RIP Ron...

I have mixed feelings about Reagan's passing. I wasn't happy with his presidency ... but he was our president, and so should be mourned (even Nixon was mourned). Over the last several years, I have developed great respect for Nancy, who recently spoke out in favor of stem-cell research, and the need for additional stem-cell lines.

My hat is off to you, Nancy. May your grief be easy, and may you continue to find your voice in areas that could help people suffering from Alzheimer Disease.

Very well said, Wyld. I had my days back then when I liked him, and days when I wished someone else were president. But for the most part, I did like him and Nancy.

I, too, hope she's at peace with his death. She's dealt with a lot for the past 10 or so years. And I have a lot of respect for her.

So sorry to hear about him. May God be with the family at this time... I remember once taking some pics of Reagan & Jerry Falwell from a distance at Falwells College in Lynchburg, VA. Only 2 of them cam eout unfortunately. I still have them. I'll have to scan them & put them online sometime. Never did get to meet Reagan. I did meet Falwell once & he was a nice man...

Thank you, Wyld, for helping me not to be quite as petty as my first reaction on hearing this news. Still, the best I can do is mourn the squandered opportunity.

R.I.P.
Reagan did change the country and the world -- like it or not. I didn't vote for him either time he ran for president ... but I have grown to admire him since then after reading a couple books about what he was trying to do.
Alzheimer's is a terrible disease ... and it seems to have changed Nancy's way of thinking ... for the better, I should say.

I feel bad... for feeling bad, and I'm not sure why I do - except the death of a president always represents the endless march of time, I guess.

But how I feel about Reagan - wasn't this a man who turned in friends to McCarthy's committee?

I can't imagine feeling remorse when the person who turned those in the Weavers shuffles off the mortal coil.

Reagan's presidential legacy is muddled in my mind... threats, lies, Iran Contra, deals and "I don't recall."

I wouldn't wish Alzheimer's on my worst enemy. Not even Larnie. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/looney.gif" width=15 height=15> But I also pray that this country never again have through a president in the starting stages of Alzheimers, as he so clearly was.

I think the best thing I can say: If he were 1/4 the man he pretended to be, Reagan would have been one hell of a man.

Yea, he "couldn't recall" anything in front of the Iran-Contra committee. He could barely recall even being President. Then, 3 weeks later at the Republican Convention in the Astrodome, he takes the stage & delivers a 35-minute comedy monologue that woulda made Johnny Carson envious. Gimme a break!

I feel bad when anyone dies...on the other hand, as a president, he sucked...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Goofus:

I feel bad when anyone dies...on the other hand, as a president, he sucked...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep.

No mixed feelings about his passing. He's been gone for years and with Alzheimer's his quality of life couldn't have been very good for a long time. His wife said that she felt relief and I'm sure it was on his behalf, so, I do wish him peace. I felt sad when Nixon died, because it was the end of an era, and I guess I regarded it as my era because I was young then.
About his presidency, though - he was the second worst president of my lifetime. Never thought I'd live to see a worse one but Bush has proved you should never say "never". Mario Cuomo was on Lou Dobbs tonight, being gentile, respectful of the dead and yet, completely eviscerating the Reagan myth as far as economic policy went. They didn't touch on other issues as that's an economics oriented show. Cuomo was great and our politicians should study him to see how it's done. It was great.

...there are Presidents and actors and quarterbacks...and we know only their public lives.....

....don't suppose their private lives are much different than ours, except perhaps on the economic scale.....

....as for the public Reagan he was charming and dashing and so out of touch with so many of those he governed......it was hard to dislike him as a President...but I did.... he sucked alright...

...Alzheimer's is a terrible disease (though there are few good ones, really)....but i do believe he had at in the last couple of years of his Presidency....and that was wrong....although perhaps we were safer in an odd kind of way....

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kj:


...Alzheimer's is a terrible disease (though there are few good ones, really)....but i do believe he had at in the last couple of years of his Presidency....and that was wrong....although perhaps we were safer in an odd kind of way....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Totally agree on both counts. It's truly terrrible because the victim knows his/her mind is going and...well, just a nightmare. I'm sure he was starting to exhibit symptoms before the end of his presidency. Jokes like "What did the president forget and when did he forget it?" turned out to be in bad taste in retrospect, but make it pretty clear that it was noticeable before he left office.

Some tidbits of information on the riderless horse that will be used in the Reagan funeral. His name is Sergeant York, but he had another name when he used to pull a sulky at Yonkers and Freehold Raceways in the mid-90's. He is all black, with no white hairs showing, a requirement of the military for the funeral detail. He supposedly has a calm demeanor; those of us old enough to remember Kennedy's funeral might recall that the riderless horse that day gave his handler fits the whole time.

As for Reagan's passing, I can't help noticing that it's becoming a Republicans only affair with Democrats and minorities shut out. He was, of course, a very polarizing president whose footsteps the present occupant of the White House is trying to follow. Latest polls show it isn't working for him.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mikey:

Some tidbits of information on the riderless horse that will be used in the Reagan funeral. His name is Sergeant York, ....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

More about "Sergeant York" - the movie, that is...

Yes, the Army named the horse after that Sgt. York. There was a feature on him on Animal Planet, I think, a while back.