Ronald Wilson Reagan

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Ronald Wilson Reagan : biography

06 February 1911 – 05 June 2004

In January of 1987 Reagan was operated because of the extention of the prostate, which caused nervousness about his health. But cancer wasn’t discovered during the operation. In July, at the age of 76 years old the third cancer neoplasm was moved from his nose.

Appointments to the Supreme Courts

During the pre-election campaign in 1980-s Reagan promised, that if he had an opportunity, he would appoint the first women’s Supreme Court. This opportunity appeared during the first year of his presidency, Reagan set forth a candidature of Sandra Dry O’Connor on thepost of the retired judge Potter Stewart. During the second term Reagan appointed William Rankist to the post of the chairman of the Supreme Court (which became free after retirement of the judge Worren Berger), and on the Rankist’s post he eppointed Antonio Scalia. In 1987 Reagan set forth the candidature of a conservative Robert Bork in the Supreme Court, but a democrat senator from Massachusetts Ted Kennedy ardently opposed it, a wide discussion followed. Bork’s candidature was rejected with 58 votes against 42. Then Reagan set forth the candidature of Duglus Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, but he took off his candidature after it became known that he had taken marijuana. His post as a result was took by Antony Kennedy. During Reagan’s presidency he appointed three members of the Supreme Court, 83 judges in appellate courts and 290 judges in circuit courts.

Reagan also set forth the candidature of Wog Walker in the circuit court of the central region of California, later it turned out that he was the first federal judge who was known to be gay. But the process of his advancement was stopped on the Senat level, and Walker was appointed by Reagan’s successor George Bush.

The period after presidency (1898-2004)

After leaving the president post in 1989 Reagan’s family bought a house in Los-Angeles in addition to their ranch Reagan in Santa-Barbara. Reagan couple regularly visited Presbyterian church and Reagan sometimes made speeches on behalf of the Republican Party. On the national republican convection in 1992 Reagan made a speech, which was accepted very well. On the 4th of November in 1991 the presidential library of Ronald Reagan was officially opened. There were five former presidents and six former first ladies on the ceremony of opening. Reagan made a speech in favour of the Bradly bill (a constitutional amendment, which demanded that the budget should be balanced) and abrogation of the 22th amendment, which forbad every president to stay for longer than two terms on the post. In 1992 Reagan establishes Ronald Reagan’s medal of freedom and the presidential fund of Ronald Reagan. On the 3d of February in 1994 he made his last public speech in Washington, for the last time he appeared in public on the 27th of April in 1994 during the funeral of Richard Nixon.

Alzheimer’s illness

In August of 1994 at the age of 83 Alzheimer’s illness of Reagan was discovered, it is an incurable nervous illness, which destroys nervous cells and led to death in the end. In November he informed American nation about that in a letter, which he had written by himself.

After declaring of the diagnosis Reagan’s family began to receive letters of support with wishes of good. But there were speculations, that Reagan began to demonstrate symptoms of mental degeneration when he was the president. A former newswoman in CBS of the White House Lesley Stale remembered an interview, during which an absent-minded Reagan seemed not to understand that there was somebody in the room except him, and before Reagan came to himself he was close to announcing that the president was senile. But a doctor and a newsman of New York Times Lowrence Altman noted, that it was difficult to distinguish a simple forgetfulness from the start of Alzheimer’ illness. All four doctors of Reagan in the White House announcedm that there hadn’t seen any proves, that the president had had Alzheimer’s illness during his presidency. The first Reagan’s doctor of the period since 1984 to 1989 claimed, that the president “didn’t show any symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s illness’. Reagan didn’t have good memory, especially in names. Once during the meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Reagan called the vice-president Bush “the prime-minister Bush” several times. Nevertheless, doctors noted, that Reagan began to demonstrate evident symptoms of the illness only at the end of 1992 or in 1993, several years after Reagan had left his post. A former head of the president staff James Baker noted, that the thought that Reagan was sleeping during his cabinet’s sitting, was absurd. Other members of the staff, former assistants and friends claimed, that they didn’t see any symptoms of Alzheimer’s illness when Reagan was on his post.