Margaret Thatcher in videotaped eulogy to President Reagan presented this morning at Washington National Cathedral
"When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do," said Margaret Thatcher in an eloquent and moving videotaped tribute to her old ally on the world stage. She attended the service at Washington National Cathedral but has given up public speaking after a series of small strokes. A full transcript is available at NewsMax:
Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles -- and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively.
In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk.
Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause -- what Arnold Bennett once called "the great cause of cheering us all up." His politics had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation -- and ultimately from the very heart of the evil empire.
Yet his humour often had a purpose beyond humour. In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria, one great heart at least remained sane and jocular. They were truly grace under pressure.
And perhaps they signified grace of a deeper kind. Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose. As he told a priest after his recovery, "Whatever time I've got left now belongs to the Big Fella Upstairs."
Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity -- and nothing was more American.
Such good words to hear from the Iron Lady. Good, too, were the words of Former Polish President and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa in today's Opinion Journal:
I distinguish between two kinds of politicians. There are those who view politics as a tactical game, a game in which they do not reveal any individuality, in which they lose their own face. There are, however, leaders for whom politics is a means of defending and furthering values. For them, it is a moral pursuit. They do so because the values they cherish are endangered. They're convinced that there are values worth living for, and even values worth dying for. Otherwise they would consider their life and work pointless. Only such politicians are great politicians and Ronald Reagan was one of them.
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