton left office. The debt we have now is an entirely new debt.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/sto … lus/]Click here for a CNN article from 2000 about said surplus.

I'm afraid you are confusing the national debt with the budget deficit. The national debt is the total amount the United States owe's. It's been around since the Revolutionary War except for a time before the civil war when we actually owed nothing. The national debt is currently $7 trillion and growing at a rate of $600 billion a year. 14% of the federal taxes you pay go entirely to pay interest on the national debt.

The defecit is the amount we borrow each year to continue paying the departments and for programs. This amount borrowed increases the national debt.

President Clinton's administration did not tell the whole truth. Not really a surprise. He almost balanced the budget meaning he did not have to borrow as much as other president's.

http://www.lafn.org/politics/gvdc/Natl_ … Chart.html

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd … histo4.htm

Palomar · 2004-06-09 18:41:17

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … ation]Sign of the times

*My husband and I just finished watching the ceremonies at the Capitol. No mention was made, on-air, of the event just earlier in the day.

But you know, what -did- go smoothly and all the people lined for blocks and blocks, watching the procession, reminded me of not long ago, when the basic fear was of a lone loon with a pistol (not airplanes smashing into buildings on our soil).

I still sometimes wonder (despite the article above) how much of this "homeland security" stuff is just a bunch of hype and attempting to keep the public's nerves on edge. Yeah, I remember 9/11. But I still wonder about manipulation of the public, playing on fears, etc.

Anyway...lovely ceremony. Nice, again, to see those clips from yesteryear -- especially the 1981 inaugural ball. Where does time go? Maybe Reagan's passing, our honoring him, and the national mourning will help to heal some of the nation's more recent wounds.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2004-06-09 19:23:13

Maybe Reagan's passing, our honoring him, and the national mourning will help to heal some of the nation's more recent wounds.

If only that were true.

Kinda miss the '80's. genuinely believed in the President, only had the Soviets and global nuclear holocaust to worry about... Didn't, really. Good times. And the greatest threat to human freedom of the twentieth century collapsed because of Reagan's policies.

Thanks Ron, even with the chaotic aftermath, I for one appreciate it.

Palomar · 2004-06-12 11:32:09

*The ceremony at Reagan's memorial library in Simi Valley was beautiful. Really felt for Nancy as she said her goodbyes at the casket, kissed it, etc.

Sorry for the family's loss, of course. Yet "stepping back in time" -- this week's national "pause" with all its reminiscing -- has made me feel more optimistic than I've felt in the past 3 years. Nice to feel a semblance of "good old America" again --the one I knew in the 70s and 80s.

Id]http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/04/14/ron_reagan/]I'd wondered why the Bush family wasn't more visible; this may explain it. Especially at Simi Valley; I expected to see the senior Bushes there. I really like Ron's moxie.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: Oh dang. I figured the news article I linked to would "stay put" regardless of the 1-day pass. Anyway, it was entitled "Reagan blasts Bush" (Ron Jr.) dated April 2003. You can get a pass to read the article directly at the link or can e-mail me and I'll forward it to you (have 2 copies of it in private e-mail).

Josh Cryer · 2004-06-13 09:03:15

I'll tell you what, the burial had some of the best timing I have ever seen. If not some of the best luck. I mean, consider, it rained as his casket was being brung down the stairs from the rotunda in Washington D.C. Not the annoying kind of torrential rain, just a nice thick mist. "The heavens cried." Then, when he returned to California, it was sunny, and the sunset was quite picturesque. Reagan was known to talk about "being buried at sunset," and make cute soliloquies. Writers will be writing about that for the longest time.

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#1 2004-06-05 19:15:17

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#2 2004-06-05 19:44:45

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#3 2004-06-05 21:17:53

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#4 2004-06-05 23:20:23

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#5 2004-06-06 01:04:42

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#6 2004-06-06 02:51:20

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#7 2004-06-06 06:47:41

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#8 2004-06-06 07:16:32

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#9 2004-06-06 14:52:27

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#10 2004-06-06 19:36:43

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#11 2004-06-07 06:29:53

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#12 2004-06-07 20:13:39

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#13 2004-06-09 15:04:33

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#14 2004-06-09 18:41:17

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#15 2004-06-09 19:23:13

Re: President Reagan dead at 93 - Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

#16 2004-06-12 11:32:09

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#17 2004-06-13 09:03:15

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