Regards, Ivan
In memoriam
Posted on 06/10/2004 5:28:21 PM PDT by MadIvan
Lady Thatcher and Nancy Reagan held an emotional reunion in Washington yesterday on the eve of the state funeral for the 40th president.
As the city filled with more than 1,000 world leaders and dignitaries, Mrs Reagan made time to invite her husband's old friend and ally to tea at the presidential guesthouse, Blair House, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Earlier, Lady Thatcher visited the US Capitol Rotunda where President Reagan's body is lying in state, laying her hand briefly on the flag-draped mahogany coffin.
It was one of many moving, even painful, scenes when high pageantry collided with personal grief, as the former president's closest friends and admirers joined throngs of ordinary Americans paying their respects.
The mood in the Rotunda switched back and forth between sombre mourning and something approaching tourist gawping, as some 5,000 visitors an hour filed past the coffin, lying in state on a simple pine and black cloth bier first used for the coffin of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Boy scouts in khaki shorts and neckerchiefs queued with office workers as they waited patiently to pay their respects. Anticipating the huge queues, many left home in the early hours to join the stream of mourners.
Susan Frays, from Waldorf, Maryland, and her three sons queued for almost three hours. "Getting them up this morning was hard, but I think they'll look back on it as something they'll remember," she said.
Lady Thatcher will deliver a taped eulogy at today's service. She is also expected to be one of a small group of friends who will attend Mr Reagan's burial at sunset tonight in the grounds of the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Mrs Reagan's frail, bird-like figure accompanied her late husband to the Capitol late on Wednesday, after a ceremonial procession on a gun carriage drawn by six black horses through the heart of Washington.
Republican leaders, headed by the vice-president, Dick Cheney, offered tributes as the casket was carried into the high-domed Rotunda by a military honour guard. Mr Cheney called the late president a "graceful and gallant man".
After the speeches, Mr Cheney escorted Mrs Reagan to the coffin to take her leave. She ran her hand along the top, smoothing down the Stars and Stripes several times and murmuring a prayer or farewell to her husband as she struggled to retain her composure.
For a moment, she appeared oblivious to the packed ranks of the nation's ruling elite, her friends and family or the relentless gaze of the television cameras carrying live images to millions. Mrs Reagan looked small and alone, a reminder that a state funeral is, for all its pomp, still a funeral. As the public queued for hours outside the Capitol in muggy, 84F heat, watched by thousands of police, the city prepared for the funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.
The list of foreign leaders and retired statesmen due to attend the service extended beyond protocol, recalling the central events of Mr Reagan's time in office, and brushing up against modern-day diplomatic tensions. The cathedral is expected to welcome the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the former Polish president and Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa.
The modern-day leaders of Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania will attend, as will Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan - the scene of bitter covert struggles with the Soviet Union during the Reagan era. The governor general of Grenada, the Caribbean island invaded on Mr Reagan's orders, to block a pro-Communist coup, is also due.
President Jacques Chirac of France triggered sharp questions in Washington by declining to fly the short distance to the capital from Sea Island, Georgia, where he was attending the G8 summit.
French officials said Mr Chirac had pressing business in Paris and felt it was more appropriate for his predecessor, Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, to attend, with the serving French foreign minister, Michel Barnier. However, other leaders at the summit rearranged their schedules, including Tony Blair; Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister; and Thabo Mbeki, the South African president.
The British contingent will be led by the Prince of Wales, representing the Queen, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Blair and Lady Thatcher. Her seven-minute eulogy was recorded on video in February, on doctors' advice, to avoid the strain of delivering a live address.
Regards, Ivan
In memoriam
Ping!
Since I was at work when Wednesday's events transpired, I recorded them. I am certain one thing Mrs. Reagan said at the casket was, "I love you, Ronny."
What an insulting comment this is:
..."throngs of ordinary Americans..."...
After the Revolution, a schism began to form among the founding fathers as to whether or not to favor Britain or France in trade agreements and such. The schism gradually grew to the point where there was a falling out between Washington and Jefferson while GW was president. The Jeffersonians (anti-Federalists or Democratic-Republicans) favored the French. The Federalists (let by Washington, Adams and Hamilton) favored the British. The John Jay treaty with the England was the culmination of Washington's pro-British policy. The ensuing 200+ years have proved the Federalists right over and over when it came to choosing England over France.
Semper Fidelis, Cpl. Wright!
I'm sure you are correct. Mrs. Reagan did say, "I love you, Ronnie" just before she turned away. Her face was turned just enough so that you could actually read her lips.
French officials said Mr Chirac had pressing business in Paris and felt it was more appropriate for his predecessor, Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, to attend, with the serving French foreign minister, Michel Barnier. However, other leaders at the summit rearranged their schedules, including Tony Blair; Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister; and Thabo Mbeki, the South African president.
Didn't you say the French were America's best ally? The French have demonstrated their dislike for America in many different ways, this is just one of them.
Screw Chirac. It's bad enough that we've got one frog (Kerry) attending Reagan's funeral.
Good advice. :-)
LOL. Thanks. We're better off with JacqueStrap Chirac staying home.
Thanks for that bit of history, and I love your tagline. I remember hearing President Reagan say that at the memorial for the Challenger astronauts, on television, it made me cry then, and still gets me misty.
That's a great Ronald Reagan tribute you put up on your profile page, BTW. Thanks for all your great posts over the last few days!
"As for the French, their behaviour is precisely what we've come to expect."
Don't worry about the French, they'll be there when they need us.
Glad you liked it. Thanks, AC.
Kerry doesn't even rise to the level of a frog - he's a toad (and this from a proud American of French Canadian descent).
Umm...Are you still as beautiful as before?
The picture I am seeing of those paying their last respects to Reagan is a far different one that what some in the media would have us believe. While most journalist have kept a civil tone, there are still those who are trying to impart a vision that blacks, hispanics...and of course, the poor were never part of Reagan's America.
Funny, because I am seeing people of all stripes...who are waiting up to 8 hours to see a man that they hardly know. I've seen Hell's Amgels types, blacks of all ages and many Hispanics, as they've all lined up in the heat and wait hours to spend a couple minutes with a man they obviously think changed their lives. It's killing them.
Funny how gestures like this make their mark.
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