Mourning the Passing of President Ronald Reagan

MOURNING THE PASSING OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN -- (House of Representatives - June 08, 2004)

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of today and as designee of the majority leader, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 664) mourning the passing of President Ronald Reagan and celebrating his service to the people of the United States and his leadership in promoting the cause of freedom for all the people of the world, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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Mr. WICKER. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I thank him for controlling the time tonight and affording us the opportunity even at this hour to pay tribute.

Mr. Speaker, I too rise and join so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in paying tribute to Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. I agree with so much of what has been said here today and throughout the Nation in the past few days about the incredible legacy of Ronald Reagan and what he left to America and to the world. Ronald Reagan will always be larger than life to millions of people around the world who were freed from the shackles of Communism because he stood firm against what he so correctly called the Evil Empire. Ronald Reagan's determination and leadership forced an end to the Cold War. His philosophy of cutting taxes and easing Federal regulations brought about one of the largest periods of economic growth in American history. And his eternal optimism and hope for a brighter day lifted the spirits of a Nation.

Much has been said about Ronald Reagan's charisma, quick wit and ability to put people at ease. He was also blessed with a great asset for anyone in public life, a sense of timing. Whether it was one of his famous one-liners or the ability to do just the right thing at the right time, he always seemed to disarm a tough national press corps or defuse a difficult political issue.

Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of witnessing an example of his instinctive timing and humor in 1980 in Mississippi when then-candidate Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, came to the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The Neshoba County Fair is called Mississippi's largest house party and has been the premier gathering for political speeches during the hot Mississippi summers for more than a century. Ronald Reagan's visit was the first ever by a Presidential candidate to this most celebrated political event in my home State.

One of the issues that had surfaced in Mr. Reagan's Presidential campaign was the question of his age. He was 69 years old. Some questioned whether he might be too old for the job. At the Neshoba County Fair an incident occurred which could have potentially exaggerated the issue of his age. After Mr. Reagan's speech, a local craftsman, Gary Harkins of Mississippi, presented Mr. Reagan with a rocking chair. I am sure some of the candidate's advisers and staff were horrified to think of the prospect that the one image coming from this appearance was a picture of the 69-year-old former Governor sitting in a rocking chair. But without hesitation, Ronald Reagan sat down in the chair, grabbed his wife, Nancy, by the hand and pulled her onto his lap. They appeared at that moment to be the very picture of vitality and energy. The widely distributed photograph and film footage which followed went around the Nation and nobody seeing that image thought Ronald Reagan was too old to be President.

Mr. Reagan's quick thinking probably boosted his candidacy and dispelled doubts in the minds of some voters. The incident also changed the life of Greg Harkins, the craftsman who made the rocking chair and whose fledgling business was energized by his short encounter on the national stage. Mr. Harkins soon began receiving hundreds of requests for chairs from across the Nation and around the world. His business is still going strong today nearly 25 years later, and Ronald Reagan provided the spark for that little bit of business success. Harkins was quoted recently as saying, "What they did was give me a foothold on something that I can be able to carry on for the rest of my life."

Mr. Harkins represents just one small example of how Ronald Reagan touched the lives of people in ways that are hard to quantify. We may not know all of their names or their unique stories, but his fellow citizens gained inspiration from Ronald Reagan's leadership and his attitude that it really was "morning in America."

Whether it was a young American answering a call to public service or becoming involved in the growing conservative movement or simply taking the initiative to exercise their rights and register to vote for the first time, Ronald Reagan energized many Americans to action. They followed him because they trusted this man of principled beliefs and because he captured their imagination, and they simply liked him.

Ronald Reagan, some people said, would be limited because he was only an actor. He was perhaps the best example of an actor turned politician; but he ended up being the real thing, the true article, the genuine American; and, Mr. Speaker, I believe he will be recorded as being the greatest President of our time.

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