Ronald Reagan has died

[ribbon]

My condolensces to the Reagan family. I'm glad that he's finally at peace and I hope that his family is doing ok.
Even though I didn't vote for him, there were some postives in his presidency, mainly (to me) the end of the cold war.
I have two friends whose mom's have alzheimers and I know how hard it must have been for his family, particularly Nancy since his diagnosis.

[shortstop]

I was also sad to hear the news. But it really is for the better, he is at peace now and better off. From what I understand he is going to be buried at his library in Simi Valley instead of Arlington. I hope that the family will find peace soon.

[ribbon]

shortstop said: I was also sad to hear the news. But it really is for the better, he is at peace now and better off.

I agree, it's hard to know exactly how to say that, and you did it very well.

[Seabiscuit]

I had a bittersweet feeling when I saw the news of Ronald Reagan's death. It is so sad that he died, yet if he was not truly living and able to enjoy life, then he is in a better place now.

[kapoker]

While I was sad that Ronald Reagan passed away, I also couldn't help but think that the man who he was in life is not who he was at the end of it. Alzheimer's robbed him of himself and although my sincere condolences are with his family, I find it comforting to imagine that he can finally be whole again and at peace.

take care,
Rachel :peep

[bluebabe]

a good book is Eyewitness to Power, by David Gergen (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/****************************************/qid=****************************************/sr=****-****/ref=sr_****_****/************-****************************-****************************) has a lot of interesting insight into several presidencies, but especially Ronald Reagan's.

[shortstop]

Thank you :ribpink, I was hoping that it came out right.
Kapoker, you are so right about who he was when he died. It's very :sad. My boyfriend told me that he saw one of those specials on either Alzheimer's or Reagan in which Nancy said that Pres Reagan asked her why all of the people around them were waving at him and clapping for him. I found that very sad. He couldn't even remember him.

[ribbon]

I thought it was so sad when I heard he couldn't remember being president. I have two friends with moms who have alzheimers, one with early onset. Her mom hasn't recognized her in four or five years :sad. She looks forward to her mom dying because she knows her mom would hate what she has become, confined to a bed, unable to do anything but swallow the liquid food she is given.

[luna moody]

well i grew up with him in office, and i was saddend and still am for that matter of his death.. but he is in a much better place now... no more suffering for anyone in his family.. i was a nures's aid, and i couldnt do it anymore, because of the alzhiemer patients.. i just felt so horrible for the family.. and the person themselves, becuase they would see a family member and think they were someone else from when they were a child.. but i do offer my condolences out to the Reagan family..:lovePaula

[tryingtobeme]

He was the first president that I actually paid attention to (I was thirteen when he was elected). I respected him and his wife. He had character and morals, and I admire Nancy Reagan's strength and love as she has been by his side all this time and defended his privacy during his illness. I am saddened and yet I know the family is glad he is at peace.

:love TTBM

[jnp]

My grandmother went to high school with him in Dixon!!! She also double-dated with him. She wrote a little do-you-remember-me? while he was in office and he wrote her back a lovely letter which she framed.

JNP

[tryingtobeme]

jnp said: My grandmother went to high school with him in Dixon!!! She also double-dated with him. She wrote a little do-you-remember-me? while he was in office and he wrote her back a lovely letter which she framed.

JNP

That is so cool!

:love TTBM

[Pretender]

EVERY TIME they show his casket, I start :cry.

I really don't know much about him at ALL, but my heart feels.

When he left presidency, I was probably twelve yrs old AND not living in the USA... But that's ok, I have learned sooo much these last couple of days :love.

I hope he rests in peace :angel.

Amen

P.

[fetskoli]

My Grandpa has Alzheimer's, and it's starting to get worse. He's getting to be clueless, but it's still a happy clueless. That's kinda scary for me to see, but I only go up home about four times a year.

I agree that President Reagan is now in a much better place where he can finally remember again. (I read that like luna was saying above, he'd begun to call Nancy "Mommy." Aw.) :sad

I *might* decide to go to the viewing of the flag-draped casket in the Capitol rotunda after work on Thursday. I figured if I put it here in writing I might think more seriously about actually going to this once-in-a-lifetime historical event, since I do live here. I give DC schools a :stars for calling off school on Friday's national day of mourning and the holiday for the federal government.

[Seabiscuit]

I really hope that there are more research efforts and increased publicity about Alzheimers. It is such a horrible disease and it would be great to see more developments of prevention and treatment.

[ribbon]

Nancy Reagan pled with GWB to open up his mind about stem cell research. I heard something on the news today about legislation on alzheimer's in Reagan's honor. My first thought was, ummm, that's all well and good, but why wait until after he died? It seemed more publicity than anything, which IMHO is slap in the face to Reagan.

[Pretender]

I can't stop :cry watching the whole thing on tv... I feel so bad for Nancy Reagan, poor thing... she's the cutest!

:cry

[fetskoli]

While I think it's very appropriate that bands played "Hail to the Chief" everywhere the casket has been, hearing the song and what it represents makes me very :sad.

[Feak]

Is anyone else pissed off with the news? I mean, you all know my political views and that I wouldn't support him as a President, but even I'm not so disrespectful as to speak ill of him so soon after his death :mad The news here is focusing on whether it's right to give him such a good sendoff, or looking at the man behind all the praise at the moment and what his policies were really like, names people called him at the time etc :reallymad NOW IS NOT THE TIME!!! :reallymad Sure, I didn't agree with him, but when someone dies you focus on the good, maybe later bring up the bad, not a few days after :reallymad

May he rest in peace, Altzheimers is a horible disease, at least now he can be ok.

[ribbon]

I think it's ok to mention how much the :usa is putting into the funeral, but not to discuss his politics after he's buried.
I believe that Reagan's death is being used for political reasons and I think that is unfair to his memory and legacy.
As a side note, John Kerry pulled his political ads for this "week of mourning". I assumed that fucking GWB :reallymad did too. I was appalled to hear one of GWB's ads last night.

Added afterwards: Ok, i just saw a John Kerry ad so I'm less mad at GWB. I wonder if he decided to advertise after GWB did. I would have respected him more if he stood by his word.

[macgirl]

I'm just :reallymad that there will be no mail delivery on Friday due to the funeral!

[ribbon]

macgirl said: I'm just :reallymad that there will be no mail delivery on Friday due to the funeral!

Don't even get me started about that? Does the gov't really think all their employees are going to be sitting at home with a box of tissues watching the funeral on tv :zoinks? I honestly don't see how it's a sign of respect for a president (not king) who has been out of office for over fifteen years and who died of alzheimers and old age.

[tryingtobeme]

I'm a gov't employee. I respected Ronald Reagan. I really think I should be at work though.

:love TTBM

[Catherose]

I was six when Reagan's term ended. In my Brownie troop election I voted for Dukakis, but he lost to Bush even in our cabin's election.

I hadn't realized how popular Reagan was. All I ever really seemed to hear about was Reaganomics. Maybe because I live in the midst of Dirty Hippy Land where you either hate republicans or are considered an asshole. I keep telling people that I was six when he left office and any judgment I make can only be based on hearsay. I have yet to read anything on Reagan that's not extremely passionate and politically slanted one way or the other. It's hard to get a good, unbiased hisorical perspective on someone who served so recently.

The events of tomorrow seem extreme, but what's one day in the grand scheme of things. I think many people in the US could use a little more respect for authority and tradition... we're quick to criticize leaders and rarely, as a nation, pay proper respect to someone who does their job well. But I'm not saying whether he did or didn't do his job well. I was six.

[macgirl]

Catherose said: I hadn't realized how popular Reagan was. All I ever really seemed to hear about was Reaganomics.

I don't necessarily think Reagan was that popular. However, the current administration has it in their best interests to focus attention on something else (anything else). Fifteen years is a long time and I'm certain that most peoples' memories have faded of what really happened in the eighties. The current administration is only reminding us of the "good", not the bad.

I don't even want to hear about how Reagan was responsible for tearing down the Berlin wall or the iron curtain. That completely ignores the contributions made by the solidarity movement in Poland, or Gorbachev's drive towards glasnost, never mind the fact that the Soviet Union was already an economic mess come the mid eighties that there was no option other than to loosen the restrictions.

People remember only what they want to.

[ribbon]

Catherose said: I was six when Reagan's term ended. In my Brownie troop election I voted for Dukakis, but he lost to Bush even in our cabin's election.

:muhaha :muhaha

From what I remember, it wasn't that Reagan was so popular, but that he was an excellent politician and Carter was blamed for a lot of problems that he didn't have control over. Carter was/is a pacifist and the republicans used that he didn't retaliate when the iranis captured all those americans. Carter cancelled the MCMLXXX Moscow Summer Olympics which was also extremely unpopular at the time. People accused Carter of being ineffectual. Carter was/is a small town, unassuming man. He didn't debate well against Reagan. Reagan was extremely personable and had a great sense of humor so he came off much stronger in the debates. He was also an actor before politician so I assume that helped with debating and speech giving.
The democratic party was all over the place when Dukakis was nominated. There was a lot of infighting which turned people off to even voting. He was not a dynamic personality. In addition he selected Geraldine Ferraro as a running mate. The country probably wasn't ready of a female VP (I was and used my vote :winky), and Ferraro's husband made some questionable business transactions which added more controversy.
From what I remember the country was polarized in that they loved or hated Reagan and the administration. As popular (and well deserved IMHO) as Nancy R. is now for her years of dedication to her husband and the love they shared, she was just as unpopular with many Americans in the eighties. There were books written about both Reagans how they consulted psychics when making national decisions and other strange things.

People remember only what they want to.
That is so true.

[fetskoli]

Sorry for bumping this up yet again, but I was wondering if your flags are still at have staff, and if it's still because of Reagan, I personally think that enough is enough already.

Plus today is "Flag Day" here in the :usa. I know it's not a major holiday or anything, but I thought that flags would fly the whole way up on Flag Day.

Or did someone else famous die and I missed it? :confused

[ribbon]

I heard that the flags are to be flown at half staff for thirty days in his honor.