President Reagan quotes

[yellowwing]

Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
Ronald Reagan

You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes

I'm kind of disappointed this last one was him horsing around. I would have loved to have seen the Soviet Naval Infantry try to keep me and the lads out of Murmansk!

[cjwright90]

Don't forget the one about the Marines!

[yellowwing]

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." -PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN 1985

How could I forget!

Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence. - Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1970

We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. - Address to National Association of Realtors, March 28, 1982

And of course:
Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! - Speech near the Berlin Wall, 1987

...and President Reagan had such chutzpah, Gorbie did!

Now everyone has polls, lobbyists, and spin doctors. The brass to tell the unvarnished truth. That is worthy.

[HardJedi]

I sure did like Reagan. Had 9/11 happened during his time in Office, I believe things would be much different

[cjwright90]

Reagan was a cowboy, right. At least he played one on TV. Would have done things differently, for sure.

[Sgted]

I often pause and think of Reagan and how Alzhiemers has taken him away.
We have not heard from him in years.
He is but a shell of his former self.
It is, for me, very sad indeed.

[yellowwing]

Reagan's Health Said to Have Deteriorated
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040605/ap_on_go_pr_wh/reagan_health&cid=544&ncid=716)

Former President Ronald Reagan's health has deteriorated, the White House has been told. The White House was informed that the 93-year-old former president's health had changed significantly in the past several days, a person familiar with Reagan's condition said Saturday.

Reagan has been out of the public eye since disclosing a decade ago that he had Alzheimer's disease. He has lived longer than any other U.S. president.

Rumors about Reagan's health arose Friday and his office in California said it had received more than 300 calls over the past two days.

"He's 93 years old. He's had Alzheimer's disease for 10 years. There are plenty of rumors. When there is something significant to report I will do so," the Reagan family's chief of staff, Joanne Drake, told The Associated Press on Saturday.

White House officials also checked on Reagan's health Friday. The White House was told his health has deteriorated and "the time is getting close," according to the person familiar with Reagan's health, who did not want to be identified out of sensitivity to the family.

Reagan's condition has changed significantly for the worse in the past several days, this person said.

News about Reagan's health came as President Bush arrived in the French capital, the second stop on his trip to Europe.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan, at a fund-raiser last month for human embryonic research, described the toll that Alzheimer's has taken on her husband.

"Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him," she said. "Because of this I'm determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this."

Nancy Reagan and others believe the use of stem cells from embryos could lead to cures for such illnesses as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Such research is generally opposed by political conservatives and many anti-abortion groups because it involves the destruction of days-old human embryos. President Bush signed an executive order in 2001 limiting research to existing embryonic stem cell lines.

Reagan celebrated his birthday Feb. 6 in seclusion at his Los Angeles home. The nation's 40th chief executive, who broke his hip in a fall at his home in 2001, has rarely been seen in public since his poignant letter announcing he had the memory-sapping disease.

In that note on Nov. 5, 1994, Reagan said, "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."

[thedrifter]

[N]o arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981.

We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

Farewell Address to the Nation, January 20th, 1989.

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.

Normandy, France, June 6, 1984

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.

Normandy, France, June 6, 1984.

The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond? In the end, it all comes down to leadership, and that is what this country is looking for now.

RNC Annual Gala, Feb. 3, 1994