[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 25 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Page 1060]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 12, 2004

    Good morning. This week, America mourned the passing of President 
Ronald Reagan. We remembered a gentle, decent man and one of the 
greatest leaders our Nation has known. He was a courageous patriot whose 
leadership transformed the country and the world he leaves behind.
    In this time of sadness, we think especially of Nancy Reagan, a 
loyal, loving wife of 52 years, and the President's three children and 
the rest of the Reagan family.
    Ronald Wilson Reagan entered the world more than 93 years ago in an 
apartment above a local bank in Illinois. His life would include success 
in careers from sports broadcasting to film acting to public office. 
Along the way, his deepest convictions were formed, and through all the 
trials of life, those convictions never wavered.
    Ronald Reagan believed that everything happens for a reason and that 
we can trust in God's purposes. He believed that people are basically 
good. He had no tolerance for bigotry or injustice. Above all, he 
believed in the courage and triumph of free men and in the capacity of 
the American people to overcome any obstacle.
    President Reagan brought those convictions to the White House in 
1981, and he departed 8 years later with achievements that have endured. 
With bold, persistent action, he restored the confidence of our Nation, 
strengthened the spirit of free enterprise, challenged and shamed an 
oppressive empire, and inspired millions with his conviction and moral 
courage.
    As he showed what a President should be, he also showed us what a 
man should be. Ronald Reagan carried himself with a decency and 
attention to the small kindnesses that also define a good life. He was a 
courtly, gentle, and considerate man, never known to slight or embarrass 
others. From the Oval Office, he took time to answer letters from 
schoolchildren and grandmothers and countless strangers curious about 
life in the White House.
    Ronald Reagan deeply loved the United States of America, and that 
love is being returned. Over the past week, tens of thousands of 
mourners stood in line in California and in Washington, DC, to pay their 
final respects. There were 21-gun salutes and dignified processions and 
homemade memorials at a funeral home in Santa Monica.
    Now that Nancy Reagan has taken her husband to his place of rest, we 
offer our gratitude. Our country is stronger, and our world is freer for 
the brave leadership of this modest son of America. Ronald Reagan always 
told us that for America, our best was yet to come. We know that is true 
for him too. His work is done, and now a shining city awaits him.
    May God bless Ronald Reagan. Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:01 a.m. on June 11 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 12. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 11 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.