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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Maureen Reagan Succumbs to Melanoma at 60

Aired August 08, 2001 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, a president's daughter. She became a leader in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. Now she's lost her own fight against skin cancer. We'll remember Maureen Reagan. We'll look again at one of her last interviews on CNN, and I'll speak live with former Reagan White House chief of staff Ken Duberstein.

Today marks 100 days since Chandra Levy disappeared. How are her parents coping? I'll ask Don Vance, a close friend of the Levy family.

It's debilitating and dangerous. It affects millions of Americans. Can lifestyle changes head-off diabetes? Today the government answered that question.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Washington.

President Ronald Reagan's daughter, Maureen, died today at the age of 60. For five years she had been battling melanoma, skin cancer, which spread despite chemotherapy and other treatment. During her long struggle, she became a public crusader in the war against that mostly deadly form of skin cancer, and at the same time she also struggled publicly in the fight against the disease that has ravaged her father's -- her 90-year-old father's mind, Alzheimer's. And that's our top story.

The oldest of Ronald Reagan's four children was a product of Hollywood. Her mother was actress Jane Wyman. Her step-mother, Nancy, was also an actress. Maureen Reagan followed her father into politics. She made unsuccessful runs for the Senate and the House and later served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Maureen Reagan turned her social activism and passion to that fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUREEN REAGAN, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: ... it is an equal opportunity disease and it doesn't make special arrangements for former presidents or first ladies.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Since 1996, she fought her other battle against the malignant melanoma that ultimately claimed her life. Maureen Reagan is survived by her husband, Dennis Revell, and daughter, Rita.

For reaction from the Reagan family, let's go live to CNN's Thelma Gutierrez. She's outside the home of Ronald and Nancy Reagan in Bel Air, California. Thelma?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Ronald and Nancy Reagan remain here in their Bel Air home. A publicist told us a while ago that Nancy Reagan has no plans to travel to Sacramento, but that she will go to the funeral. She would only go to Sacramento, she says, if Maureen's husband and 16-year-old daughter need her.

Now, earlier today, Nancy Reagan left her home on errands. Her publicist said that she would not give interviews at this time. The funeral is set for August 18th in Sacramento. Nancy Reagan will attend, but without her husband, who is too ill to travel.

The former first lady did release a written statement and she has this to say about Maureen:

"Maureen Reagan has been a special part of my life since I met Ronnie over 50 years ago. Like all fathers and daughters, there was a unique bond between them. Maureen had his gift of communication, his love of politics, and when she believed in a cause, she was not afraid to fight hard for it. Ronnie and I loved Maureen very much. We will miss her terribly."

The Reagans remained here at their home. Earlier flowers were delivered. At the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, dozens of people signed a condolence book at the entrance of the library. The flags there were flying at half-staff in memory of Maureen Reagan, who reportedly died peacefully this morning with her family at her side. Wolf.

BLITZER: Thelma Gutierrez in Bel Air. Thank you very much.

And although she differed with her father on some key issues, for example, she was an abortion rights advocate, Maureen Reagan remained very loyal to her father and to her party.

Last summer, she and her step-mother attended the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. At that time, they held a special video tribute to the former president. Afterward, Maureen Reagan spoke with CNN's Judy Woodruff and Bernard Shaw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: We are joined now here by his daughter, Maureen Reagan...

M. REAGAN: Hi, guys.

BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. WOODRUFF: Maureen, what are you feeling?

M. REAGAN: Well, I thought it was a lovely tribute to all of the presidents and certainly it was a wonderful tribute to my president, that our delegations down there remembered who he was and what he gave us.

SHAW: When you hear this talk of a new Republican party, do you ever wonder what happened to the old Republican party?

M. REAGAN: Well, we brought in a new Republican party, so I guess this is the new, new Republican party. I'm not really sure. I've been a Republican more than half my life, and I still think it stands for the same things it stood for back when I started.

WOODRUFF: What does it stand for to you?

M. REAGAN: It stands for individual liberty and responsibility. The fact that we have the chance to be anything we want to be, but we have to take control of our communities and make them what we want them to be.

WOODRUFF: Do you think your father would approve of the kinds of things that are being emphasized at this convention?

M. REAGAN: Oh, I think he would. He would. I want to see when the whole thing is kind of closed up at the end -- we've now identified many of the problems, now we need the solutions. Now we need to hear from the candidates and we need to hear them tell us how are we going to make these things better and what are they going to do to inspire us to do it.

SHAW: What about gays, lesbians, and a woman's right or choice to choose?

M. REAGAN: Yeah?

SHAW: And the platform, and what if...

M. REAGAN: Is there a problem here? Well, you have to understand, I represented Ronald Reagan in front of the Log Cabin Club back in 1980, so we were much more accepting than anybody gave us credit for.

WOODRUFF: And the party's still not onboard with you.

M. REAGAN: I understand that, but I keep trying.

SHAW: I know that you want to get down to the floor to hear the John McCain speech.

M. REAGAN: I do, I do. I hope you guys will forgive me, but I'll come back and talk to you again sometime, I promise.

SHAW: You promise?

M. REAGAN: I promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Maureen Reagan had many admirers. I'm joined now by one of them, ken Duberstein. He was a former chief of staff in the Reagan White House. Ken, thanks for joining us. Your thoughts about Maureen Reagan, a woman you knew quite well.

KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, I think Maureen was a real trooper. You know, she was very much her father's daughter. She loved politics. She was a terrific communicator. She had an infectious laugh. She walked into a room and you always knew that Maureen was there.

And she was also passionate about her beliefs and willing to fight for them, even occasionally when she disagreed with her father. For example, the Equal Rights Amendment, for women. You know, she knew that her father was wrong. She believed it, and she would argue with him, but at the end she was a Reagan.

BLITZER: And you used to watch these exchanges go on between Maureen Reagan and Ronald Reagan?

DUBERSTEIN: Well, they were not frequent. But, Maureen was never shy about her opinions and the president loved it. You know, there are two women in Ronald Reagan's life. One certainly is Nancy Reagan. And the other one was daughter Maureen. And there was a special bond, because remember, she lived above the store. She lived in the White House during those eight years with Dennis and even when Dennis was traveling away.

BLITZER: ... a special father/daughter relationship?

DUBERSTEIN: Right.

BLITZER: You know, we got some e-mails from our viewers already. Let me read one of them to you.

William in Ontario, Canada wrote this: "Maureen fought her illness with typical Reagan fortitude. The family never complains, never shouts, never screams, is always strong and brave."

Her illness, her malignant melanoma, she fought even as she was fighting Alzheimer's disease that's ravished her father.

DUBERSTEIN: Well, you know, she dedicated, I think, her life, so much, to Ronald Reagan. And wasn't it just Maureen to say, "I have melanoma. I'm going to fight it in my own way. But I'm going to go public to cure Alzheimer's. I'm not only going to raise money, I'm going to become a passionate advocate for finding the cure for Alzheimer's," and perhaps at her own detriment health-wise.

BLITZER: What do you mean?

DUBERSTEIN: That she didn't take care of herself while she was traveling around the country trying to find the cure, raise the money, for Alzheimer's, to help her beloved father. I mean, that's Maureen.

BLITZER: We have another e-mail from Norma in California. Let me read that to you: "Today is indeed a sad day, mostly for women all over the country. Maureen fought for our abortion rights. She believed, unlike her father, that it's a woman's right to choose. We lost her too young and before her work was done."

Take us inside a little bit more, this relationship, on a sensitive issue like abortion rights, between father and daughter.

DUBERSTEIN: Maureen was never shy in her beliefs. She understood where the president was coming from. But she wanted to always speak about the big ten. Broaden the party, broaden the coalition. And so she would have discussions with her father, argue her point of view, but it was always his decision. And sometimes she would laugh about it, and sometimes she'd shake her head, but she always stayed true and loyal to her father, even when she thought that he was mistaken in this view or that view.

That didn't happen very often, but Maureen was always the trooper, always the person who went out and spoke on the president's behalf, try to explain him to the American people or to various interest groups.

And, you know, even as we focused, and Ronald Reagan focused on Russia and ending the Cold War and China, there was Maureen saying but you need to be represented in Africa. And off Maureen went with the president's blessing, with George Schultz's blessing, the secretary of state, to expand the Reagan agenda to include Africa.

BLITZER: The major research organizations dealing with Alzheimer's are praising her for her work in recent years. Last year, she was on "LARRY KING LIVE." She spoke about Alzheimer's, the disease that's afflicted her dad. Listen to Maureen Reagan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. REAGAN: I don't fear it. No, I -- we've got to stop being afraid of this disease and confront it. I'm at war with Alzheimer's and I plan to win.

There are some genetic markers that have to do with Alzheimer's but, again, you have to live long enough, so something else may get you first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You know, how tragic, something else obviously did get her first.

DUBERSTEIN: What a poignant speech.

BLITZER: You know, normally the parents don't have to bury the children. In this particular case, the child obviously dies before the father, who has been so sick over these past few years. DUBERSTEIN: But, ironically, there was Maureen, whether it was on stem cell research to try to help find a cure for Alzheimer's, or raising money to fight Alzheimer's, almost as a right to life issue, because she had those genetic markers and she was saying, it may be too late for my father, but for generations yet to come, let's fight the good fight. Let's find the cure so that no one ever suffers again from Alzheimer's. That's Maureen Reagan, and that's the passion she brought to every relationship and everything she did.

BLITZER: And you'll be going to California for the funeral?

DUBERSTEIN: Yes, very much so.

BLITZER: OK. Ken Duberstein, on this sad day, thank you so much for joining us.

DUBERSTEIN: Thank you.

BLITZER: When we come back we'll turn to another subject. Chandra Levy has now been missing for 100 days. As her parents agonize, I'll speak live with longtime Levy family friend, Don Vance.

And the government rushes to release the latest news on diet and exercise. Can diabetes be prevented?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Exactly 100 days ago today, former Washington intern Chandra Levy disappeared without a trace.

As police grow increasingly frustrated, her parents maintain their public vigil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT LEVY, FATHER OF CHANDRA LEVY: We're grateful for your support. You know, we still hope and pray that Chandra will be found alive and will be returned to us. If anyone has any information about where she may be or what might have happened, please contact the authorities. We really appreciate your help and prayers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Has Congressman Gary Condit done all he can do to help? Joining me now from Modesto, California is a longtime friend of the Levy family, Don Vance.

Don, thanks once again for joining us, and before we get to some of the substance of questions, how do you think the Levy family is coping now on this 100th day of this search?

DON VANCE, LEVY FAMILY FRIEND: I think that the 100th day is probably just as hard as the first day for them, and that the 200th day, if it goes that far, will be just as hard as the 100th day, if not harder. BLITZER: As you know, there was earlier in the week a rally out there. Some people rallying in support of Congressman Gary Condit. I know you disagree with those people, but tell us briefly, what else do you think Congressman Gary Condit can do that he hasn't done yet?

VANCE: Well, I think that he could speak to the parents, for one thing. I think that he could reassure them that he's trying to do everything he can to help find Chandra. I think that that would be very comforting to the Levy's. I think that he could speak to his constituents, to reassure them, that he's doing everything that he can to help find Chandra.

But, unfortunately, all we have is silence.

BLITZER: You know, after the Levy family spoke out today, together with their attorney, Billy Martin, the public relations spokeswoman for Congressman Condit, Marina Ein, issued this statement. Let me read it to you.

She said, "Congressman Condit has met with law enforcement officials investigating Ms. Levy's disappearance and has fully answered their questions. In addition, the Congressman's attorney offered weeks ago to meet with the Levy's attorney and provide him with that same information. The Levy's attorney has never accepted this offer."

Why not accept the offer, at least, to meet with Abbe Lowell, the attorney for Congressman Condit?

VANCE: My comment on that?

BLITZER: Please.

VANCE: I know that at the last meeting, yes, at the last meeting, Sue Levy told me she was allowed to ask four questions of the Congressman. Perhaps it's a history like that that makes them very leery of speaking to him. You'd have to ask Billy Martin about that, though.

BLITZER: Let me point out that last night we had two of Congressman Condit's supporters on our program. I want to play this sound byte from one of them, Yvonne Allen, and get your reaction to why she says she's still defending, supporting Gary Condit. Listen to this, Don, right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YVONNE ALLEN, CONDIT SUPPORTER: I think he has been forthcoming with the information. He's answered all questions. He's taken a lie detector test, which he didn't have to do. He's had them search his apartment, which he didn't have to do. He's been very cooperative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Your reaction to Yvonne Allen, another constituent in Modesto? VANCE: My reaction? I'm a friend of Yvonne Allen, by the way, we're just on different sides of this. The problem is, that the trail had gone cold by the time that the Congressman decided that he would like to give some information.

The police are very insistent that these types of information be given to them right away, so we don't even know how complete the information was, but the terrible delay is the unforgivable thing, because who knows, had he done that sooner, we might have Chandra back by now.

BLITZER: But do you believe, as I guess some other people believe out there, that he may have had something actually to do with her disappearance?

VANCE: I'd say about half the people that I talk to actually believe that the Congressman had something to do with her disappearance. Yes. It's very common out here.

BLITZER: Well, what do you believe?

VANCE: I don't know what to believe, actually. I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt in my own mind, not doubt that he didn't help the police and therefore shouldn't be removed, and of course we have DefeatGaryCondit.org, our own organization to try to have him resign, but it's very difficult to give him the -- to continue to give him the benefit of the doubt when he doesn't give us anything to work on.

BLITZER: On this 100th day of the search, Don Vance, has the Levy family given up any hope of finding their daughter?

VANCE: Well, I think you heard Bob today. They still have hope. They're still expressing their requests and prayers of anybody that might have seen her, heard from her, that might be holding her. I frankly don't think that they will ever give up hope.

BLITZER: Well, on that note, I want to thank you once again, Don Vance, for joining us on our program. We appreciate it very much.

VANCE: Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you. And up next, it's another brutally hot day around much of the United States. We'll have more on how Americans try to deal with the high temperatures blanketing at least half this nation.

Also, important ways you may be able to prevent diabetes without medication.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Taking a look at our other top stories tonight, federal officials say they're going after people who have ordered child pornography over the Internet. That word comes after Monday's sentencing of a couple convicted of running what investigators call the largest commercial child porn enterprise in U.S. history. Authorities are using records from the business to track down customers. Dozens of arrests are expected over the next few months.

Prosecutors in Texas say they will seek the death penalty against Andrea Yates. She is accused of drowning her five children in their Texas home in June. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at an arraignment today. The judge granted a request for a competency hearing. Yates' family says she suffers from severe postpartum depression.

Stifling heat is blanketing much of the nation today. People in Philadelphia flocked to buy air conditioners as the high temperature reached a record 99 degrees. Media reports say a 78-year-old woman died of heart disease and heat stress today. At least 18 firefighters in Chicago had problems also. They were treated for heat exhaustion after working at a truck crash that closed a freeway.

Tonight on THE LEADING EDGE, a major recall by a pharmaceutical giant. Today, Bayer announced it's pulling its cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol from the market. 700,000 Americans use Baycol and some complain of side effects involving muscle weakness. The FDA says more than 31 deaths have been linked to the drug.

Drug treatment might not be the most effective line of defense for preventing adult onset diabetes. A new study finds Americans at high risk for the disease can lessen their chances of getting the disease by making lifestyle changes.

CNN medical correspondent Rea Blakey explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REA BLAKEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Trish Houston, before and after. Trish is one of more than 3,200 overweight adults who volunteered for a study to compare medication to diet and exercise. The goal: determine which could delay, maybe even prevent type II diabetes. The results show the greatest protection against developing diabetes occurred among people using lifestyle changes, like diet and exercise, to lose weight.

DR. ALLEN SPIEGEL, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES: Just a modest increase in activity, just a modest modification of diet, and in an appropriate way, in those particularly at high risk, we can prevent this disease.

BLAKEY (voice-over): Diet and exercise, with a goal of dropping just five to seven percent of body weight, translated into a 58 percent decrease in a high-risk person's chances of developing diabetes.

That same figure climbed to a dramatic 71 percent among people aged 60 and older. Participants who took only the oral diabetes medication Glucophage, reduced their risks by only 31 percent.

Trish Houston was among the lifestyle changes group. She first had to figure out how much fat was in her diet, then cut it by three- quarters. And like most of the lifestyle changes group, Trish exercised by walking, just two-and-a-half hours a week.

Almost three years later, Trish wants to lose more weight. She still has impaired glucose tolerance, but she doesn't have diabetes.

Rea Blakey, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Up next, I'll open our mailbag. One of you says Congressman Gary Condit's supporters are suffering from the Bill Clinton syndrome. I'll explain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Time now to open our mailbag. Lots of reaction to my interview last night with those two supporters of Gary Condit.

Brian in Kentucky writes this: "Wolf, you were far too easy on those mindless Condit sheep, I mean supporters. They dodged answering your questions with the typical we-won't-judge-him response. It's the Bill Clinton syndrome repeating itself."

And this from Kenneth in Newark, Delaware: "When one chooses public life, doors open, expenses covered, high wages, etcetera. In exchange for these privileges, one forfeits some of their privacy."

And finally, this nice note from Howard in Vienna, Virginia: "I think your bridge building between the Internet and conventional media has been fantastic. I look forward to reading your columns and then complementing them with your show. Thanks for doing what a great journalist is supposed to do, keep us well informed about things that matter."

Thank you very much, Howard. And if you're like Howard, you can read my daily on-line column by going to my Web site, CNN.com/Wolf. And remember, I want to hear from you. Please e-mail me at Wolf@CNN.com.

Please stay with CNN throughout the night. Lana Turner's daughter is Larry King's guest at the top of the hour. Up next, Greta Van Susteren. She's standing by to tell us what she has -- Greta.

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