PUTTING THE WILSON IN RONALD REAGAN:

Speaker’s Remarks at the State Funeral Of the late President Ronald Wilson Reagan (Dennis J. Hastert, June 8 , 2004)

“His story and values are quintessentially American.

“Born in Tampico, Illinois, and then raised in Dixon, Illinois, he moved west to follow his dreams. He brought with him a Midwestern optimism, and he blended it with a western ‘can do’ spirit.

“In 1980, the year of the ‘Reagan Revolution,’ his vision of hope, growth, and opportunity was exactly what the American people needed and wanted. His message touched a fundamental chord that is deeply embedded in the American experience.

“President Reagan dared to dream that America had a special mission. He believed in the essential goodness of the American people—and that we had a special duty to promote peace and freedom for the rest of the world.

“Against the advice of the timid, he sent a chilling message to authoritarian governments everywhere, that the civilized world would not rest—until freedom reigned—in every corner of the globe.

“While others worried, President Reagan persevered. When others weakened, President Reagan stood tall. When others stepped back, President Reagan stepped forward. And he did it all with great humility, with great charm, and with great humor.

“Tonight, we will open these doors and let the men and women who Ronald Reagan served so faithfully, file past and say good-bye to a man who meant so much to so many.

“It is their being here that I think would mean more to him than any words we say.

“Because it was from America’s great and good people that Ronald Reagan drew his strength.

“We will tell our grandchildren about this night when we gathered to honor the man from Illinois who became the son of California and then the son of all America.

“And our grandchildren will tell their grandchildren—and President Reagan’s spirit and eternal faith in America will carry on.

“Ronald Reagan helped make our country and this world a better place to live. But he always believed that our best days were ahead of us, not behind us.

“I can still hear him say, with that twinkle in his eye, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet!’

“President Reagan once said, ‘We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.’

“Twenty years ago, President Reagan stood on the beaches of Normandy, to honor those who made a life, by what they gave.

“Recalling the men who scaled the cliffs and crossed the beaches in a merciless hail of bullets, he asked, who were these men—these ordinary men doing extraordinary things?

“His answer was simple and direct: They were Americans.

“So I can think of no higher tribute or honor or title to confer upon Ronald Reagan than to simply say: He was an American.

“Godspeed, Mr. President.

“God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

President Pro Tempore Senator Ted Stevens Offers Eulogy In Honor Of President Ronald Reagan (Ted Stevens, 6/09/04)

PRESIDENT REAGAN SHOWED US FREEDOM WAS NOT JUST A SLOGAN; HE ACTUALLY BROUGHT FREEDOM TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AROUND THIS GLOBE BY OPPOSING OPPRESSIVE REGIMES. THOSE OF US FROM THE WORLD WAR II GENERATION LOOKED UP TO HIM FOR HIS MORAL COURAGE; IN HIM WE SAW THE LEADERSHIP OF GREAT MEN LIKE EISENHOWER WHO LED THE WAY AND MOVED US TO FOLLOW.

ON A WINTER DAY IN 1981, RONALD REAGAN STOOD ON THE STEPS THAT LIE JUST BEYOND THESE DOORS TO DELIVER HIS FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS. HE SPOKE OF A JOURNAL WRITTEN BY A YOUNG AMERICAN WHO WENT TO FRANCE IN 1917 AND DIED FOR THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM. FROM THAT JOURNAL HE READ THESE WORDS:

“I WILL WORK, I WILL SAVE, I WILL
SACRIFICE, I WILL ENDURE, I WILL
FIGHT CHEERFULLY AND DO MY UTMOST, AS IF THE ISSUE OF THE WHOLE STRUGGLE DEPENDED ON ME ALONE.”

THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, RONALD REAGAN BORE OUR BURDENS AS IF THE OUTCOME DID DEPEND ON HIM ALONE. WE WILL ALL REMEMBER HIM AS AN UNPARALLELED LEADER AND AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN WHO LIFTED OUR NATION AND SET THE WORLD ON A NEW PATH.

Vice President's Remarks at President Reagan's Funeral (Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol Rotunda, 6/09/04)

He once said, "There's no question I am an idealist, which is another way of saying I am an American." We usually associate that quality with youth, and yet one of the most idealistic men ever to become president was also the oldest. He excelled in professions that have left many others jaded and self-satisfied, and yet somehow remained untouched by the worst influences of fame or power. If Ronald Reagan ever uttered a cynical, or cruel, or selfish word, the moment went unrecorded. Those who knew him in his youth, and those who knew him a lifetime later, all remember his largeness of spirit, his gentle instincts, and a quiet rectitude that drew others to him.

Seen now, at a distance, his strengths as a man and as a leader are only more impressive. It's the nature of the city of Washington that men and women arrive, leave their mark, and go their way. Some figures who seemed quite large and important in their day are sometimes forgotten, or remembered with ambivalence. Yet nearly a generation after the often impassioned debates of the Reagan years, what lingers from that time is almost all good. And this is because of the calm and kind man who stood at the center of events.

We think back with appreciation for the decency of our 40th president, and respect for all that he achieved. After so much turmoil in the '60s and '70s, our nation had begun to lose confidence, and some were heard to say that the presidency might even be too big for one man. That phrase did not survive the 1980s. For decades, America had waged a Cold War, and few believed it could possibly end in our own lifetimes. The President was one of those few. And it was the vision and will of Ronald Reagan that gave hope to the oppressed, shamed the oppressors, and ended an evil empire. More than any other influence, the Cold War was ended by the perseverance and courage of one man who answered falsehood with truth, and overcame evil with good.

Ronald Reagan was more than an historic figure. He was a providential man, who came along just when our nation and the world most needed him. And believing as he did that there is a plan at work in each life, he accepted not only the great duties that came to him, but also the great trials that came near the end. When he learned of his illness, his first thoughts were of Nancy. And who else but Ronald Reagan could face his own decline and death with a final message of hope to his country, telling us that for America there is always a bright dawn ahead. Fellow Americans, here lies a graceful and a gallant man.

If any doubt still remains, these three eulogies by Republican leaders amply demonstrate how Ronald Reagan transformed the GOP from the isolationist/nativist party of Buchananite dreams into a messianic militarist force in the world. One would expect that President Bush's will
even more firmly establish the Reagan legacy as being one of America as the global crusader for freedom.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2004 12:44 PM