Posted on 06/11/2004 2:36:01 PM PDT by neverdem
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June 08, 2004, 8:42 a.m. Personal Presidential Portrait
When it comes to Ronald Reagan, we are all pointillists, hoping to create a whole portrait from dots of experience. Consider four scenes from late in his public career:
(This is Reagan's secret ingredient. No public figure so openly broadcast his devotion. Reagan understood that love, alloyed with faith, imparts unparalleled strength. Hardship only fed his ardor from the night he dragged his drunken father out of the snow and into the warmth of the family home, to disappointments in Hollywood, to gunshots and cancer surgery during a presidency, to the final onslaught of Alzheimer's. Reagan accepted reversals as the will of a God who knew better. That is the essence of love: Even in the midst of raging storms, one dreams of sunlight.)
Reagan's late-night speech closes with a blown kiss: "And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city on a hill. Before I go, I would ask the person who has made my life's journey so meaningful, someone I have been so proud of through the years, to join me. Nancy...
"My fellow Americans, on behalf of both of us, goodbye, and God bless each and every one of you, and God bless this country we love."
Scene Four: One last note from the Reagan office, this one for the American people, dated November 5, 1994. It is written in his hand, and concludes: "When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day 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."
Four dots. How many more have we to portray the man?
Tony Snow is host of The Tony Snow Show on Fox News Radio and Weekend Live on Fox News Channel. He was director of speechwriting for President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and 1992.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/snow200406080842.asp
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In 1980 I changed my voter registration from Independant to Republican so I could vote for Ronald Reagan in the California primary. My life has been better for it.
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