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Coverage Of Nancy Reagan's Funeral Service. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 11, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:31:19] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All that the father give shall come to me shall come in the end him that come into to me I will no wise cast out. He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies by his spirit and dwell within us. Wherefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoice. My flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou shall show me the path of life. In thine presence is the fullness of joy and at thy right hand there is pleasure for ever more.

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. We commend to all mighty God our sister Nancy. And we commit her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless her and keep her. The Lord make his face to shine upon her and be gracious unto her. The Lord lift up his countenance upon her and give her peace, amen.

Rest eternal grant to her, o Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will. Working in you that which is pleasing in his sight and the blessing of God all mighty, the father, the son and the holy spirit be upon you, and all beloved to you, this day and for ever more. Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, all guests are invited to pay their respects at the interment site and then join for a luncheon reception in the Air Force One pavilion, thank you.

[15:38:59] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to sit on these pictures but we have all been witnessing for the last 90 minutes just an extraordinarily elegant funeral service there at the Ronald Reagan presidential library. There, Michelle Obama paying her respects, saying hello to Nancy Reagan's children, both Ron Reagan and Patti Davis as we watch. The casket has been removed and is now just outside of the Reagan library.

I have David Gergen within me and I also have Kate Andersen Brower. We have been sitting here watching this, you know, for the last two hours nearly in tears in parts. (INAUDIBLE) when we heard the letter that was written by Ronald Reagan to his wife, their first Christmas in the White House, 1981, and that was read by the honorable Brian Mulroney, who is the former Canadian PM. That to me, I mean, so many moments stood out for you, David. DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely, the letter, I

never heard the letter before. I just don't know any other president in his life who shared such sentiments as eloquently as he did. You know, those are all -- there was no speechwriter for that. That came from him, it came from deep within. And I think it captured the love story better than anything else possibly could have because it was in their words and it captured both of them. You found both of them in that letter.

[15:40:22] BALDWIN: Hearing the anecdote he shared when he and the president, you know, saw both of their wives and the joke about how did we ever get so lucky is, you know, he being an Irishman saying, and just couldn't believe the beauty walking toward them. For you, what was the moment?

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: I mean, I just thought it was very emotional to hear about her as this whole woman, you know, that she was loving and kind. She had moments of weakness. She wasn't perfect in any way and I think that's what makes her so interesting. But it is really her allegiance to President Reagan. You know, I was reminded of the story of her after the assassination attempt where she actually went on a ladder to go get his favorite photo and bring it to him in the hospital and she fell and broke a couple of ribs and she never told anybody about that. And that is pure Nancy Reagan. I mean, it was all about him. She wanted to bring him his favorite photo in the hospital room. And she would have done anything for him and you don't see that very much anymore.

GERGEN: There was something else about this today that I -- it harkened back to a different age in our politics. She was, described several times as a political wife, and how much she worked with him, how well they worked together, but to have Jim Baker as eloquent as I've ever heard him. And then also Tom Brokaw and the two of them together, one representing the people, the colleagues and the other representing the press. And the way they spoke about him and the way they spoke about politics, it just reminded you of how elevating politics can be. And how positive it can be.

I was pleased that Hillary Clinton was there because she is a candidate this year. I just hope the rest of the candidates for the presidency this year take time to watch that and understand what politics can be.

BALDWIN: It was a nice pause of elegance amidst everything else we've been covering here. Just to see that front row, you know, Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Laura Bush, president George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Rosalynn Carter, you know, Tom Selleck in the audience, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. T, I mean, all kinds of different people through the spectrum that she knew, she loved. The story that Tom Brokaw told about sitting with her and Warren Beatty at lunch, all their lunches, it was amazing.

BROWER: And the story of her with the masseur and going and kicking his neck. I mean, she was funny. She had a sense of humor and we don't get to see that side of her and her vulnerability, you know. I know when I talked to a White House butler who said that, you know, she was really broken up when one of the doormen at the White House died and she remembered decades later how shocked and saddened she was at his death. This was a White House door man. She wasn't this kind of iron lady that I think that, you know, we often see.

BALDWIN: What about also as we were looking and I remember watching and sitting honestly in tears in 2004 and watching Nancy Reagan bend down and leaning into the casket of her beloved Ronnie and kiss the casket. And if you think of that image, juxtaposed with this. And her daughter, Patti, said yes, you know, there has been tense moments, obviously. We all know it's been very public, her relationship with her mother. But it is looking just at that picture, as you were remarking, David, as we were looking, it's a different image.

GERGEN: It is different. I think we have to understand what Ronnie and Nancy Reagan formed their own universe. They formed a cocoon. It was. And, in fact, their children often felt on the outside of that. There weren't many stories about the parents interacting with the children because there weren't enough of those opportunities. It was a price the children paid. But I think they've come to reconcile themselves with it. It's just they don't see -- Nancy, you could just feel the grief in that moment in 2004 when her husband died.

And Ron and Patti I thought were very brave the way they spoke today. And they -- I think they rose to the occasion. But you could see, it was not the same, quite the same sentiment as before.

BROWER: And I think they had an appreciation for what their mother did for their father. I mean --.

GERGEN: Yes, I think that is right.

BALDWIN: It is remarkable.

BROWER: Yes, I mean, Ron told me his mother was a more pricklier personality than his father. His father was impossible not to like. And so she took a lot of the, you know, flak for her husband in the White House in his political career. She took that criticism on the chin for him, and I think they saw that first-hand. They felt that she was helping him every step of the way.

GERGEN: I want to go back to one of the things because there were so many folks from Hollywood there. It's also impossible to separate out Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan from Hollywood. I spent some time with him toward the end of his life. And what he wanted to do was tell Hollywood stories. These are stories not so much about politics. He loved telling stories that amused him so much about the days when he'd been a Hollywood actor. It was very near and dear. So there was a reunion of all of what they stood for in that ceremony today.

[15:45:12] BALDWIN: I love the story that was told about their first date. And again, this Hollywood era and the fact that they both said that they had a quote/unquote "call in the morning," right, that was sort of the excuse in Hollywood and it was a first date. It was a blind date. And you know, just in case it didn't work out. Obviously they later confessed into the wee hours of the morning when it was going so, so well that there actually wasn't a call and they continued on to dinner the next night and sort of the rest is history.

I think it's worth also noting as someone else did that assassination attempt in 1981 and how that was -- that rocked her to the core. She -- what was it, she found out about the shooting when she was back at the White House and she said you get me a car or I'm walking to the hospital.

GERGEN: Absolutely. And she stayed there at the hospital with him, by his side. And as Carl Bernstein noted earlier, she became fiercely protective after that. She had always been protective but after that it was particularly important to make sure to regulate how the staff worked with him.

Now, we had earlier in the century Woodrow Wilson had a stroke. His wife became all powerful and control the door. And she actually took over the reins of government. Nancy Reagan did not do that. She was there for her husband but she understood the government had to go on. And she managed that a lot, working with Jim Baker, who was then chief of staff, and the two of them together managed the sort of who came in, who went out.

And very, it is funny. The political wife. What she arranged working with the staff was that he stay out of sight for a long time as he was recuperating. And his re-entry on the stage was to a joint session of congress, first time anybody had ever seen him. And what her did was he went up there and said, now enact my program. And this whole country just got behind him because they hadn't seen him and everybody, there was all this cheering that he reappeared but he used it for political purpose. That was very smart. And she was right there as one of the architects of that plan.

BALDWIN: In terms of politics today, you know, we were all at the Reagan library last fall for the Republican debate. And so many people were asking -- his name was evoked on stage so many times. But behind the scenes, I remember so many people saying where's Nancy, how is Nancy doing, and I'm curious how plugged in she was, Kate, to politics before she passed.

BROWER: She was very plugged in. I mean, she was watching this race very closely. And I know when I spoke with Ron, he said, you know, his mother was not a huge Donald Trump fan. This was not the Republican Party that she was familiar with. And that, in fact, she wasn't very comfortable with other Republicans taking on the mantle of, you know, Ronald Reagan. She didn't see any of these candidates as the reincarnation of her husband. And I think she resented it a little bit. But I mean, she would call them herself to invite them for the presidential debate. She was very involved.

And I thought it was interesting what Ron Reagan said too that if it weren't for her there wouldn't be this enormous beautiful library that's a tribute to him. And she told one of her friends she did it because was working for Ronnie. She feels like she's working for Ronnie by putting so much time and effort into making that really one of the most beautiful presidential libraries I think in the country.

GERGEN: Yes. I can't tell you how painful I think she probably found the beginnings of this race and what she was, because it is the beginning of a new era. In some ways, her death closed off the era. But it's one we need to remember because things worked because he actually -- he was someone who worked across the aisle. Jim Baker kept trying to say, and it was symbolic that Nancy had Jim Baker speaking for. Because there were two factions in the White House. I was there. I was on the Jim's side of the house. But there was a conservative faction and it was the Baker pragmatic faction which embraced the program, tried to make it work and cut the deals or make it work. And conservatives were very skeptical of Baker. In fact, they were angry at him frequently. But she chose him as a symbol of what that presidency was about. Really said a lot about her own politics and what she valued.

BALDWIN: Just noting the sky, it looks like has totally opened up on everyone there at the Reagan library as they are paying they respects to Nancy Reagan, the former first lady passed away in her home last Sunday.

And as we stay on these pictures, David Gergen, what is your favorite sort of behind the scenes Nancy Ronald Reagan story?

GERGEN: There were so many. I have some of which, you know, I love the fact that, you know, that when they went to a communion service after he was elected, they stayed on northern Virginia at a farm frequently. And they went to a communion service and they were both kneeling there to take the bread and to take the cup. And she went first. She got the chip and she accidentally dropped it in the wine and went ahead and drank it. And he watched her. He got his chip and dropped it in intentionally thinking that was what he was supposed to do. He followed her lead on so many things. But I tell you, if you've got time for a brief story.

[15:50:06] BALDWIN: Yes, I have time.

GERGEN: (INAUDIBLE), in the early years of his presidency, he was hosting a G-8 summit conference. And he had to entertain all sorts of people the next day, like on a Wednesday, and met with Melroni one-on- one. We saw him today, a variety of world leaders (INAUDIBLE). And to brief one of these meeting, you need a briefing paper and sort of booklet. It was quite sick. And we knew Nancy was going to be really angry because she never liked you to keep her husband up late at night and he would read that darn book.

BALDWIN: Protector.

GERGEN: Protector. She was the enforcer and protector. So Jim Baker brief gingerly gave the book to Reagan and said, Mr. President, please just go home and gaze over this, just skim it, don't read it. You've got to get some sleep. The next day Reagan walks into breakfast. He was seen about 7:30. He looks like he'd been hit by a mac truck. His eyes were all droopy and like that. And we got about ten minutes into the eggs and he said, fellows, I've got a confession to make. I sat down with your briefing book about (INAUDIBLE) last night and it was really good. You did a great job. But did you know "the sound of music" was on last night? And you know, that's my favorite movie so I never had a chance to read your briefing book, but I didn't get to book until pretty late. Well, Nancy can't go after us with a hatchet on this one, you know.

But what was so striking was without the briefing book he was better in those meetings than we had ever seen him. And why was that? Because he went back to first principles. He has talked about the larger picture. He wasn't weighed down with by all these facts and theories that we on the staff in our arrogance felt he had to read or he couldn't do it because he went back to first principles. That's who he was. He was a big picture type fellow. He didn't get down to a lot of details and she supported him on that, understood and tried to protect him.

But it was so interesting about his leadership that he knew that the role of the leader is to be up in the top of the ship guiding and navigating, not down in the engine room working with all the boilers and everything like that. And that she was by his side the whole way on that keeping him protected but helping him and talking to him as we heard earlier about the importance of talking to Gorbachev, sitting down were others. Be ready to be pragmatic so that he was both principled and pragmatic and she was the secret to that success.

BALDWIN: What about the role of just the first lady? You know, we were talking earlier about how she brought glamour, you know, Hollywood glamour to the White House. And she got a little bit of grief for, you know, redoing the executive mansion and the big fancy full set of China. But as we know that today, and again I'm reminded of that extraordinary picture of all these first ladies at this funeral service sitting, you know, Republicans, Democrats together. Quite a unique bond they all share. You're writing a book on precisely this right now. How did she sort of fit amidst all of them?

BROWER: I mean as a Republican, it's really interesting because she's the most like Jackie Kennedy, I think, in recent history because she understood the importance of the executive mansion, which is why Jackie Kennedy had a real, you know, affinity for her. I think it was really interesting that the good wife proverbs was read at the funeral because she absolute --.

BALDWIN: Proverbs 10:31.

BROWER: Yes, that is her. I mean, she was classy behind in every step of the way. There's some great story about her during a portrait sitting, she had rejected two official portraits of the president. And the portrait artist they brought in said he knew he had to please her. He was really concerned. He had done several portraits of President Reagan.

And he was sitting in his New York City studio and Nancy Reagan sat behind him more than two hours while he painted this portrait. And he said would you like to go sit in the living room? And she said no, I'm fine sitting right here. So she was watching every stroke, which was incredibly unnerving for him.

GERGEN: Don't you think this was sort of very symbolic of her, how classy this service was.

BALDWIN: Of course. She chose it down to every detail. GERGEN: You heard browning, you heard Shakespeare, you heard John

Dunn. People rose to the occasion and talking about because everybody wanted to have her go out in a classy way. I think she brought that sense of you can do things really, really well and it moved people.

BALDWIN: And just to see everyone in that room was a beautiful, beautiful sight.

You are watching our special coverage here of the funeral service of former first lady Nancy Reagan. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back:

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:57:56] PATTI DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF NANCY REAGAN: Over time what she referred to as late-night visits from my father ceased. She no longer heard his footsteps in the hall, but she never stopped missing him. She told me once that the reason she had the television on all the time was because it filled the house with sound and made her feel less lonely.

RON REAGAN, SON OF NANCY REAGAN: She did love a party. And she would want this to be a party. This is not a tragedy, this is a celebration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The skies have opened here as people continue to step up, touch the casket of former first lady Nancy Reagan. We have seen incredible show of support for this woman who passed away just last weekend from Michelle Obama, the former first lady to former president, former first ladies, actors, celebrities, all paying respects to just a remarkable, remarkable woman.

In the last 90 seconds I have for both of you, just closing thoughts on what we've seen and the legacy she leaves behind?

GERGEN: America has been blessed with many great first ladies, from the early days IN THE Republic, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolly Madison, all the way through today, the first ladies who are gathered there and former first ladies gathered there, but I think Nancy Reagan will go right up in the top ranks now in the minds of the American public. She is going to be well remembered just as her husband is. And today we had wonderfully stirring speeches and remembrances. And I hope they remind all of us that politics can be ennobling. That people can have - you can in Washington, D.C., can have a true love story and people are deeply care about the country.

BALDWIN: Kate?

BROWER: Going to David thing, there is nothing transactional necessarily about their relationship. And that I have this vision of her when she would -- on the anniversary of his death she would go and sit alone by his grave side that no one but her secret service detail with her. And that kind of moving image of her. It was an elegant, beautiful tribute to her and she did really bring glamour back to the White House.

BALDWIN: Kate and David, thank you so, so much. And thank you for being with us.

Special coverage continues now.