BREAKING - RONALD REAGAN HAS DIED

[qwerty]

AP ANNONCES THE DEATH OF THE GIPPER

[MHS2002]

Just saw it...a sad day for America...

[Josh/Devilman88]

very sad. The best Pres. EVER to live.

[Brambila]

Today is definately one of the most mournful day since 9/11. He was undoubtedly one of few greatest presidents in American history. He was an excellent leader. I pray that he will be remembered as what he was, one of the greatest presidents in United States history.

[Justin]

May god show his eternal light upon him and may he forever be at rest...

[TheWildCard]

Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest Presidents America has ever had.

He is in a better place now may he rest in peace

[Josh/Devilman88]

why has only rep. posted?

[KEmperor]

A great loss for this country, he will be missed.

[JohnFKennedy]

Rest his soul. Good Guy, I didn't always agree with him, but he was a good guy, and a good President.

[Michael Z]

I agree. It doesn't matter what you think about Reagan's policies, he had a good heart. I grew up in the 80s and will always remember him as that friendly old man on the telly. Sad news.

R.I.P.

[Tory]

Awful news. Absolutely ruined my day.

[afleitch]

Ronald Reagan, to me, to someone born the year of his re-election, to me as a Brit, alive and well in the era of Thatcherism and Reaganomics, to me Reagan is a cross partisan hero plain and simple. He was upbeat and determined, but humble and not an opportunist. Himself and Thatcher re-introduced the free and open market economic policies that allows us to this very day, to choose who will provide our internet connection or where we buy our groceries. They kept prices down and put the consumer back in charge. We owe everything to those two giants, one of whom has now passed on. To Reagan and to America I say your city is still shining on the hill, but for today at least, it is that little bit dimmer. Rest in Peace.

[Storebought]

When I was a wee one, I would get Reagan and Transformers superhero Optimus Prime confused.

Sure, I was a moron, but at least I could see in a childish way that Reagan a good guy and a great president.

[Defarge]

A worthy opponent, the man who ushered in an era of conservatism unmatched since the 1920's, an era which we will end this November.  But a remarkable man nonetheless.  Mr. President, may you rest in peace.

[PBrunsel]

He's gone, the Gipper is now gone.

I am upset. He came so far from Tampico to Washington. His life is the Great American story.

[Josh/Devilman88]

He's gone, the Gipper is now gone.

I am upset. He came so far from Tampico to Washington. His life is the Great American story.

Bush will win one for the Gipper this Nov!

[Nation]

He's gone, the Gipper is now gone.

I am upset. He came so far from Tampico to Washington. His life is the Great American story.

Bush will win one for the Gipper this Nov!

Keep Bush and Kerry off this thread, if you will.


"The Great Communicator" was one that inspired awe in me with a lot of his speeches, even though I disagree with what he did on a lot of stuff. I feel that God will welcome him with open arms. Nancy must be relieved, at the very least.

[Gustaf]

A sad day, I just got home and saw it on the internet. Ronald Reagan was a great president, though who did his share of mistakes and I did not agree with him on everything. But he and Margaret Thatcher did a lot to restore confidence in the West and this is a day of mourning.

[KEmperor]

He's gone, the Gipper is now gone.

I am upset. He came so far from Tampico to Washington. His life is the Great American story.

Bush will win one for the Gipper this Nov!

Keep Bush and Kerry off this thread, if you will.

I agree, this is not the time for modern day politics, but to honor a great man who has now passed.

[migrendel]

This was indeed momentous news. The most influential president since Franklin Roosevelt has passed away, and an era in of our times is over. He now belongs to history. My condolences are of course with his family.

Ronald Reagan was said to have rejuvenated America with a promise of a better nation at home and a renewed respect abroad. But to me, his presidency was one of dreams deferred and promises unfulfilled. For those in America who were well off, those years were indeed wonderful ones. But for those who were weak, who were vulnerable, they were painful ones that simply had to be endured, as their already tenuous existence became an even more precarious balancing act during the second coming of laissez-faire.

Ronald Reagan's foreign policy alienated the outside world. He supported the Nicaraguan Contras, even at the expense of opposing the popularly supported government. He intervened in Libya and Grenada, which merely caused civilian deaths and perpetuated a cycle of violence. He backed the Strategic Defense Initiative, which broughts us one step closer to the nightmare of nuclear holocaust. And that is to say nothing of Iran-Contra.

The tumultuous present now becomes the august past, and time at last has come for the muse of history to sound her judgment. We begin the process of remembering what has happened, but our perspective is still alive with the distinctly palpable memories of Ronald Reagan.

[dazzleman]

Here are some of my thoughts about what Ronald Reagan meant to my generation of Americans:

When Ronald Reagan was running for re-election in 1984, political commentators wondered about the reasons for the strong popularity among young people of this man old enough to be their grandfather. Having lived through that time as a young adult, I think I know why.

My generation grew up under the negativism of urban riots, the Vietnam War, Watergate, economic stagflation and the threatening spectre of Soviet aggression. My high school years were spent under President Jimmy Carter, and consisted of increasingly threatening developments at home and overseas. A very bleak picture of the future was painted for us at this time, with skyrocketing inflation, declining US power and economic downturn. Our whole lives were spent in a period of decline, so much so that we thought that was the only way conditions could go. It was only a question of how fast. The icing on the cake was the seizure of the American hostages by radical Islamic fanatics and Iran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, within weeks of each other. The talk at the time was of economic collapse and world war.

Against the backdrop of these developments, Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. I cast my first vote ever for him that year, mainly because I thought anybody would be better than Carter. But Reagan did so much more than I expected. Almost as if by magic, the gloomy atmosphere that pervaded over a decade starting to lift once Ronald Reagan took office. For those of my generation, we learned for the first time that things can get better, and that we could have a bright future. By 1984, Reagan was talking about "Morning in America" and that really was how we felt, for the first time in our lives.

Many in my generation have prospered in the ensuing years beyond what we could have ever expected back in the dark days that preceded Ronald Reagan, as we were entering adulthood. I have always appreciated, and will always appreciate, the positive effect that Ronald Reagan has had upon the lives of my generation.

Rest in peace, Ronald Reagan.  You're in God's care now.

[NYGOP]

Reagan is the reason I am a Republican. My condolences to his family.

[The Duke]

In my life, I have never known double digit inflation.  I have never known double digit unemployment.  I do not remeber the Soviet Union.  I have never had to fear nuclear holocaust.  All of these things are true because of Ronald Reagan.  I believe that my life is better specifically because of this one man, and I am not alone.  The nation he left us with was totally unrecognizable from that which he inherited in 1980, and it was for the better.

Thank you, Mr. President.  For everything.

[MN-EDR]

Regan was a good President soley because he was an optimist, and he brought peopl out of the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate funk. I wasn't alive for most of his Presidency, but as far as I know he was a good guy personally, his worldview and beliefs made him do less than nice things -- ie Grenada, Iran-Contra, etc. He was a habitual liar, but I think only because he didn't realize how serious it was for the POTUS to lie -- even if it was just telling a story to entertain. However, I would STRONGLY disagree with his being prclaimed the best President ever. The best President ever was FDR, and George Washington is only close because the sheer force of who he was puts him there. I'm glad he's no longer President, but I'm sorry he died -- and sorry that it took a presonal affliction for Nancy Regan to realize how important stemcell research is. As long as w're talking about his accomplishments, I'd like to say that his making th USSR collapse most certainly is not one. He didn't. Think of it in metaphor; the Titanic didn't sink in minutes --and the USSR couldn't sink specifically because of one President's policies. Communism was defunct by 1980, it was really just a matter of time at that point --excluding a 180 turn by the US.

[kfseattle]

One of the icons of American history has passed from this earth.
I find it hard to go on without getting political, which is obviously innapropriate at this time.

I bow my head in respect and rememberance.  May he rest in peace.