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American Morning

Remembering Ronald Reagan

Aired June 06, 2004 - 07:30   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It was truly a remarkable political life that he did, indeed, lead. Here is senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The guy could deliver a line. An actor by trade, a communicator by nature.

REAGAN: We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good- bye. And slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.

CROWLEY: Born in Illinois, February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan started out in radio in Iowa, made it to Hollywood, married two leading ladies, became a father of four, and then took on a new role, politician. He was elected governor of California, ran for president, and stole a line from the movies.

REAGAN: I am paying for this microphone.

CROWLEY: He won at age 69, the oldest man ever elected to the White House.

REAGAN: That I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States.

CROWLEY: Reagan nearly died in an assassination attempt, but a quick recovery cemented his image as a tough guy on a mission.

There were critics of huge deficits and painful spending cuts, and there were controversies. Iran-Contra, an arms sale deal with Iran to fund so-called freedom fighters in Nicaragua.

REAGAN: As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities.

CROWLEY: He had a deceptively simple agenda.

REAGAN: Our government is too big and it spends too much.

CROWLEY: Lower taxes, smaller government, a stronger military.

REAGAN: The American uniform is once again worn with pride.

CROWLEY: Above all, an end to communism.

REAGAN: For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny.

CROWLEY: Never one for inside the Beltway, he loved his place in the mountains above Santa Barbara, Rancho del Cieolo, and entertained royalty there, and they returned the favor on their turf. His eyesight was too poor to serve in combat, but his was the greatest generation and he remembered them often, most memorably at Normandy on the cliffs of Pont-au-Hoc.

REAGAN: What impels you to put aside the instinct for self- preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs, what inspired all the men of the armies that met here, we look at you and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief. It was loyalty and love.

CROWLEY: He served for eight years of history, and then returned home to California. Bidding his party farewell four years later, the great communicator wrote his own epitaph.

REAGAN: And whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence, rather than your doubts.

CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With us now, a personal friend of former President Reagan, who was a Republican senator from the state of Maine during the years, former Defense Secretary William Cohen. He's live in Singapore.

We all know that former President Reagan loved to write letters, and he had an extensive list of correspondents throughout his life, including with you. Share us a little bit -- share with us today a little bit of that correspondence if you could?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, we had a number of conversations and correspondence, but one that comes to mind initially is the time that he contacted me concerning an arms control or reduction proposal that I and Senator Nunn had -- authored an article, and he made sure that he got in touch with me and endorsed it, and frankly sent me on my way to the Soviet Union to try and persuade the Soviets that it was in the best interest of both the Soviet Union and the United States to pursue it.

But during the course of that, I had occasion to meet with a Russian poet by the name of Andrei Voznesenskiy, who came to Washington about a year later, and he asked me whether I could arrange for a private meeting with President Reagan. I called Bud McFarland, then serving as national security adviser, arranged for a private meeting with the president, and it's one of the most memorable experiences that I can recall, in that here's this very famous Russian poet asking President Reagan did he know much about the Russian people, did he know their history, their culture, their literature. And President Reagan at that point responded that he had read Dostoevsky during his college years. And then Voznesenskiy turned to him and said, "Mr. President, you must have an exchange of our artists, our musicians, our authors, our students."

And President Reagan at that moment said, "you're right," and from that moment forward he tore down some of the restrictions on having these exchanges.

And I think that is the beginning of the melting of that Cold War, that big wall that existed, and it was a moment that I'll never forget and always remember.

And then another moment was when in 1991 I was in California with my now wife, Janet Langhard Cohen (ph), and we -- when President Reagan found out that I was in town he invited me and Janet to join him at his 80th birthday party at Chasen's (ph) restaurant, and it proved another factor, that he would not feed fat any grudges. I served on the Iran-Contra committee, and that committee was quite critical of what happened during the Iran-Contra affair, but President Reagan, to his credit, never bore any grudges or ill will. He looked at life with a happy smile and a sense of optimism, and he could look at that process and that procedure and find his accountability for it, but the fact that he would invite me to join him for the celebration of a private occasion, his 80th birthday, is something that I will never forget.

HEMMER: During the 1980s, a Republican yourself in Congress, what do you think it was about Ronald Reagan that helped him reinvigorate the Republican Party, coming out of the late '70s and heading into a new decade?

COHEN: I think he exceeded everyone's expectations. He -- there were questions about age, about ideological rigidity, about his capability, and he shattered all of those expectations. He was able to tell us to get up out of the sick bay, that we had to get rid of this malaise, that we had to take pride in our past and have a sense of confidence about the future, and I think it was this -- that sunny optimism that was so invigorating that people would question his -- his politics as such, some of his programs, but they basically loved him.

And frankly, that's what was most inspiring about it, that he had this capacity to make people feel good about themselves, feel good about the country, and to re-invigorate the sense of purpose and destiny, that it was going to be morning in America, to use his phrase. And so I think he was able to overcome the ideological spectrum as such, that he was not as rigid as people had expected, myself included, that he was able to work with President Gorbachev to, in effect, end the Cold War, by his persistence, by peace through strength, but also his willingness to meet Gorbachev halfway.

And I think it was that personal charm, that willingness on his part to put aside ideologies when it became necessary to understand that other countries may see things differently and to work with them to achieve a durable peace.

HEMMER: Thank you for your time.

COHEN: He had an invigorating and infectious, contagious sense of enthusiasm.

HEMMER: William Cohen, former secretary of defense, from Singapore this morning, appreciate it. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the condolences are pouring in from all across the country. We're going to tell you what former President Bill Clinton had to say about Ronald Reagan's passing.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, hear from some of the people who knew Reagan many years ago, when he was just a guy called Dutch. From the state of Illinois. Back in a moment here on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In a statement, former President Bill Clinton said, "Ronald Reagan personified the indomitable optimism of the American people." He continued, saying "President Reagan demonstrated his strength and resolve after leaving office, when he shared his struggle with Alzheimer's disease with the world. We will always remember his tremendous capacity to inspire and comfort us in times of tragedy, as he did after the loss of the space shuttle Challenger. Now, he too has slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God. And we can rest assured that as joyous a place as heaven is, his wit and sunny disposition are making it an even brighter place to be."

Earlier this morning, here on CNN, Wolf Blitzer spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the 60th anniversary of the D-Day in Normandy, France. Secretary Powell talked about his dealing with former President Reagan, as well as his former colleague, Frank Carlucci.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I came into the White House as deputy national security adviser in January of 1987, after the Iran- Contra problem. And Frank Carlucci came as national security adviser, to get things going again. The administration was in very great trouble at that point, as you'll recall.

BLITZER: This is after Poindexter and McFarland were in big trouble.

POWELL: Exactly. And Frank Carlucci, an old, dear friend of mine, my godfather, as I call him, my mentor in political life, he asked me to come back from commanding my corps in Germany to be his deputy. And I said, I don't want to do that. Well, President Reagan called me and said, you've got to do it. And I did. And then 11 months later, Frank Carlucci went over to the Pentagon, to replace Cap Weinberger, who left after a distinguished period of service. And one day Frank walked into the Situation Room, and he had a little scribbled note, and he handed it to me at the beginning of a meeting. And I opened it up, and it said, "you are now the national security adviser." President Reagan had picked me.

I had gotten to know the president very well by then, of course, and I treasured that friendship. And after he left office, we stayed in touch. Stayed in touch with both President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan. I have fond memories of those days. But to show if I could just have a minute, what it was like, two quick vignettes.

After he retired, I went to see him out in his home in Beverly Hills, and I had retired. But a young sergeant had been assigned, as a courtesy, to drive me to the house. As we were pulling up to the house, the young sergeant said to me, "would you please tell President Reagan how much we appreciate what he did for us." And I said, OK. So I got to the door, rang the doorbell. President Reagan answered the door, welcomed me. Come on in, say hello to Nancy. And I said, "there is somebody I want you to meet." And I called the sergeant over. I said, "Sergeant, you tell him yourself."

Sergeant was stunned. He couldn't say a word. He just did what sergeants do -- he came to attention, saluted President Reagan. President Reagan returned the salute. We went into the house. The sergeant went back to the car, the door closed, and President Reagan said to me, "Colin, is it still OK for me to salute?" I said, "Mr. Reagan, don't you ever stop saluting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Secretary of State Colin Powell discussing former President Ronald Reagan earlier here on CNN.

HEMMER: What a great interview.

O'BRIEN: Amazing stories, I think personal stories.

HEMMER: Yeah, I agree.

O'BRIEN: It's been so interesting to hear.

HEMMER: Presidential legacies are the business of our next guest, historian Douglas Brinkley, the author of "Voices of Valor." He joins us to talk about Ronald Reagan from Normandy, France, where he's attending the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Welcome on this Sunday morning to you.

It has been said that 20 years in the 40th anniversary of the D- Day invasion that Ronald Reagan delivered one of his best speeches of his entire eight-year presidency. What was so special and memorable about that speech that day?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, he spoke in very moving terms about the boys of Point du Hoc, Point du Hoc is near where I'm sitting right now. I'm in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach. And that point was 100-foot cliffs where you had German bunkers with guns in it, and it was what we needed to take out. And when our troops landed in those Higgins boats and landed on the shores, they tried to storm those 100 foot cliffs. Many got mowed down. It's the scene really that begins Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." And Reagan really picked that moment at Point du Hoc with that background, to remind people of the courage and valor that occurred on June 6, 1944, and really since that Reagan speech -- it was just a brilliantly written and delivered speech -- D-Day's become more and more part of the American consciousness, and I think Reagan, along with Tom Brokaw and others, deserve some of the credit.

HEMMER: We frame him with this tag, the great communicator, as he has been known for decades now. What was it going back to his days as a sportscaster in Illinois, calling the games for the Chicago Cubs, that enabled him to understand the power of the spoken word and the way it was delivered, that enabled him to become an actor based on that experience that he gathered there in Illinois, that eventually taking that to the microphone at the most powerful position in the world. When you think about that and that evolution of his progress, can you explain to us how he was able to develop these skills and talents?

BRINKLEY: Well, I think when you talk about Illinois, you know, born in Tempico, he went to college in Eureka, lived in Dixon, Illinois, but he always had a western vector. In fact, his first job crossing the Mississippi River. You know, a lot of people in Illinois start looking to New York or Boston or the East Coast. He always looked West. And when he moved into Davenport, Iowa, he actually went to stay where Buffalo Bill used to live. William Cody (ph) was from Iowa, born on the river, in a town called Leclair, and Reagan was enamored with the showman Buffalo Bill. And from Iowa, you know, of course he headed to Hollywood and got a deal with Warner Brothers in 1937; $200, you know a week pay.

And from that point on he was off and running. Had the Knute Rockne (ph) movie. And you know, we talk about World War II, he made a lot of movies in World War II, but I think he always wished he would have been able to serve in combat. He had bad eyesight, he wasn't, but yet he ended up becoming a captain.

And the key I think to the Reagan as you watch him is optimism. He always seemed to be upbeat. He never -- never hated his critics. He kind of simply shrugged them off, he marched to the beat beat of his own drum. And he's a great American original. And he always understood the heartbeat of Main Street in America, he understood what the average Joe, if you like, thought and felt, and he never forget about them.

He never became pompous or elite, and the people loved him for that.

HEMMER: Listening to people who grew up around the area of Illinois during that time, they said it did not matter what was happening of the headlines around the world. Every time they tuned in the radio to listen to Ronald Reagan, he was still optimistic and somehow had a smile across his face and came though. Thank you, Douglas Brinkley, in Normandy today. Appreciate your comments. Soledad. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning -- before he was president of the United States, Ronald Reagan was president of the student council and a member of the football team. We'll take you back in time to his hometown in Illinois, that's just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper in Simi Valley, California, at the President Reagan Library and museum, where President Reagan's body will be brought later today, we anticipate.

In 1990, President Reagan published an autobiography called "An American Life," and his was a distinctly American life. His journey, distinctly American. And what a journey it was, from a small town in Illinois to Hollywood to the halls of power in Washington.

He was born in Tempico, Illinois, a small apartment above a bank. His parents didn't have much money. They moved around a lot. His father often unemployed. A salesman. But it was Tempico where he was born, but the place he considered his hometown was where his family moved several years later, to Dixon, Illinois, and that's where we find CNN's Jonathan Freed this morning. Good morning, Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson. We are here in front of the First Christian Church in downtown Dixon, Illinois, which Ronald Reagan attended as a boy. Here in Dixon, they are sad but still fiercely proud of their favorite son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREED (voice-over): As president, Ronald Reagan would be dubbed the great communicator for his ability to explain complex issues in simple terms.

REAGAN: And it took 300 people in my Office of Management and Budget, just to read the bill so the government wouldn't shut down.

FREED: But from the time of his youth, here in Illinois, they simply dubbed him Dutch. He was born in 1911 to parents Jack and Nelle in the town of Tempico. The Reagans settled in Dixon when Dutch was 9 years old.

REAGAN: We were a family that could only be described as poor in a financial way or material way, and yet we had a very happy life, the four of us.

FREED: Some of the strongest hometown memories, though, flow from the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can still see the dock out here, with Dutch walking up and down the dock, with his swimming suit on that said "Lifeguard" with a whistle around his neck.

FREED: 1928, Ronald Reagan headed to Eureka College, just 60 miles south of Dixon. He played on the Golden Tornado football team and was captain and then coach of the swim team. He kept up the acting and was president of the student senate.

In 1990, Mr. Reagan returned to Dixon for the last time. Drawn again to the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you really pull 77 people out of here?

REAGAN: Yes. Supposed to be the log. I used to cut a notch in a log for every one of them.

FREED: And he toured the restored home where he grew up.

REAGAN: Very much like it always did.

FREED: The friends of his younger years consider it remarkable that the man who would be president never stopped being the regular guy they knew and loved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just one of us. That's another reason why it was a bigger surprise to us, probably, than the people that didn't know him to see how well he succeeded.

FREED: And if a measure of a person's worth on earth is how they think of you after you're gone, some of those who knew Ronald Reagan take his measure by the way his personality, they say, raised the spirits of a nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREED: And Sunday services begin here in Dixon, Illinois in about 2 and a half hours -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jonathan, thanks very much. As we said, a distinctly American journey. One final note, in his high school yearbook, this is the motto he had written. "Life is just one grand sweet song so start the music. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And he did, in November of 1989. Welcome back, everybody, to Jack Cafferty now.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What is your fondest memory of the late President Ronald Reagan? And we're getting some terrific stuff.

Paul writes in Hillertown, Pennsylvania, he's a dyed in the wool liberal Democrat. "I didn't care for many of President Reagan's policies. However, he was an honest, loyal, faithful and powerful leader. And unlike Presidents Nixon and Clinton, among others, he never sullied the White House. I shall miss his integrity.

Jonathan writes: "Because I'm only 14, I wasn't alive when Mr. Reagan was president, but from what I've read he was one of the greatest. Good luck to the Reagan family."

Larry in Sugar Grove, Virginia: "The 'touch of face of God' speech after the Challenger explosion. That quote has stuck with me all these years. It was so beautiful and profound. On a lighter note, when he lampooned Bill Clinton at the 1992 Republican convention with the "I knew Thomas Jefferson and you governor are no Thomas Jefferson line."

Alan in Brick, New Jersey -- "Americans endured the heartache of Vietnam, coped with gas lines, rising fuel prices, lived with double digit inflation and watched helplessly as our fellow Americans were taken hostage in Iran. Having lived through all of this, Americans have lost faith in their government, have lost confidence in themselves and in many ways felt lost and defeated. Ronald Reagan more than anyone in our history restored faith in America, restored confidence in their leaders and restored pride in being an American."

I was watching an interview last night with Bill Bennett, who was the secretary of education. Reagan had a wicked sense of humor. And he was telling the story about the two of them being in the presidential limousine one day, and the limo had been in the shop to have some work done on the public address system that they could use to talk to crowds as the limousine moved along through the streets of Washington.

And at one point, the president stopped the limousine and he said, you know, I want to make sure this thing is working all right. He said, get out and -- to Bennett and go down about 10 yards in front of the limousine and let's test this public address system. Bennett said he got out, walked about 10 yards down the street. The president put on the button and said, "you hear me all right?" He said, "yes, Mr. President." He said, "Go back about 20 yards, let's just make sure." He did it again. "Can you hear me all right?" "Yes, Mr. President."

He said, all right, let's find out if this thing really works. Go down about 100 yards and let me see if you can still hear me. He went down about 100 yards; when he turned around the car was gone. Reagan had driven away and left him there. Great sucker.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: ... his confidence, his optimism, the words we keep hearing over and over this morning. Thanks, Jack.

Still to come this morning, it was the biggest landslide in electoral college history. But we're going to talk to the man who guided Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign. Republican strategist Ed Rowlands tells us why Reagan was the great communicator. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

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Aired June 6, 2004 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It was truly a remarkable political life that he did, indeed, lead. Here is senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The guy could deliver a line. An actor by trade, a communicator by nature.

REAGAN: We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good- bye. And slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.

CROWLEY: Born in Illinois, February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan started out in radio in Iowa, made it to Hollywood, married two leading ladies, became a father of four, and then took on a new role, politician. He was elected governor of California, ran for president, and stole a line from the movies.

REAGAN: I am paying for this microphone.

CROWLEY: He won at age 69, the oldest man ever elected to the White House.

REAGAN: That I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States.

CROWLEY: Reagan nearly died in an assassination attempt, but a quick recovery cemented his image as a tough guy on a mission.

There were critics of huge deficits and painful spending cuts, and there were controversies. Iran-Contra, an arms sale deal with Iran to fund so-called freedom fighters in Nicaragua.

REAGAN: As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities.

CROWLEY: He had a deceptively simple agenda.

REAGAN: Our government is too big and it spends too much.

CROWLEY: Lower taxes, smaller government, a stronger military.

REAGAN: The American uniform is once again worn with pride.

CROWLEY: Above all, an end to communism.

REAGAN: For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny.

CROWLEY: Never one for inside the Beltway, he loved his place in the mountains above Santa Barbara, Rancho del Cieolo, and entertained royalty there, and they returned the favor on their turf. His eyesight was too poor to serve in combat, but his was the greatest generation and he remembered them often, most memorably at Normandy on the cliffs of Pont-au-Hoc.

REAGAN: What impels you to put aside the instinct for self- preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs, what inspired all the men of the armies that met here, we look at you and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief. It was loyalty and love.

CROWLEY: He served for eight years of history, and then returned home to California. Bidding his party farewell four years later, the great communicator wrote his own epitaph.

REAGAN: And whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence, rather than your doubts.

CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With us now, a personal friend of former President Reagan, who was a Republican senator from the state of Maine during the years, former Defense Secretary William Cohen. He's live in Singapore.

We all know that former President Reagan loved to write letters, and he had an extensive list of correspondents throughout his life, including with you. Share us a little bit -- share with us today a little bit of that correspondence if you could?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, we had a number of conversations and correspondence, but one that comes to mind initially is the time that he contacted me concerning an arms control or reduction proposal that I and Senator Nunn had -- authored an article, and he made sure that he got in touch with me and endorsed it, and frankly sent me on my way to the Soviet Union to try and persuade the Soviets that it was in the best interest of both the Soviet Union and the United States to pursue it.

But during the course of that, I had occasion to meet with a Russian poet by the name of Andrei Voznesenskiy, who came to Washington about a year later, and he asked me whether I could arrange for a private meeting with President Reagan. I called Bud McFarland, then serving as national security adviser, arranged for a private meeting with the president, and it's one of the most memorable experiences that I can recall, in that here's this very famous Russian poet asking President Reagan did he know much about the Russian people, did he know their history, their culture, their literature. And President Reagan at that point responded that he had read Dostoevsky during his college years. And then Voznesenskiy turned to him and said, "Mr. President, you must have an exchange of our artists, our musicians, our authors, our students."

And President Reagan at that moment said, "you're right," and from that moment forward he tore down some of the restrictions on having these exchanges.

And I think that is the beginning of the melting of that Cold War, that big wall that existed, and it was a moment that I'll never forget and always remember.

And then another moment was when in 1991 I was in California with my now wife, Janet Langhard Cohen (ph), and we -- when President Reagan found out that I was in town he invited me and Janet to join him at his 80th birthday party at Chasen's (ph) restaurant, and it proved another factor, that he would not feed fat any grudges. I served on the Iran-Contra committee, and that committee was quite critical of what happened during the Iran-Contra affair, but President Reagan, to his credit, never bore any grudges or ill will. He looked at life with a happy smile and a sense of optimism, and he could look at that process and that procedure and find his accountability for it, but the fact that he would invite me to join him for the celebration of a private occasion, his 80th birthday, is something that I will never forget.

HEMMER: During the 1980s, a Republican yourself in Congress, what do you think it was about Ronald Reagan that helped him reinvigorate the Republican Party, coming out of the late '70s and heading into a new decade?

COHEN: I think he exceeded everyone's expectations. He -- there were questions about age, about ideological rigidity, about his capability, and he shattered all of those expectations. He was able to tell us to get up out of the sick bay, that we had to get rid of this malaise, that we had to take pride in our past and have a sense of confidence about the future, and I think it was this -- that sunny optimism that was so invigorating that people would question his -- his politics as such, some of his programs, but they basically loved him.

And frankly, that's what was most inspiring about it, that he had this capacity to make people feel good about themselves, feel good about the country, and to re-invigorate the sense of purpose and destiny, that it was going to be morning in America, to use his phrase. And so I think he was able to overcome the ideological spectrum as such, that he was not as rigid as people had expected, myself included, that he was able to work with President Gorbachev to, in effect, end the Cold War, by his persistence, by peace through strength, but also his willingness to meet Gorbachev halfway.

And I think it was that personal charm, that willingness on his part to put aside ideologies when it became necessary to understand that other countries may see things differently and to work with them to achieve a durable peace.

HEMMER: Thank you for your time.

COHEN: He had an invigorating and infectious, contagious sense of enthusiasm.

HEMMER: William Cohen, former secretary of defense, from Singapore this morning, appreciate it. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the condolences are pouring in from all across the country. We're going to tell you what former President Bill Clinton had to say about Ronald Reagan's passing.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, hear from some of the people who knew Reagan many years ago, when he was just a guy called Dutch. From the state of Illinois. Back in a moment here on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In a statement, former President Bill Clinton said, "Ronald Reagan personified the indomitable optimism of the American people." He continued, saying "President Reagan demonstrated his strength and resolve after leaving office, when he shared his struggle with Alzheimer's disease with the world. We will always remember his tremendous capacity to inspire and comfort us in times of tragedy, as he did after the loss of the space shuttle Challenger. Now, he too has slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God. And we can rest assured that as joyous a place as heaven is, his wit and sunny disposition are making it an even brighter place to be."

Earlier this morning, here on CNN, Wolf Blitzer spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the 60th anniversary of the D-Day in Normandy, France. Secretary Powell talked about his dealing with former President Reagan, as well as his former colleague, Frank Carlucci.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I came into the White House as deputy national security adviser in January of 1987, after the Iran- Contra problem. And Frank Carlucci came as national security adviser, to get things going again. The administration was in very great trouble at that point, as you'll recall.

BLITZER: This is after Poindexter and McFarland were in big trouble.

POWELL: Exactly. And Frank Carlucci, an old, dear friend of mine, my godfather, as I call him, my mentor in political life, he asked me to come back from commanding my corps in Germany to be his deputy. And I said, I don't want to do that. Well, President Reagan called me and said, you've got to do it. And I did. And then 11 months later, Frank Carlucci went over to the Pentagon, to replace Cap Weinberger, who left after a distinguished period of service. And one day Frank walked into the Situation Room, and he had a little scribbled note, and he handed it to me at the beginning of a meeting. And I opened it up, and it said, "you are now the national security adviser." President Reagan had picked me.

I had gotten to know the president very well by then, of course, and I treasured that friendship. And after he left office, we stayed in touch. Stayed in touch with both President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan. I have fond memories of those days. But to show if I could just have a minute, what it was like, two quick vignettes.

After he retired, I went to see him out in his home in Beverly Hills, and I had retired. But a young sergeant had been assigned, as a courtesy, to drive me to the house. As we were pulling up to the house, the young sergeant said to me, "would you please tell President Reagan how much we appreciate what he did for us." And I said, OK. So I got to the door, rang the doorbell. President Reagan answered the door, welcomed me. Come on in, say hello to Nancy. And I said, "there is somebody I want you to meet." And I called the sergeant over. I said, "Sergeant, you tell him yourself."

Sergeant was stunned. He couldn't say a word. He just did what sergeants do -- he came to attention, saluted President Reagan. President Reagan returned the salute. We went into the house. The sergeant went back to the car, the door closed, and President Reagan said to me, "Colin, is it still OK for me to salute?" I said, "Mr. Reagan, don't you ever stop saluting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Secretary of State Colin Powell discussing former President Ronald Reagan earlier here on CNN.

HEMMER: What a great interview.

O'BRIEN: Amazing stories, I think personal stories.

HEMMER: Yeah, I agree.

O'BRIEN: It's been so interesting to hear.

HEMMER: Presidential legacies are the business of our next guest, historian Douglas Brinkley, the author of "Voices of Valor." He joins us to talk about Ronald Reagan from Normandy, France, where he's attending the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Welcome on this Sunday morning to you.

It has been said that 20 years in the 40th anniversary of the D- Day invasion that Ronald Reagan delivered one of his best speeches of his entire eight-year presidency. What was so special and memorable about that speech that day?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, he spoke in very moving terms about the boys of Point du Hoc, Point du Hoc is near where I'm sitting right now. I'm in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach. And that point was 100-foot cliffs where you had German bunkers with guns in it, and it was what we needed to take out. And when our troops landed in those Higgins boats and landed on the shores, they tried to storm those 100 foot cliffs. Many got mowed down. It's the scene really that begins Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." And Reagan really picked that moment at Point du Hoc with that background, to remind people of the courage and valor that occurred on June 6, 1944, and really since that Reagan speech -- it was just a brilliantly written and delivered speech -- D-Day's become more and more part of the American consciousness, and I think Reagan, along with Tom Brokaw and others, deserve some of the credit.

HEMMER: We frame him with this tag, the great communicator, as he has been known for decades now. What was it going back to his days as a sportscaster in Illinois, calling the games for the Chicago Cubs, that enabled him to understand the power of the spoken word and the way it was delivered, that enabled him to become an actor based on that experience that he gathered there in Illinois, that eventually taking that to the microphone at the most powerful position in the world. When you think about that and that evolution of his progress, can you explain to us how he was able to develop these skills and talents?

BRINKLEY: Well, I think when you talk about Illinois, you know, born in Tempico, he went to college in Eureka, lived in Dixon, Illinois, but he always had a western vector. In fact, his first job crossing the Mississippi River. You know, a lot of people in Illinois start looking to New York or Boston or the East Coast. He always looked West. And when he moved into Davenport, Iowa, he actually went to stay where Buffalo Bill used to live. William Cody (ph) was from Iowa, born on the river, in a town called Leclair, and Reagan was enamored with the showman Buffalo Bill. And from Iowa, you know, of course he headed to Hollywood and got a deal with Warner Brothers in 1937; $200, you know a week pay.

And from that point on he was off and running. Had the Knute Rockne (ph) movie. And you know, we talk about World War II, he made a lot of movies in World War II, but I think he always wished he would have been able to serve in combat. He had bad eyesight, he wasn't, but yet he ended up becoming a captain.

And the key I think to the Reagan as you watch him is optimism. He always seemed to be upbeat. He never -- never hated his critics. He kind of simply shrugged them off, he marched to the beat beat of his own drum. And he's a great American original. And he always understood the heartbeat of Main Street in America, he understood what the average Joe, if you like, thought and felt, and he never forget about them.

He never became pompous or elite, and the people loved him for that.

HEMMER: Listening to people who grew up around the area of Illinois during that time, they said it did not matter what was happening of the headlines around the world. Every time they tuned in the radio to listen to Ronald Reagan, he was still optimistic and somehow had a smile across his face and came though. Thank you, Douglas Brinkley, in Normandy today. Appreciate your comments. Soledad. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning -- before he was president of the United States, Ronald Reagan was president of the student council and a member of the football team. We'll take you back in time to his hometown in Illinois, that's just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper in Simi Valley, California, at the President Reagan Library and museum, where President Reagan's body will be brought later today, we anticipate.

In 1990, President Reagan published an autobiography called "An American Life," and his was a distinctly American life. His journey, distinctly American. And what a journey it was, from a small town in Illinois to Hollywood to the halls of power in Washington.

He was born in Tempico, Illinois, a small apartment above a bank. His parents didn't have much money. They moved around a lot. His father often unemployed. A salesman. But it was Tempico where he was born, but the place he considered his hometown was where his family moved several years later, to Dixon, Illinois, and that's where we find CNN's Jonathan Freed this morning. Good morning, Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson. We are here in front of the First Christian Church in downtown Dixon, Illinois, which Ronald Reagan attended as a boy. Here in Dixon, they are sad but still fiercely proud of their favorite son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREED (voice-over): As president, Ronald Reagan would be dubbed the great communicator for his ability to explain complex issues in simple terms.

REAGAN: And it took 300 people in my Office of Management and Budget, just to read the bill so the government wouldn't shut down.

FREED: But from the time of his youth, here in Illinois, they simply dubbed him Dutch. He was born in 1911 to parents Jack and Nelle in the town of Tempico. The Reagans settled in Dixon when Dutch was 9 years old.

REAGAN: We were a family that could only be described as poor in a financial way or material way, and yet we had a very happy life, the four of us.

FREED: Some of the strongest hometown memories, though, flow from the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can still see the dock out here, with Dutch walking up and down the dock, with his swimming suit on that said "Lifeguard" with a whistle around his neck.

FREED: 1928, Ronald Reagan headed to Eureka College, just 60 miles south of Dixon. He played on the Golden Tornado football team and was captain and then coach of the swim team. He kept up the acting and was president of the student senate.

In 1990, Mr. Reagan returned to Dixon for the last time. Drawn again to the river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you really pull 77 people out of here?

REAGAN: Yes. Supposed to be the log. I used to cut a notch in a log for every one of them.

FREED: And he toured the restored home where he grew up.

REAGAN: Very much like it always did.

FREED: The friends of his younger years consider it remarkable that the man who would be president never stopped being the regular guy they knew and loved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just one of us. That's another reason why it was a bigger surprise to us, probably, than the people that didn't know him to see how well he succeeded.

FREED: And if a measure of a person's worth on earth is how they think of you after you're gone, some of those who knew Ronald Reagan take his measure by the way his personality, they say, raised the spirits of a nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREED: And Sunday services begin here in Dixon, Illinois in about 2 and a half hours -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jonathan, thanks very much. As we said, a distinctly American journey. One final note, in his high school yearbook, this is the motto he had written. "Life is just one grand sweet song so start the music. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And he did, in November of 1989. Welcome back, everybody, to Jack Cafferty now.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What is your fondest memory of the late President Ronald Reagan? And we're getting some terrific stuff.

Paul writes in Hillertown, Pennsylvania, he's a dyed in the wool liberal Democrat. "I didn't care for many of President Reagan's policies. However, he was an honest, loyal, faithful and powerful leader. And unlike Presidents Nixon and Clinton, among others, he never sullied the White House. I shall miss his integrity.

Jonathan writes: "Because I'm only 14, I wasn't alive when Mr. Reagan was president, but from what I've read he was one of the greatest. Good luck to the Reagan family."

Larry in Sugar Grove, Virginia: "The 'touch of face of God' speech after the Challenger explosion. That quote has stuck with me all these years. It was so beautiful and profound. On a lighter note, when he lampooned Bill Clinton at the 1992 Republican convention with the "I knew Thomas Jefferson and you governor are no Thomas Jefferson line."

Alan in Brick, New Jersey -- "Americans endured the heartache of Vietnam, coped with gas lines, rising fuel prices, lived with double digit inflation and watched helplessly as our fellow Americans were taken hostage in Iran. Having lived through all of this, Americans have lost faith in their government, have lost confidence in themselves and in many ways felt lost and defeated. Ronald Reagan more than anyone in our history restored faith in America, restored confidence in their leaders and restored pride in being an American."

I was watching an interview last night with Bill Bennett, who was the secretary of education. Reagan had a wicked sense of humor. And he was telling the story about the two of them being in the presidential limousine one day, and the limo had been in the shop to have some work done on the public address system that they could use to talk to crowds as the limousine moved along through the streets of Washington.

And at one point, the president stopped the limousine and he said, you know, I want to make sure this thing is working all right. He said, get out and -- to Bennett and go down about 10 yards in front of the limousine and let's test this public address system. Bennett said he got out, walked about 10 yards down the street. The president put on the button and said, "you hear me all right?" He said, "yes, Mr. President." He said, "Go back about 20 yards, let's just make sure." He did it again. "Can you hear me all right?" "Yes, Mr. President."

He said, all right, let's find out if this thing really works. Go down about 100 yards and let me see if you can still hear me. He went down about 100 yards; when he turned around the car was gone. Reagan had driven away and left him there. Great sucker.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: ... his confidence, his optimism, the words we keep hearing over and over this morning. Thanks, Jack.

Still to come this morning, it was the biggest landslide in electoral college history. But we're going to talk to the man who guided Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign. Republican strategist Ed Rowlands tells us why Reagan was the great communicator. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

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