I liked it when Reagan spoke lines from that poem at the Challenger memorial. It was very moving.
Btw, President Reagan was indirectly responsible for the 'discovery' of Marilyn Monroe. During his stint in the Army he sent Army photographer David Conover out to shoot morale boosting photos of women working at Lockheed for the war effort. As fate would have it, Norma Jeane was 'discovered' by Conover that day.
I also got a kick out of the way Bette Davis always referred to him as 'little Ronnie Reagan'. They made the film 'Dark Victory' together and were not fond of each other. Bette was a liberal but shortly before her death in 1989 she made the following comment: "He was not a very talented actor, but he gave a very good job as president. He made us all very patriotic. I miss him." This was one of Hollywood's greatest speaking, not some trash like Danny Glover. The stars of yesteryear were definitely a class above the trash we are stuck with now.
Thanks for those two stories...I was unaware of Reagan's role in Monroe's "discovery" and the line by Bette Davis is a real keeper.