America’s former leader Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday at the age of 93 following a decade long battle with the memory eating Alzheimer’s disease.
Bush praised Reagan, a self-declared born again Christian and Great Communicator, as a "man of conviction." Speaking in France, where he attended the 60th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day invasion to end Nazi occupation during World War Two, Bush stressed that Reagan "had the confidence that comes with conviction. The strength that comes with character. The grace that comes with humility, and the humor that comes with wisdom."
He added that Reagan "leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped (to) safe." Former President George Bush Sr. also praised Reagan saying that "history will give him great credit for standing for a few principles and standing firmly for those principles and thus setting an example for the American people whether they agreed with him or not."
People recalled him as a dedicated leader and fighter for a free world. French President Jacques Chirac said "he leaves a deep mark in history because of his commitment to democracy," The Voice of America (VOA) network reported. Ex-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl reportedly called him "a stroke of luck for the world." Earlier former British Prime Minister said he helped to end the Cold War "without a shot being fired."
REAGAN’S FRIEND
Thatcher, who was also considered to be Reagan’s friend and conservative counterpart across the Atlantic in the 1980s, stressed he invoked the "millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued."
In the nations of the former Soviet bloc, which were subjects of the communist sphere of influence that Reagan famously called the "Evil Empire," sentiment ran high. "He is the one who allowed the breakup of the Soviet Union," The Associated Press (AP) quoted Bogdan Chireac, a foreign affairs analyst, as telling the Romanian newspaper Adevarul. "May God rest his soul," he said.
Similar reactions were expected in other countries including Hungary, where the 1956 revolution against Soviet domination was crushed by Soviet soldiers. Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev, with whom Reagan agreed to eliminate medium range nuclear missiles in 1987, recalled Reagan Sunday, June 6, as a great president.
THE STATESMAN
"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.
"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," the former Soviet leader was quoted as saying.
At the same time Christian leaders also urged the world and Americans to look beyond the mourning and toward Reagan’s "homecoming".
GIFT OF MERCY
"Ronald Reagan did just that, he accepted the Christ gift of mercy. Therefore today his soul has slipped from his mortal frame to make his way into the presence of Christ," said commentator J. Grant Swank Jr. on the conservative Internet website MichNews.com. To make his point, he quoted Bibles verses 1 John 2:25: "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life" and Galatians 6:8: "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."
Reagan never made a secret of his faith. In January 1984 President Reagan reportedly reminded the participants of a National Religious Broadcasters gathering not to forget the hope they have in Christ. "He promised there will never be a dark night that does not end," Reagan said of Christ. "And by dying for us, Jesus showed how far our love should be ready to go: all the way."
The Chairman of Focus on the Family, a Christian organization committed to strengthening families in the U.S. and throughout the world, also called Reagan an example for "traditional values."
RESTORING DIGNITY
"I loved President Reagan as a man and admired him as a leader," said Focus on the Family Chairman James C. Dobson in a statement monitored by ASSIST News Service. "He restored dignity to the White House and demonstrated a deep respect for the institution of the family, which had been badly damaged by the excesses of the 1960s and ’70s."
In a February 17, 1984, letter to Dobson, who served on several White House commissions and often consulted with the president on family issues, Reagan reportedly wrote "enthusiastically" of legislative progress on a proposed constitutional amendment to permit voluntary school prayer.
"Most of us would agree that God should never have been expelled from our children’s classrooms," Reagan was quoted as writing to Dobson. "We are a nation under God. And as George Washington said, ‘Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."
SCHOOL PRAYER
Although the school-prayer amendment never passed, Dobson said Reagan was "a true friend to the defenders of traditional values." During the final moments of his earthly life, Reagan’s children from his marriage to Nancy, Patti Davis and Ron Jr. were reportedly at his bed side in the Reagan home in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, according to family friend, Joanne Drake. Son Michael arrived a short time later.
Reagan’s body was expected to be taken to his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. His funeral was expected to be at the National Cathedral. The body was to be returned to California for a sunset burial at his library.
Gorbachev on Sunday, June 6, recalled Reagan as a great president and said he was distraught by news of his death, the Interfax news agency reported. His famed "Star Wars" program drew the Soviets into a costly arms race it couldn’t afford. His 1987 declaration to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Berlin Wall — "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" — was the ultimate challenge of the Cold War, AP observed.
REAGAN THE STATESMAN
"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.
"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," the former Soviet leader was quoted as saying.
In the United Kingdom, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher seemed to agree, saying that "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."
BELIEVER IN CHRIST
After he ended his 8-year long presidency, he and his wife returned to California where she cared for him during his illness which she described as "the long goodbye." Christian leaders believe that Reagan’s death is a "home coming" for the former President who regarded Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.
In January 1984 President Reagan reportedly reminded the participants of a National Religious Broadcasters not to forget the hope they have in Christ. "He promised there will never be a dark night that does not end," Reagan said of Christ. "And by dying for us, Jesus showed how far our love should be ready to go: all the way."
He also reflected on his faith in a note on November 5, 1994 about his disease. "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead," Reagan wrote.
"LONG GOODBYE"
Former first lady Nancy Reagan, at a fund-raiser last month for human embryonic research, also described the toll that Alzheimer’s has taken on her husband. "Ronnie’s long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him," AP quoted her as saying.
Across the nation, people took pause upon learning of Reagan’s passing. The U.S. flag over the White House was lowered to half-staff within an hour and there were moments of silence at ballparks and at the Belmont States, AP reported.
