RONALD REAGAN 1911 - 2004

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By Jeff Wilson ASSOCIATED PRESS 4:23 p.m. June 5, 2004

Reaction to his death

Bush says Reagan helped save the world Mourning in America, and across the world: The Great Communicator remembered In Russia, Reagan remembered for helping bring down Soviet Union Across eastern Europe, gratitude to a president who helped end communism -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Reagan's health

Text of 1994 Reagan letter announcing he had Alzheimer's Scientists struggle, but no cure has been developed for Alzheimer's Always upbeat, Reagan conquered bullet wound, cancer during presidency -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looking back

He gave voice to the innate patriotism of the American people Nancy Reagan was with her husband to the end Quotes from Ronald Reagan As governor, Reagan honed conservative message, political skills In Hollywood: The boy next door was an actor Political soul mates Reagan and Thatcher dominated 1980s politics Reagan in D-Day speech called Normandy 'where the West held together' Special places in the life of Ronald Reagan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interactives

A photo gallery of Ronald Reagan from childhood to governor to president.

A timeline of Ronald Reagan's life up to the presidency. A timeline of Ronald Reagan's presidency.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Video

Ronald Reagan, the cheerful crusader who devoted his presidency to making people believe it was ``morning again in America,'' dies after a long twilight struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Cable-DSL / 56k President Ronald Reagan, often called "the great communicator," came from humble beginings to become one of the most beloved figures of modern American politics. Cable-DSL / 56k -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FREE RealPlayer plug-in is necessary to play RealMedia. LOS ANGELES – Ronald Reagan, the cheerful crusader who devoted his presidency to winning the Cold War, trying to scale back government and making people believe it was "morning again in America," died Saturday after a long twilight struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.

"My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers," Nancy Reagan said in a statement relayed by chief of staff Joanne Drake, who represents the family.

He died at 1 p.m. PDT of pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer's disease, Drake said.

Nancy Reagan, along with children Ron and Patti Davis, were at the Los Angeles home, and son Michael arrived a short time later, Drake said. Michael Reagan was with his father all day Friday.

President Bush mourned Reagan as a great American who "leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save." He called Reagan's death "a sad hour in the life of America."

Bush, who is in France for D-Day ceremonies, said he had talked to Nancy Reagan and offered her the nation's prayers and condolences.

From his home in Rancho Mirage, former President Ford said he and his wife, Betty, were "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," Ford said. "We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to Nancy and his family."

The U.S. flag over the White House was lowered to half staff within an hour. At ballparks and at the Belmont Stakes, there were moments of silence.

Five years after leaving office, the nation's 40th president told the world in November 1994 that he had been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's, an incurable illness that destroys brain cells. He said he had begun "the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life."

Reagan's body was expected to be taken to his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, Calif., and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. His funeral was expected to be at the National Cathedral, an event likely to draw world leaders. The body was to be returned to California for a sunset burial at his library.

Reagan lived longer than any U.S. president, spending his last decade in the shrouded seclusion wrought by his disease, tended by his wife, Nancy, whom he called Mommy, and the few closest to him. Now, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton are the surviving ex-presidents.

Although fiercely protective of Reagan's privacy, the former first lady let people know his mental condition had deteriorated terribly. Last month, she said: "Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him."

Reagan's oldest daughter, Maureen, from his first marriage, died in August 2001 at age 60 from cancer. Three other children survive: Michael, from his first marriage, and Patti Davis and Ron from his second.

Over two terms, from 1981 to 1989, Reagan reshaped the Republican Party in his conservative image, fixed his eye on the demise of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communism and tripled the national debt to $3 trillion in his single-minded competition with the other superpower.

"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," former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said.

Taking office at age 69, Reagan had already lived a career outside Washington, one that spanned work as a radio sports announcer, an actor, a television performer, a spokesman for the General Electric Co., and a two-term governor of California.

At the time of his retirement, his very name suggested a populist brand of conservative politics that still inspires the Republican Party.

He declared at the outset, "Government is not the solution, it's the problem," although reducing that government proved harder to do in reality than in his rhetoric.

Even so, he challenged the status quo on welfare and other programs that had put government on a growth spurt ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal strengthened the federal presence in the lives of average Americans.

In foreign affairs, he built the arsenals of war while seeking and achieving arms control agreements with the Soviet Union.

In his second term, Reagan was dogged by revelations that he authorized secret arms sales to Iran while seeking Iranian aid to gain release of American hostages held in Lebanon. Some of the money was used to aid rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua.

Despite the ensuing investigations, he left office in 1989 with the highest popularity rating of any retiring president in the history of modern-day public opinion polls.

That reflected, in part, his uncommon ability as a communicator and his way of connecting with ordinary Americans, even as his policies infuriated the left and as his simple verities made him the butt of jokes. "Morning again in America" became his re-election campaign mantra in 1984, but typified his appeal to patriotism through both terms.

At 69, Reagan was the oldest man ever elected president when he was chosen on Nov. 4, 1980, by an unexpectedly large margin over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Near-tragedy struck on his 70th day as president. On March 30, 1981, Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after addressing labor leaders when a young drifter, John Hinckley, fired six shots at him. A bullet lodged an inch from Reagan's heart, but he recovered.

Four years later he was re-elected by an even greater margin, carrying 49 of the 50 states in defeating Democrat Walter F. Mondale, Carter's vice president.



-- (tosu_cs@yahoo.com), June 05, 2004

Answers

Ronald Reagan

At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism."

On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films.

From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott. As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.

Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year- long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter.

On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.

Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.

A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.

In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.

In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.

By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.

Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.

-- (tosu_cs@yahoo.com), June 05, 2004.


BẢN TIN ÐẶC BIỆT
[ Nghe bản tin đặc biệt .Cựu Tổng thống Hoa Kỳ Ronald Wilson Reagan từ trần, thọ 93 tuổi 2004-06]

-- (tosu_cs@yahoo.com), June 06, 2004.

TONG THONG MY MAT BAO NHIEU TRIEU NGUOI THUONG TIEC<< TRONG KHI GIA HO DAM CHET THUA CON CHO" >>CHET ROI CON BI NHAN DAN CHUOI SUOT CA LICH SU <>

-- lu cho' thui HANOI (vietnamcongsans@yahoo.com), June 06, 2004.

HAY QUA'....

NOI' DUNG' QUA'....

HOAN HO^ ANH LU~ CHO' THUI' HA-NOI....!

-- Chau' Nam Cam (Du ma thang Ho chi Minh@Hanoi.vn), January 05, 2005.


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