After leaving office in
1989, the Reagans purchased a home in
Bel Air, Los Angeles in addition to the
Reagan Ranch in
Santa Barbara. They regularly attended
Bel Air Presbyterian Church[271] and occasionally made appearances on behalf of the
Republican Party;
Reagan delivered a well-received speech at the
1992 Republican National Convention.[272]
Previously 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, as well as six first ladies, marking the first time five presidents were gathered in the same location.[273] Reagan continued publicly to speak in favor of a line-item veto; the
Brady Bill;[274] a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget; and the repeal of the
22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.[275] In
1992 Reagan established the
Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the newly formed
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.[276] 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, Reagan was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease,[277] an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death.[277][278] In November he informed the nation through a handwritten letter,[277] writing in part:
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.[279]
After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his
California home,[280] but there was also speculation over how long
Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration.[281] In her memoirs, former
CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl recounts her final meeting with the president, in
1986: "Reagan didn't seem to know who I was
. ... Oh, my, he's gonzo, I thought. I have to go out on the lawn tonight and tell my countrymen that the president of the
United States is a doddering space cadet." But then, at the end, he regained his alertness. As she described it, "I had come that close to reporting that Reagan was senile."[282] However, Dr.
Lawrence K. Altman, a physician employed as a reporter for
The New York Times, noted that "the line between mere forgetfulness and the beginning of
Alzheimer's can be fuzzy",[283] and all four of Reagan's
White House doctors said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president.[283]
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".[283] Reagan did experience occasional memory lapses, though, especially with names.[283]
Once, while meeting with
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to
Vice President Bush as "
Prime Minister Bush."[284] Reagan's doctors, however, note that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992[285] or
1993,[283] several years after he had left office. His former
Chief of Staff James Baker considered "ludicrous" the idea of Reagan sleeping during cabinet meetings.[
286] Other staff members, former aides, and friends said they saw no indication of Alzheimer's while he was
President.[283]
Complicating the picture, Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma in July 1989, five years prior to his diagnosis. After being thrown from a horse in
Mexico, a subdural hematoma was found and surgically treated later in the year.[277][278]
Nancy Reagan asserts that her husband's 1989 fall hastened the onset of Alzheimer's disease,[278] citing what doctors told her,[278] although acute brain injury has not been conclusively proven to accelerate Alzheimer's or dementia.[287][288] Reagan's one-time physician Dr.
Daniel Ruge has said it is possible, but not certain, that the horse accident affected the course of Reagan's memory.[285]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_reagan
- published: 23 Apr 2013
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