Reaction To Reagan’s Passing From Around The Blogosphere

by John Hawkins | June 7, 2004 12:05 am

“I hated him when he was President. Now I’m a 38 year-old man who can’t stop crying. And that’s the truth.” — Dean Esmay at Dean’s World[1]

“It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly ten years since Reagan left the public scene with his announcement that he had Alzheimers. He’s had such a profound impact on my life and has been the best President of my lifetime. The country was a mess when he tookover – interest rates in the low teens, inflation high and unemployment high – and when he left office the country had been transformed. I’ve missed him for the last decade or so and I’ll continue to miss him.” — Robert Prather from Insults Unpunished[2]

“I didn’t vote for him (I was still a Democrat), but enjoyed (and enjoy) the benefits of his presidency and its after-effects. It’s a sad day, but he’s been released from his purgatory of Alzheimer’s disease. God rest your soul, Mister President.” — Baldilocks[3]

“I don’t know what to say. I grew up with Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. I remember the day in fourth grade, sitting at home after school, watching coverage of the Challenger disaster and seeing the president’s response. I remember seeing him behind that desk, telling us about an air strike launched against Libya. I remember him saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” I remember watching as the Soviet Union collapsed. I remember watching that wall come down. I remember thinking it was his work that allowed it to happen. I remember watching the 84 election on television and being giddy as I watched state after state blink blue in landslide victories. I remember how just listening to him made me feel good to be an American. That it was OK to be proud – that it was right. I remember thinking that he was winning so easily because other people felt the same way. I remember him.” — Zygote-Design[4]

“The announcement of Reagan’s passing left me with a lump in my throat as well. Regardless of what others may say of him and his life, he was a man who embodied statesmanship when America needed it. I will miss him.” — D.C. Thornton[5]

“Of President Reagan I can only say this: I loved him because he taught me to love my country. I don’t mean he made me love the Laffer Curve or Peace Through Strength or the Idea that Reagan Beat Communism — although these are things I all believe in, in one way or another. Ronald Reagan made be believe that you could believe in something at once both earthly and beyond yourself. He made me believe that the world need not be cynical and power mad, but could be decent and free. He made me believe in a political enterprise — the American enterprise — which could deliver that message to the world.” — Andrew at Pathetic Earthlings[6]

“Maybe it’s because I lost my father recently, but I have been quite upset by Reagan’s passing today. He was a larger-then-life figure, and a personal hero not only to me but to countless other people. He was our last truly great president. He was the first president I really remember, and during my teenage years he exemplified everything that I currently love about America. I think that’s one of the reasons that this has affected me so deeply—Reagan was America, and with his death it’s as if a little piece of America died with him. He wouldn’t agree with that sentiment, of course; he understood that the American experiment is bigger than any one man. But it’s fair to say that the world is a drastically different and far better place because of Reagan’s influence, wisdom, ideas, and steely resolve in the face of right and wrong.” — Lee from Right-Thinking From The Left Coast[7]

“So much to say about this fine man but I’d rather keep my thoughts to myself. What I will say is that he brought a bright ray of hope to a very young girl who thought that there just may be no future for us. I will always be grateful to former President Ronald Reagan.

“What I’d really like to do is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.”

He did that for me.

“I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Many try to bring this country down, even some of our own countrymen. Many blame this country for everything, even some of our own countrymen. But this country will come out on top, this country is strong and this country will have many bright dawns ahead because of men like Reagan.

Rest In Peace, sir.” — Serenity from Serenity’s Journal[8]

“My family is from the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. They left that nation in order to come to America for a better life. They hated Communism almost as much as President Reagan. I remember when I was 7 years old, in 1984, attending a speech by President Reagan in NJ. I don’t remember any of the speech, or many images from that day, other than the view of the backs of people’s legs…….I do remember that my family was extremely proud to be there, to see a speech by President Reagan. Growing up I learned why. Conservatives and moderates in America weren’t the only people on Earth that truly loved Ronald Reagan. People who lived behind the Communist Iron Curtain also loved the man. He was hope and freedom personified. Words fail me at this point. All I can think of is: Rest in peace President Reagan.” — Reader Michael Dobric at The Corner[9]

“I hope you will forgive this sentimental note. I have been greatly saddened by the death of President Reagan and felt the need to commemorate his passing by writing a few lines in his memory. Having grown up in communist Czechoslovakia, I have seen, first hand, the material and, more importantly, spiritual devastation that socialism brings. Generations of people in Eastern Europe were impoverished and their morality and sense of self-worth annihilated by a corrupt, inherently dishonest and tyrannical value system. Thanks to Reagan, people like me were set free at a young age. Untainted by socialism, we were allowed our most basic right – to pursue happiness in a place and manner of our choosing. But, it did not have to happen that way! Were the Soviet bloc allowed to continue in its miserable existence for another two decades, my generation would have morphed into that great-gray mass of people that the historians write off as ‘lost.’ It is not a hyperbole to say that Reagan gave us our freedom and for that I am eternally thankful.” – from a Czech friend at Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish[10]

Endnotes:
  1. Dean’s World: http://www.deanesmay.com/archives/007661.html#007661
  2. Insults Unpunished: http://www.insultsunpunished.com/archives/2004/06/05/reagans-death/
  3. Baldilocks: http://baldilocks.typepad.com/baldilocks/2004/06/out_like_a_lamb.html
  4. Zygote-Design: http://www.zygote-design.com/index.php?p=553
  5. D.C. Thornton: http://www.dcthornton.com/index.php?p=1674
  6. Pathetic Earthlings: http://patheticearthlings.com/archives/001299.html
  7. Right-Thinking From The Left Coast: http://www.right-thinking.com
  8. Serenity’s Journal: http://www.serenitysjournal.com/index.php?/weblog/goodbye_mr_president/
  9. The Corner: http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_06_06_corner-archive.asp#033261
  10. Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish: http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2004_06_06_dish_archive.html#108655698816150127

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