Leaders remember the Gipper

Lolita Harper

In the Republican stronghold of Newport-Mesa, news of President

Ronald Reagan’s death Saturday sent a ripple of grief and remembrance

through those who revered his leadership style.

Reagan, the 40th president of the United States and former

governor of California, died at 1 p.m. in his Bel Air home of

pneumonia, a complication of his long battle with Alzheimer’s

disease, according to news reports and Ronald Reagan Presidential

Library officials. He was 93.

Locals remembered Reagan for his diligence in fighting the Cold

War in the 1980s and his initiatives to scale back government and

bolster the economy. Reagan was regarded locally as one of the

greatest politicians, with some holding their current leaders up to

the standard he set as a leader.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who worked as Reagan’s special assistant

and speech writer, said his role model’s death came as a surprise,

even though it was anticipated.

“As much as it was expected, it was disturbing,” Rohrabacher said.

Reagan always insisted that everything be positive, Rohrabacher

said, and never got into nasty, personal political fights. Unlike

other politicians whose moods shift when the cameras are turned off,

Rohrabacher said Reagan was always his pleasant, cheerful self.

Rohrabacher described him as a role model -- a leader who won the

congressman’s affection at the age of 17, when he first volunteered

for Reagan’s campaign for governor.

“There is not a week that goes by that I don’t ask myself, ‘What

would Reagan do?’” Rohrabacher said. “Sometimes, I have the courage

and ability to follow through on what Reagan would want me to do, and

other times I am not strong enough.”

Reagan, who was born March 30, 1911, was the longest-living

president, passing John Adams and Herbert Hoover, who both died at

90. During his two terms in the White House, after easily defeating

Jimmy Carter in 1980, the former actor was known for his fight

against communism. Reagan supported a strong military and boosted the

country’s financial outlook with tax cuts.

“All citizens stand in [Reagan’s] debt for his leadership in

bringing down communism and in bringing up the American spirit,”

Assemblyman John Campbell said, a Republican.

Reagan’s legacy has long been a positive one, Campbell said, made

evident by the fact that so many politicians call themselves “Reagan

Republicans.” But one does not have to be a politician -- or even a

Republican -- to want to associate themselves with Reagan’s style,

Campbell said.

“We are not just Reagan Republicans; we are Reagan Americans

because of that eternal optimism that he had,” Campbell said.

Reagan’s critics have said he increased the nation’s debt and that

his trickle-down economic theory -- dubbed “Reaganomics” -- increased

the already growing gap between the rich and the poor.

But Saturday was a day for affirmative recollections, respectful

remembrances of an influential man, regardless of politics.

UC Irvine Political Science Professor Mark Petracca said Reagan

brought a sense of hopefulness to the country as he began his

national leadership in a time that Americans needed to feel good

about their country again. Reagan’s presidency came on the heels of a

tumultuous decade, which included the Vietnam War, the Watergate

scandal and inflation.

“Reagan brought cultural optimism about the capacity of the

country when it was very necessary,” Petracca said.

Reagan is considered by political scientists as one of the most

effective leaders, Petracca said. He came into office with few goals

but accomplished them all, which distinguishes him from Carter, who

wanted to change a number of things but was able to change very few,

Petracca said.

Living up to his reputation as “The Great Communicator,” Reagan

publicly shared the news of his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in

November 1994. The president wrote that he felt fine 10 years ago,

and said he would continue to spend time with his family and enjoy

the “great outdoors.”

In that letter, he said a premature good-bye.

“In closing let me thank you, the American people for giving me

the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president,” Reagan

wrote. “When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will

leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal

optimism for its future.”

* LOLITA HARPER is the enterprise and investigative reporter for

the Daily Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or by e-mail at

[email protected].