Be quiet. You need to read more about a great man so that you can distinguish between one of character and John Kerry.
Bush Says Reagan Helped Save the World Saturday, 05-Jun-2004 4:50PM Story from AP / SCOTT LINDLAW
PARIS (AP) -- President Bush mourned Ronald Reagan on Saturday as a great American who "leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save." He called Reagan's death at his home in California "a sad hour in the life of America."
Bush ordered flags flown at half-staff on federal buildings for 30 days starting Sunday.
Bush, who is in France for D-Day ceremonies, was notified of Reagan's death in Paris at about 4:10 p.m., EDT, by White House chief of staff Andy Card, who woke up the president at the U.S. ambassador's residence to deliver the news.
The president said he had talked to Reagan's widow, Nancy, and offered her the nation's prayers and condolences.
In remarks, Bush expressed the nation's thanks to Reagan for his contributions to the United States and the world.
Bush said Reagan "had the confidence that comes with conviction, the strength that comes with character, the grace that comes with humility, and the humor that comes with wisdom."
Bush said that during the years of Reagan's presidency, the nation "laid to rest an era of division and self-doubt and because of his leadership the world laid to rest an era of fear and tyranny."
Reagan's two terms in office were marked by a thaw in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, a nation he had called the "Evil Empire, that had begun at the end of World War II. |
