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Ronald Reagan, the Great Liberator who freed the slaves of communism

He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism.

. . .

Others prophesied the decline of the West; he inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom.

Others saw only limits to growth; he transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.

Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union; he won the Cold War - not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.

. . .

With the lever of American patriotism, he lifted up the world. And so today the world - in Prague, in Budapest, in Warsaw, in Sofia, in Bucharest, in Kiev and in Moscow itself - the world mourns the passing of the Great Liberator and echoes his prayer "God Bless America".

Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Some in the West, during the early 1980s, believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of moral equivalence. In contrast, Ronald Reagan saw Soviet communism as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinnings would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of freedom, provided as he said, that NATO and the industrialized democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right. Ronald Reagan was a president who inspired his nation and transformed the world.

Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada

These are incredible words of tribute, not from Americans, but from foreigners. George H.W. Bush was the kindly grandfather who no one could dislike. I’m not sure exactly what the point was of George W. Bush’s eulogy.

But two foreign former leaders, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney, got to the point and praised Ronald Reagan’s greatest accomplishment, ending the threat of communism and freeing its slaves.

No one can possibly miss the unspoken comparison to the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator who freed the slaves of America.

I think this was a landmark funeral service. Before today, there may have been doubt about Reagan’s true role in world events. After today, there will be a consensus of opinion that Reagan did indeed win the Cold War and free the slaves of communism.

One couldn’t help but notice two other former world leaders in attendance, Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton. Gorbachev’s presence gave additional weight to the amazing eulogies of Thatcher and Mulroney.

And as for Bill Clinton, as he observed silently, I know he was thinking about how the true acknowledgement of Reagan’s accomplishments will affect his own place in the history books. Bill Clinton presided over eight years of economic prosperity and world peace. He would like history to give him the credit, but if it was Reagan who brought about the end of communism and brought peace to the world, and Reagan who “transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity,” that means that Bill Clinton was only a steward who oversaw what Reagan left for him, and not a leader who will be noted in history for having brought about the peace or the great economy. Much like Dwight D. Eisenhower, who oversaw good times but is not considered directly responsible for them.

* * *

Seeing Rudy Giuliani in attendance, I wondered if there was any significance in it. Recall my recent post about whether Bush may pick Giuliani as his vice presidential running mate for the next four years. (Vice President Rudy Giuliani?)

* * *

Chris Matthews and his gang on MSNBC are mostly talking about the eulogies of the two Bushes, and are giving Thatcher and Mulroney as little mention as possible. Are they already trying to alter public discourse, and steer people way from thinking too much about what the two foreign leaders had to say because they heaped too much praise upon Reagan?

posted Friday, June 11, 2004