Presidents in Retirement: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan's second term in office was marred by what became known as the Iran-Conta scandal. This was a plan concocted by members of Reagan's staff in which proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War were used to fund the ant-communist Contra rebels who were fighting against the government in Nicaragua. This use of funds was something that had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress. Reagan had publicly stated that no such thing had ever taken place, but when it was discovered that it had, Reagan went on television to announce that he was unaware of the plot's existence. He opened his own investigation and appointed two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft and Edmund Muskie) to what became known as the "Tower Commission" to investigate the matter. No direct evidence was ever found to show that Reagan any had prior knowledge of the program. However Reagan was criticized for his being unaware of what his staff was up to. Reagan's popularity declined from 67% to 46% and fourteen indictments were preferred against members of Reagan's staff, resulting in eleven convictions.
Despite Iran-Contra, Reagan's popularity recovered somewhat by the time he left office in January of 1989. On January 7, 1989, Reagan underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to repair a Dupuytren's contracture of the ring finger of his left hand. The surgery lasted for more than three hours and was performed under a local anesthetic. Reagan had a hand and finger bandage the day of his farewell speech and on the day of the inauguration of George H. W. Bush.
After leaving office, the Reagans purchased a home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. They continued to own the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara. The couple regularly attended Bel Air Church and they occasionally made appearances on behalf of the Republican Party. When George H. Bush ran for re-election, Reagan delivered a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention that was very positively received.
Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma in July 1989, after being thrown from a horse in Mexico. Doctors found a subdural hematoma, which surgically treated later in the year. Nancy Reagan believed, based on what she had been told by doctors, that her husband's fall hastened the onset of the Alzheimer's disease that he later suffered. The horse accident adversely affected Reagan's memory.
On November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public. At the dedication ceremonies, five presidents were in attendance (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush) as well as six first ladies (Lady Bird Johnson also attended). It was the first time that five presidents were gathered in the same location.
Reagan continued publicly to speak in favor of a line-item veto for the president. He also supported the Brady Bill, and advocated a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. He also called for the repeal of the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.
On April 13, 1992, Reagan was speaking at a luncheon, where he was accepting an award from the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas. While Reagan was speaking, a 41 year old anti-nuclear protester named Richard Paul Springer walked onto the stage and smashed a two-foot-high crystal statue of an eagle that the broadcasters had given President Reagan. Reagan was struck by flying glass, but he was not cut. Reagan was jostled in a scuffle as Secret Service agents grabbed the protester and threw him to the floor. Springer had been given media credentials,and intended to announce government plans for an underground nuclear weapons test in the Nevada desert that was scheduled to take place the following day. Springer was the founder of an anti-nuclear group called the 100th Monkey. Embarrassed Secret Service agents could not explain how Springer was allowed to get that close to the President. Springer later pled guilty to a misdemeanor federal charge of interfering with the Secret Service, but other felony charges of assault and resisting officers were dropped.
In 1992 Reagan established the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the newly formed Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. His final public speech was on February 3, 1994, during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C., and his last major public appearance was at the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994.
In August 1994, at the age of 83, Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death. During his presidency Reagan was known as the "Great Communicator" and in November, he used those famous communication skills to inform the nation about his condition through a handwritten letter. The letter read:
"I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease ... At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done ... 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."
The letter was met with thousands of letters of support from well-wishers. But the disclosure also met with allegations from Reagan's critics that he had not been mentally fit during his presidency. CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl claimed that, in her final meeting with the president in 1986, Reagan did not seem to know who she was, and that at that time she wanted to report that Reagan was senile, but she reconsidered doing so because she felt that by the end of the meeting, Reagan was fully alert. But this was contradicted by all four of Reagan's White House doctors, who said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president. Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely did not show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's during his presidency. Reagan's doctors stated that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992 or 1993, years after he had left office.
As the years went on, the disease slowly took its toll on Reagan's mental capacity. As time passed, he was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy. He remained physically active, taking walks through parks near his home and on beaches. For a time after the diagnosis, he played golf regularly, and went to his office in nearby Century City until 1999.
Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home on January 13, 2001, resulting in a broken hip. He had surgery to repair the fracture the following day and he returned home later that week. He participated in difficult physical therapy at home. On February 6, 2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former president to do so (the previous two being John Adams and Herbert Hoover. Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter would later also reach this age). Reagan's public appearances became much less frequent with the progression of the disease, and as a result, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife Nancy. Nancy Reagan made an appearance on CNN's show Larry King Live in 2001 and told King that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband. She said "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was."
Ronald Wilson Reagan died of pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer's disease, at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles, California, on the afternoon of June 5, 2004. Shortly after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying, "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." President George W. Bush declared June 11 a National Day of Mourning. Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California later in the day. On June 7, his body was removed and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a brief family funeral was held conducted by Pastor Michael Wenning. His body lay in repose in the Library lobby until June 9; over 100,000 people viewed the coffin.
On June 9, Reagan's body was flown to Washington, D.C. where he became the tenth U.S. president to lie in state. Over the course of thirty-four hours, 104,684 people filed past the coffin. After her husband's diagnosis and death, Nancy Reagan became a stem-cell research advocate, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, something Bush was opposed to. In 2009, Nancy Reagan praised President Barack Obama for lifting restrictions on such research.
Despite Iran-Contra, Reagan's popularity recovered somewhat by the time he left office in January of 1989. On January 7, 1989, Reagan underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to repair a Dupuytren's contracture of the ring finger of his left hand. The surgery lasted for more than three hours and was performed under a local anesthetic. Reagan had a hand and finger bandage the day of his farewell speech and on the day of the inauguration of George H. W. Bush.
After leaving office, the Reagans purchased a home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. They continued to own the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara. The couple regularly attended Bel Air Church and they occasionally made appearances on behalf of the Republican Party. When George H. Bush ran for re-election, Reagan delivered a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention that was very positively received.
Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma in July 1989, after being thrown from a horse in Mexico. Doctors found a subdural hematoma, which surgically treated later in the year. Nancy Reagan believed, based on what she had been told by doctors, that her husband's fall hastened the onset of the Alzheimer's disease that he later suffered. The horse accident adversely affected Reagan's memory.
On November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public. At the dedication ceremonies, five presidents were in attendance (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush) as well as six first ladies (Lady Bird Johnson also attended). It was the first time that five presidents were gathered in the same location.
Reagan continued publicly to speak in favor of a line-item veto for the president. He also supported the Brady Bill, and advocated a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. He also called for the repeal of the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.
On April 13, 1992, Reagan was speaking at a luncheon, where he was accepting an award from the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas. While Reagan was speaking, a 41 year old anti-nuclear protester named Richard Paul Springer walked onto the stage and smashed a two-foot-high crystal statue of an eagle that the broadcasters had given President Reagan. Reagan was struck by flying glass, but he was not cut. Reagan was jostled in a scuffle as Secret Service agents grabbed the protester and threw him to the floor. Springer had been given media credentials,and intended to announce government plans for an underground nuclear weapons test in the Nevada desert that was scheduled to take place the following day. Springer was the founder of an anti-nuclear group called the 100th Monkey. Embarrassed Secret Service agents could not explain how Springer was allowed to get that close to the President. Springer later pled guilty to a misdemeanor federal charge of interfering with the Secret Service, but other felony charges of assault and resisting officers were dropped.
In 1992 Reagan established the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the newly formed Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. His final public speech was on February 3, 1994, during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C., and his last major public appearance was at the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994.
In August 1994, at the age of 83, Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death. During his presidency Reagan was known as the "Great Communicator" and in November, he used those famous communication skills to inform the nation about his condition through a handwritten letter. The letter read:
"I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease ... At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done ... 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."
The letter was met with thousands of letters of support from well-wishers. But the disclosure also met with allegations from Reagan's critics that he had not been mentally fit during his presidency. CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl claimed that, in her final meeting with the president in 1986, Reagan did not seem to know who she was, and that at that time she wanted to report that Reagan was senile, but she reconsidered doing so because she felt that by the end of the meeting, Reagan was fully alert. But this was contradicted by all four of Reagan's White House doctors, who said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president. Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely did not show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's during his presidency. Reagan's doctors stated that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992 or 1993, years after he had left office.
As the years went on, the disease slowly took its toll on Reagan's mental capacity. As time passed, he was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy. He remained physically active, taking walks through parks near his home and on beaches. For a time after the diagnosis, he played golf regularly, and went to his office in nearby Century City until 1999.
Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home on January 13, 2001, resulting in a broken hip. He had surgery to repair the fracture the following day and he returned home later that week. He participated in difficult physical therapy at home. On February 6, 2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former president to do so (the previous two being John Adams and Herbert Hoover. Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter would later also reach this age). Reagan's public appearances became much less frequent with the progression of the disease, and as a result, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife Nancy. Nancy Reagan made an appearance on CNN's show Larry King Live in 2001 and told King that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband. She said "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was."
Ronald Wilson Reagan died of pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer's disease, at his home in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles, California, on the afternoon of June 5, 2004. Shortly after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying, "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." President George W. Bush declared June 11 a National Day of Mourning. Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California later in the day. On June 7, his body was removed and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a brief family funeral was held conducted by Pastor Michael Wenning. His body lay in repose in the Library lobby until June 9; over 100,000 people viewed the coffin.
On June 9, Reagan's body was flown to Washington, D.C. where he became the tenth U.S. president to lie in state. Over the course of thirty-four hours, 104,684 people filed past the coffin. After her husband's diagnosis and death, Nancy Reagan became a stem-cell research advocate, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, something Bush was opposed to. In 2009, Nancy Reagan praised President Barack Obama for lifting restrictions on such research.