Among the few events capable of silencing presidential campaignsand the constant buzz of war rhetoric is the passing of a formerU.S. president.
The announcement Saturday afternoon that former president RonaldReagan passed away at home surrounded by those who loved him,having battled Alzheimer's throughout the last decade of his 93years, came as little surprise yet brought sadness to many.
Reagan's life will be pored over in the days to come as thesubject of cleverly edited news reels, strings of sound bytes andglimmering anecdotes. Yet there's still much to be learned from andabout this man who belonged to a small fraternity of world leadersyet somehow managed to keep a strong connection with thepeople.
Whether loved, hated, feared or admired, Ronald Reagan left anindelible impression on our country and the world.
I'm a news junkie, so perhaps the endless loop of news footagedoesn't bother me as much as others. I spent Saturday afternoon andall day Sunday watching Reagan's political friends and enemies joina continual chorus of praise for a man who, despite years in thesometimes heartless morass of Washington politics, left office withhis soul intact.
To be sure, Reagan inspired anger in those who thought hispolicies too conservative. But even for those who once wished forhis political defeat, Reagan held a place of respect all too oftenmissing in today's political climate.
Pleasantly absent were discussions and hand-wringing over theconflict in Iraq, as Americans at once remembered a fallenpresident and those who also fell 60 years earlier on D-Day.
It's still difficult to believe that a disease such asAlzheimer's can stake such a claim on a man's memory as to rob himof any recollection, even that of being president. It's sad that inthe midst of such glowing remembrance, there's a disease thatattacks just that -- memory.
One of the many profiles of President Reagan alluded to the factthat although he was loved by so many, he enjoyed the friendship ofso few. That the man who twice won our highest office by landslideconfided in so few only adds to the mystery that was RonaldReagan.
But in a country where a boy born to poverty can in one lifetimebe both movie star and president, mystery is in no shortsupply.
Reagan's political legacy will no doubt be argued over fordecades to come, slanted in one ideological direction or theother.
What role did he truly play in ending the Cold War? What roledid he play in the Iran-Contra scandal? What role did he play inturning around a suffering American economy?
The answers to those questions will forever be secondary to thewarm feelings many Americans hold for Ronald Reagan.
