MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT REAGAN - FAREWELL AND THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT

Twenty five years ago today was the beginning of the Reagan revolution. As he took the oath of office President Reagan restored to America her greatness and gave himself to each of us with an assurance that we all needed in ourselves and our country. His impact on history is still being measured and felt. He brought us together as a nation as few before him and no one since. Even in death President Reagan brought us together by the millions in a celebration of the life of this great American. He will always be missed as we will always look for another Reagan and find that all will fall short in comparison. Shortly after his passing in 2004 and at the on set of this blog I wrote a tribute to President Reagan and as we come to the end of this week celebrating the beginning of the Reagan Presidency I would like to share with you again my tribute to President Ronald Wilson Reagan.

He always referred to them as, "the "L" word", ("L" of course meaning liberal). They.... well they regarded him with disdain in many ways yet that disdain contained a great respect for a great man. They said," Oh he's just an actor." He said, "I don't see how you can be President without being an actor." He then became one of our greatest Presidents and possibly the greatest of the twentieth century. They said, " we have to accept communism and for our own safety live under it's threat." He said, "Mr Gorbechev tear down this wall, " and the wall came down along with the collapse of the, "evil empire," and those states held under its iron fist. They said, " we, as Americans must grow accustomed to a lesser way of life." He said, "America will always be a shining city on a hill," and we were once again proud to wave the flag and shed a tear as we sang of, "the rockets red glare." They said, "The answer to our problems is government expansion and more entitlements." He said, " Government is not the answer to the problem, Government is the problem!" With those words entitlements decreased, regulations relaxed, government intrusion in our lives lessoned and we as a country prospered. They said, "we'll pay for it with more taxes." He said, "give the people their money back and watch what they do." His trust and faith in the American people brought the largest tax cut, (up until that time), in American history and the people did not disappoint him. Millions of jobs were created, income grew at a record pace and the country recovered from the worst economy since the depression. He left office after eight tremendous years and they said, " his influence will fade." That influence only grew as we realized how much he meant to us. He then shared with his beloved America the fear and sadness of a failing mind due to a devastating disease. Even then his faith in us and his belief in America shined through the sorrow. As the years passed they said, "all of our problems come from the excess of the 80's ." On June 5, 2004 his long battle ended as he left his beloved America for the last time. On his behalf, the American people responded to them by the millions with an outpouring of love for this man from Dixon, Illinois who taught each of us how to be an American! Now he sits beside Lincoln and Washington as the guardian angels of liberty and freedom, forever reminding us that this, "shining city on a hill, " this country and this flag that we so dearly love will always be a beacon of hope to the world. Thank you and farewell Mr. President!......Ronald Wilson Reagan 1911-2004

Ken Taylor

MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT REAGAN - THE GREAT PATRIOT

When President Reagan took office on January 20, 1981 we as a country were suffering from a patriotic depression. The economy was in a shambles. United States strength and prestige throughout the world was at an all time low. The country through the lives of several of our citizens had been held hostage by Islamic fanatics in Iran for more than four hundred days. We had lost our pride and our feeling of security in our freedoms that had always been America. President Reagan took the oath of office on that cold winters morning and as he said, "so help me God, " took us as a people under his wing and began to return to us what had faded, our patriotism and belief that America was the hope for liberty and freedom in a world filled with chaos. " We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding--we are going to begin to act, beginning today." Within the text of his inaugural Reagan began to rebuild the hope that was lost. "And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom." With his very first words as President this great patriot shared with us his pride in America and her people and brought out within us that same feeling of pride and American patriotism found a new start because of Ronald Reagan. We once again waved the flag and expressed to the world that we are Americans and through our free land and the ability within each of us as individuals exercising that freedom we would once again stand tall and as Americans can and will overcome any hardship or adversity. That is what President Reagan brought out in us. He had the marvelous ability because of his unwavering belief in the American ideal and in the strength of a free people that this land that we love was as Reagan put it, "a shining city on a hill, " and would always be the last best hope for the world. In every speech and expression President Reagan, as "the Great Communicator," reminded us of our heritage and who we were as a people. He lifted us up because he believed in us and most of all he believed in America. He expressed through his words and his actions what we new within our hearts was America and the light of liberty that he rekindled in us and our land once again shined throughout the world as a beacon of freedom and the world stood up a took notice as our prestige and respect returned. When President Reagan said, "God bless America, " you knew that he not only meant it but it was the fervent prayer of his heart. Even in his last days this great patriot expressed through his final letter his belief in us and his love for America, "In closing let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you. Sincerely, Ronald Reagan"Always the patriot, always believing in us as a people and always the true American. That was Ronald Reagan.

Ken Taylor

MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT REAGAN - "MR GORBECHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL"

One of the crowning moments in the Presidency of Ronald Reagan took place on a bright day in Berlin, Germany when the President stood in front of the Berlin Wall and demanded that Chairman Mikhail Gorbechev the Leader of the Soviet Union, "tear down, " the Berlin Wall allowing freedom to thrive in the oppressed Eastern Block countries of Europe. Following WWII partly because of weak agreeements made between the Allied Powers for the rebuilding of Europe after the war and partly because of Soviet aggression that was engineered by Josef Stalin the Soviet leader at the time the United States found herself in what was called, "The Cold War." A war of words and positioning that kept the world on the brink of possible nuclear destruction as the worlds two super powers played a cat and mouse game. The United States tried to coral communist expansionism while the Soviet Union was on the move taking countries as part of an ever expanding Soviet Empire. Several attempts were made by President's from Eisenhower to Carter through treaties and agreements to counter Soviet aggression but most failed or at best prevented further escalation. President Reagan had long been an outspoken opponent to communism well before he entered office. Upon becoming President he called a spade a spade and in his first State of the Union address shortly after becoming President called the Soviet Union, "the Evil Empire, " and made it United States policy to end the Cold War and the threat of communism and nuclear destruction. His plan basically consisted of tremendously building our military capability knowing that the Soviets would be forced to compete. The difference being that because of their oppressed economic situation it would eventually force the Soviets to the bargaining table and ultimately end the Evil Empire. In 1986 President Reagan met with Chairman Gorbechev in Reykjavik, Iceland and when Gorbechev tried to strong arm Reagan as previous Soviet leaders had with other President's, Reagan actually walked out on him and refused to budge. Goebechev realized eventually that Reagan was a force to recon with and through many other meetings and continued buildup, what President Reagan believed would happen did. In 1989 during the summer after he left office the Soviet Union fell and the Berlin Wall came down. I realize that this description is a quick and very brief overview of events that changed the world but the point is that through his strength both in character and in the inherent fact that all men wish to be free and the belief that the United States was/is the last best hope for freedom, President Reagan was proven right despite his critics and tremendous out cry against his ideal. Communism as a force on earth ended and The Soviet Union was re-born as Russia and the world changed for the better thanks to Ronald Reagan.

Ken Taylor

MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT REAGAN - HIS SENSE OF HUMOR

Whenever I think of President Reagan I always think of the great sense of humor that he possessed which had the ability to make you laugh in the most serious moments as a relief from the trouble at hand and also could disarm even his most harsh critics. Sam Donaldson the ABC White House correspondent during the Reagan years was always trying to trip up the President or get him to admit to something rash, in other words a typical Washington reporter except that Donaldson was louder and much more persistent than most. I cannot remember a time when President Reagan was tripped up by Donaldson or when he was not able to disarm Sam or give him reason to laugh. Donaldson mentioned Reagan's marvelous sense of humor when inteview and covering his funeral in June of 2004. Another highlight that I remember of the President's humor was concerning his age. Reagan was the oldest man ever elected to the White House and as such our oldest President. His age was always used against him during campaigns and Reagan as usual disarmed this attempt with his sense of humor. When quoting Thomas Jefferson he referred to the quote in the first person as if he was there in conversation with the third President. During a debate with Walter Mondale he said that he would not make his opponents youth and inexperience a subject of the campaign. Reagan's sense of humor was always a bright spot in all of his speeches and in his press conferences. Always the gentleman and always one step ahead of reporters opponents and political adversaries.

Ken Taylor
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/07/48hours/main621459.shtml

MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT REAGAN - THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Having been born in 1956 I have lived through one Presidential assassination and one nearly successful one. For those of you who have never experienced an event like this it is one that you never forget. I was only seven when President Kennedy was assassinated and to this day can remember in detail the events of November 22, 1963. Both events in Dallas and Washington and in my own home and community. Another such event happened on March 30, 1981 when John Hinkley Jr. in an attempt to impress actress Jodi Foster shot and nearly killed President Reagan only 70 days into his Presidency. I was living in Atlanta, Georgia at the time and was driving down Buford Highway when the news broke and had to pull over to the side of the road because I could not believe what I was hearing. My work closed for the day and I went home and stayed glued to the television as events unfolded. At first it was reported and believed that President Reagan had not been hit. But as the Presidential motorcade was making its way back to the White House the President began having breathing problems and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Doctors at first could not find any reason or wound that would cause the problem until a small hole was found under his arm which revealed a bullet that had entered the chest cavity narrowly missing major arteries and the heart and lodging near the lung. President Reagan despite severe pain and being on the verge of death still kept his marvelous sense of humor. When he saw Nancy for the first time he said, "I forgot to duck, " and as he was entering surgery to remove the bullet he expressed to the Doctors, "I hope you're all Republicans." To which the Democrat Doctor replied, "right now Mr President, we're ALL Republicans." The assassination attempt caused a problem within the administration as Vice President Bush was out of the city and much of Reagan's close staff was at the hospital. Secretary of State Alexander Haige took the reins at the White House and this caused some eyebrows to raise. One of the major concerns that the country faced during this time was the distinct possibility that the Soviets would take advantage of the situation and make a move in Europe. When VP Bush returned to Washington he refused to exercise the 25th amendment that gives the VP, Presidential authority when a majority of the cabinet agrees that the President is not able to perform his duties. This too caused some tense moments for both the administration and the country. Many events of the day were either canceled or postponed. The Stock Exchange closed and the government as a whole ground to a halt until news that President Reagan had survived the attempt was known. At seventy years old President Reagan still had the strength and stamina to survive this attempt on his life and went on to serve as President two terms. It pains me to know that the man who nearly killed a President is now allowed to leave his confinement to spend weekends at home with his parents. This will always be a day that remains fresh in my memory.

Ken Taylor

HOW REAGAN CHANGED MY LIFE

As we approach the anniversary of the Reagan inauguration, I keep thinking back to my days in elementary school. At that time I became very aware of politics at a young age. I read and understood thing that most teenagers could care less about at the time. And I owe it all to one man, Ronald Reagan. After the Carter administration, America needed strong leadership. The kind of leadership that would stare in the face of evil and not back down. America had some foreign policy matters that had been left unsolved in Iran. We also faced the tyranny of USSR. Not to mention an economy that had been left in shambles. Everyone at the time new it would take a determined and strong leader to take us in to the 1980's. And Ronald Reagan was the man for the job. What I remember most about Reagan was his sense of humor. Even in the most dyer situations, he could always bring a smile to your face. To many of us in the 80's he served as a father figure. A man whom stood for what he believed in, and never backed down.As a child I needed to see someone like this. My childhood was not the happiest, but I always knew that we were safe, the economy was well off, and by knowing that I could sleep at night without worry. The biggest effect that Reagan had on my life, well that's hard to say. He stood for all the things I was taught in church and at home. He spoke like people in my hometown, (no big wig Washington talk) and when there was a big problem facing the country, He took it to the American public. Reagan represented the best America had to offer. He often said that America's best asset are it's citizens. You and me. I think that is something that the American people need to hear from politicians. It gives us hope for a better tomorrow. It give us the kind of confidence that helped to build our great nation.I don't know if we will ever see another Reagan. But we all always looking for one. Every Republican since him has been compared to him, or has invoked his name during campaigns. I always hear people on the street (during campaign season) refer to his name when speaking about this guy or that guy. The effect Reagan had on this nation was a once in a lifetime event. Not only did he change the face of the Republican party, he changed the face of a nation. And for that we will always be grateful.
Thanks Ronnie.

John Oliver Benton III