President Reagan, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for
that wonderful introduction. It's the sort I would have loved at the beginning
of every election campaign.
It is an honor and a joy to be with you to celebrate the 44th anniversary
of your 39th birthday.
I hope to be here to celebrate the 51st anniversary of this same birthday.
Indeed, if you were thinking of running again to see us into the 21st
century I'd be even better pleased.
I note President Reagan, from one of your books, that in 1987 you heard one
presidential candidate say that what this country needed was a president for
the '90s. You were set to run again, because you thought he said a president
in his 90s and you were (inaudible).
Well, for us, hope springs eternal. All it needs is to repeal the 27th
Amendment to the Constitution.
Sir, you strode into our midst at a time when America needed you most. This
great country had been through a period of national malaise bereft of any
sense of moral direction. Through it all, throughout eight of the fastest
moving years in memory, you were unflappable and unyielding.
You brushed off the jibes and jabs of your jealous critics. With that Irish
twinkle and that easy homespun style, which never changed, you brought a new
assurance to America. You were not only America's President -- important as
that is -- you were a great leader. In a time of average men, you stood taller
than anyone else.
With a toughness unseen for a long time, you stood face-to-face with the
evil empire. And, with an unexpected diplomacy which confused your foes -- and
even some of your friends -- you reached out to that empire, perhaps no longer
evil, but still formidable. You met its leaders on their turf, but on your
terms.
In a time of politicians, you proved yourself a statesman. And that
leadership, that faith in freedom and enterprise brought about a renewal of
this great country. America was back and the free world became a safer place.
It was not only that you were the Great Communicator -- and you were the
greatest -- but that you had a message to communicate.
The message that had inspired the founding fathers, the message that has
guided this nation from its birth -- the essence of good government is to
blend the wisdom of the ages with the circumstances of contemporary times --
that is what you did. Not since Lincoln, or Winston Churchill in Britain, has
there been a President who has so understood the power of words to uplift and
to inspire.
You reached beyond partisanship to principles, beyond our own selves to our
very souls. You reached for and touched, as Lincoln had said so long before
you, the better angels of our nature. Leadership is more than budgets and
balance sheets. More than the policy of public measures, it is a matter of
moral purpose. And that moral realm is reached by that insight and rhetoric of
which only the truly great are capable.
This political instinct of truth, conviction and patriotism began long
before you were President. I have been reading that excellent book of your
speeches, Ron, and I am going to refer to three speeches in particular.
In 1969, as Governor of California, you spoke at Eisenhower College. It was
a terrible time of student rebellion, of violence against property, violence
against fellow students and violence against others on the campus. "How and
when did all this begin?", you asked. "It began," you said, "the first time
someone old enough to know better declared it was no crime to break the law in
the name of social protest. It began with those, who in the name of change or
progress, decided they could strap all the time- tested wisdom man has
accumulated in his climb from the swamp to the stars." And I particularly like
the next bit.
"Saint Thomas Aquinas warned teachers that they must never dig a ditch in
front of a student that they failed to fill in. To nearly raise doubts, and to
ever seek and never find is to be in opposition to education and progress."
You were right and said so fearlessly while some academics just compromised.
And my second choice arises because we are coming to the 50th anniversary
of the D-Day Normandy landings -- the Longest Day, the day we dare not lose
the battle. Let us recall what you said on the 40th anniversary on those
beaches, for no one else could say it better.
You said, "Those men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was
right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would
grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. The Americans who fought
here that morning," you continued, "knew word of the invasion was spreading
through the darkness back home. They felt in their hearts that in Georgia they
were filling the churches at 4:00 a.m. in the morning. In Kansas they were
kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing
the Liberty Bell. And they knew that God was an ally in this great cause. That
night General Ridgeway was listening in the darkness for the promise God made
to Joshua; 'I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee'." And you said "Let us
continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. We will always
remember. We will always be proud."
Ron, I think that was your greatest speech.
Like Winston Churchill, you made words fight like soldiers and lifted the
spirit of the nation
And my third one, also a favorite, which was seen the world over, was the
terrible Challenger space shuttle disaster. You knew immediately, with that
unfailing instinct, that the tragedy needed a national voice to share the
mourning, to comfort and yet to say, "The quest must go on." You were on
television within hours. And I remember so well you spoke especially to the
school children who had been watching. You said "I know it is hard to
understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of
the process of exploration and discovery. The future doesn't belong to the
faint-hearted. It belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew is pulling us into
the future. And we'll continue to follow them." And, of course, America did,
as we saw today.
And the memorable last words you used came from a poem which linked you all
so much to Britain, because that poem was written by a young fighter pilot
killed in the skies over Britain shortly before his death in 1941, at the age
of 19. You will know them, they're your favorite and they are mine. "I slipped
the surly bonds of earth, put out my hand and touched the face of God. "
You always had the right words, and we honor you for it.
There were so many other speeches, some prophetic, some humorous, but all
with a vision, all which inspired. We could identify with each and every one.
More than anyone else, you knew peoples' desire to be attached to some cause
greater than themselves. So, instead of inundating the American people with
the torrent of projections and percentages, you spoke of the voluntary spirit
of community and charity.
When others spoke of the fear of war, you spoke of the need for warriors
and peace through strength. When others bewailed the failure of big government
to provide for the collective good, you spoke of self-reliance, of personal
responsibility, of individual pride and integrity. When others demanded
compromise -- when other demanded compromise, you, Ronald Reagan, preached
conviction.