This afternoon Ex president Ronald reagan has died at the age of 93 due to failed health due to alzheimers..

I have extreme distaste for his political "legacy", but I am glad he is now at peace.
God bless his family at this time.

Even when you are expecting it, the loss of a loved one is a horrible thing to
have to deal with.

it's a strange thing, but after watching the biopic "the reagans" that caused such a stink a while back, i gained a bit more respect and admiration for ronald reagan. he was a complex man and a very simple man at the same time. he was like the grandfather who you loved to death but made you cringe every time he talked about social politics. i was just a kid when he was president, and i didn't really understand a lot of what was going on in the country or the world, but i remember him as one of those presidents who had with people who had fun with him and his image. he had a sense of humor about how he was percieved - the "well" thing, the jellybeans, bedtime for bonzo, the slopey hair, all that - he knew people were laughing at him, and by smiling at it all, he made america laugh WITH him. on that level, i think he was an admirable leader. don't get me started on the other levels of his presidency cuz it's not nice to speak ill of the dead, but the man deserves a certain modicum of respect and a genuine RIP.

40th President Ronald Reagan 1911- 2004


40th President, Ronald Reagan, dies in California.

By Robert A. Rankin

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States largely credited with ushering in an era of conservative politics and pursuing a foreign policy that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Saturday at his home in California after a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 93.

The president’s death had been anticipated for the past several days and came at 1:09 p.m. Pacific time (4:09 p.m. EDT), the White House confirmed. President Bush, in France for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D Day, was expected to issue a statement later Saturday.

The flag at the White House was lowered to half-staff within minutes of the former president’s death. There was no immediate announcement of funeral or mourning plans.

Born into poverty in 1911, raised in several small Illinois towns, Reagan turned a Depression-era radio sports-announcing job into a springboard to Hollywood fame and fortune. After a successful quarter-century career in movies and on television, at age 53 he turned his energies to politics full time and quickly became the inspirational leader of conservative Republicans nationwide.

After two terms as California's governor from 1967 to 1975, Reagan, at age 69, in 1980 became the oldest man ever elected president, America's 40th. Four years later he swept to a landslide re-election, winning 49 of 50 states. He left office in 1989 with the highest public approval rating - 63 percent in the Gallup poll _ of any departing president since Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945.

History records a mixed legacy from Reagan's presidency. He cut taxes and spending sharply upon taking power, but by the time he left office the government was bigger and spent more than ever - and the national debt had tripled.

He calmly counseled patience through the nation's worst recession since the 1930s, then presided over one of the richest periods of prosperity in history, but did little to shrink the growing gap between rich and poor.

He greatly strengthened the military, then helped end the Cold War by boldly striking agreements with the Soviet Union to reduce nuclear arsenals for the first time.

Reagan's greatest achievements, however, arguably were symbolic, perhaps even spiritual. He renewed the American spirit of can-do optimism after almost 20 years of doldrums from Vietnam, Watergate, economic stagnation.

He typically slept eight hours a night and worked 9 to 5:30, with Wednesday afternoons off. "Show me an executive who works long overtime hours, and I'll show you a bad executive,'' he said more than once

Since there's already a lengthy thread about this in the Politics & Religion forum, and since this will likely turn into a political discussion, I'm going to lock this with a link to the abovementioned thread in P&R:

http://www.prince.org/msg/105/97069

See you there!