President Ronald Reagan (Feb. 6, 1911 – Jun. 5, 2005): A Tribute

Clark Clifford, a Democratic Party Washington insider, often called "a wise man," dismised President Reagan as “an amiable dunce.” The Democratic Party dominated MSM delighted in Clifford’s remark. It did all it could to convince the American people Reagan was a dunce, and a dangerous dunce at that.

Why, Reagan insisted on building up America’s military. He even called the Soviet Union “the evil empire.” Is that any way to treat a powerful nation we all have to learn to live with, the press kept asking?

And then there was Reagan’s plan for ending the Cold War: “It’s simple. We win. They lose.” Jimmy Carter would never think of anything like that. It took a dunce.

Today we mark the third anniversary of the death of a great President, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

You can read a brief Reagan biography here.

And this, from a speech he delivered in October, 1964, explaining why he changed parties:

You should know that I have been a lifelong Democrat until the 1960s. My first vote was cast for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He campaigned on a platform of reducing federal spending, eliminating useless federal bonds and commissions, and returning authority to the states, the communities, and the people, which, he said, had been unjustly seized by the federal government.

The theme of my speeches had been along these lines. But one day I came home from a speaking trip and said to Nancy that it had just dawned on me that I'd been making these speeches on what I thought was wrong with government and then every four years I'd campaign for the people who were doing these things.

So finally I changed parties.

And these excerpts from his inspiring Westminster Hall speech delivered to the Members of Parliament on June 8, 1984:

Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets, but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated.

The British people know that, given strong leadership, time and a little bit of hope, the forces of good ultimately rally and triumph over evil. Here among you is the cradle of self-government, the Mother of Parliaments. Here is the enduring greatness of the British contribution to mankind, the great civilized ideas: individual liberty, representative government, and the rule of law under God.

I've often wondered about the shyness of some of us in the West about standing for these ideals that have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships of our imperfect world.

This reluctance to use those vast resources at our command reminds me of the elderly lady whose home was bombed in the Blitz. As the rescuers moved about, they found a bottle of brandy she'd stored behind the staircase, which was all that was left standing. And since she was barely conscious, one of the workers pulled the cork to give her a taste of it. She came around immediately and said, ``Here now -- there now, put it back. That's for emergencies.'' [Laughter]

Well, the emergency is upon us. Let us be shy no longer. Let us go to our strength. Let us offer hope. Let us tell the world that a new age is not only possible but probable.