Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

History Channel Celebrates Life of Ronald Reagan

Aired November 25, 2002 - 09:41   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Ronald Reagan, actor, politician, and president, will be 92 years old in February. Tonight the History Channel will celebrate his life in a documentary called "Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered." It's an emotional tribute seen through the eyes of those closest to him, including his wife Nancy who remembers the attempt on her husband's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I'm running into the hospital, and Mike Dever (ph) was waiting outside and he said, "The president was hit. and they put me in a little room, and all I wanted was to see Ronnie. And they kept saying, "Well, he's all right, but you can't see him just yet." But if he's all right, why, can't I see him?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Hosting that documentary is former CNN Washington Bureau Chief, Frank Sesno. And we are delighted to have you joining us in the studios this morning.

FRANK SESNO: I'm delighted to be here in your beautiful new studio.

ZAHN: Thank you. Congratulations...

SESNO: Thanks.

ZAHN: This documentary is really good. Let's start off by what new things you learned about the assassination attempt. You sat down and talked with his former chief of staff James Baker. What did he tell you?

SESNO: Well, James Baker was very interesting, because he said, in the most graphic terms, that I think we've heard, to date, not only that Ronald Reagan came much closer to death than had been previously appreciated, not just because of the bullet which lodged just an inch from his heart, but because of the staph infection that he developed 24, 36 hours after the assassination attempt, and it was deliberately kept from the American public.

And as Baker poses in the series of questions, well, why would we say that, people will then say, well, you know, how long will he live. What's going to happen tomorrow? What's his temperature today? And he said the nation and the world didn't need that.

ZAHN: And he might be right. Let's talk about something a lot of our audience won't be familiar with and that is the fact that the president apparently forgave John Hinckley?

SESNO: Interesting. Yes, a couple things come through, when we really look hard at Ronald Reagan. One is the role that faith played in his life. He talked a lot about religion. But as you recall, perhaps, the criticism during his presidency, that he didn't go to church very much, and, therefore, was it all just a lot of empty talk. Well, no, not really. He incorporated faith in a very profound way, though it wasn't sort of a bible-thumping way. And faith was a very important part, as was forgiveness. And both his daughter Patty and his minister Vahn Mumar (ph), and Mrs. Reagan, all talk about, while he was still in the hospital, he felt that his own recovery hinged upon forgiving John Hinckley, which Nancy Reagan says, to this day, she hasn't been able to do.

ZAHN: That is so interesting. What did Patty say? We had hoped to share that part of the tape with our audience, but the little gremlins have gotten into the tape machine.

SESNO: Oh, the gremlins, yes, the gremlins. Patty says, you know, she's still working on that, that she hasn't done it...

ZAHN: Oh, it was Patty that said that, not Nancy?

SESNO: Both of them.

ZAHN: Both of them.

SESNO: But she says that her father got it, and referred to John Hinckley as "the misguided young man."

ZAHN: In the documentary, you also address the timing of President Reagan's announcement that he had Alzheimer's. Share with us a little bit more about the back story?

SESNO: Well, his friends started noticing something amiss. And to be honest, I actually was at an event in the fall of 1993 and he looked, at that point, disoriented at times and as if things were starting to slip. But Michael Dever (ph) and others started noticing in early '94 that he was forgetting jokes that he'd told, as Dever (ph) says, 10,000 times. And they took him to the Mayo Clinic and that's where they, you know, examined him and diagnosed this thing.

And then he wrote this letter, this extraordinary letter, announcing that he had Alzheimer's in 1994, in November of 1994. And Mrs. Reagan talks about how the president sat in the library on his own and penned this letter. And then, of course, an extraordinary story with the secret service agent who rode horses with him.

ZAHN: That is a very sad story, because you actually interview him and he talks about the day that he confronted the president and said -- which I guess, you know, riding horses is the love of the president's life -- you can't do this anymore. What happened?

SESNO: He went out for this ride with the president. It was after the president had written his letter to the American public and the world, announcing his own Alzheimer's and he came back -- John Barleta (ph) is his name -- and he came and he went to Mrs. Reagan and he said, "Mrs., Reagan, the president can't ride horses anymore; it's too dangerous for him out there. He's forgetting too much."

And Mrs. Regan said, "I know, but I can't tell him, John, you tell him." And John Barleta (ph) breaks up, as he relays this story, because it was so emotional. He went to the president and he said, "Mr. President, it's just too dangerous out there." And he said the president stood up, put his hands on the agent's shoulders, looked him in the eye and simply said, "I know." And that was all he said, and that was the last time he rode.

ZAHN: You spent a lot of time with Mrs. Reagan, as you worked on this documentary. How is she doing and how is the president doing?

SESNO: Well, this has been very tough for her, this last, you know, since 1994 and, really, before that. She's now at a level of acceptance, obviously, but not ready to let go. This is the story book romance that we've seen. The family believes that the president is still around because he thinks he knows that Mrs. Reagan is still around and won't leave without a great fight. He's in rough shape. He's in the final stages of Alzheimer's. He doesn't know people. He's not communicative, but he's a strong man and he's still here.

ZAHN: Can we close with a 10-second upper -- something that will make people laugh....

SESNO: Sure.

ZAHN: ... the whole idea of president only wearing one contact lens, when he delivered speeches?

SESNO: All right. One contact lens. So they call him "the great communicator." He wore one contact lens to do monovision. So when he's reading his speeches, he can read his copy. But the other eye is looking out to the audience, always measuring the impact of the speech on the audience -- are they laughing, are they listening, are yawning, and that's how the man gauged his impact and that was the legacy of Hollywood and his own instincts and he was instinctual, not analytical.

ZAHN: Wow. And then you'll have to come by another time to share some of the 10,000 or so hand-written letters that this man penned himself.

SESNO: Any time, Paula.

ZAHN: Well, congratulations. This will be on the History Channel tonight. It is very well done and we are delighted to have you in the studio. And I wish the little machine hadn't gummed up on us, or else you would have heard some of that. But you did an excellent job of letting us know what Patty and Nancy and the secret service say...

SESNO: Well, we'll take on the gremlins next time.

ZAHN: Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 25, 2002 - 09:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Ronald Reagan, actor, politician, and president, will be 92 years old in February. Tonight the History Channel will celebrate his life in a documentary called "Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered." It's an emotional tribute seen through the eyes of those closest to him, including his wife Nancy who remembers the attempt on her husband's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I'm running into the hospital, and Mike Dever (ph) was waiting outside and he said, "The president was hit. and they put me in a little room, and all I wanted was to see Ronnie. And they kept saying, "Well, he's all right, but you can't see him just yet." But if he's all right, why, can't I see him?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Hosting that documentary is former CNN Washington Bureau Chief, Frank Sesno. And we are delighted to have you joining us in the studios this morning.

FRANK SESNO: I'm delighted to be here in your beautiful new studio.

ZAHN: Thank you. Congratulations...

SESNO: Thanks.

ZAHN: This documentary is really good. Let's start off by what new things you learned about the assassination attempt. You sat down and talked with his former chief of staff James Baker. What did he tell you?

SESNO: Well, James Baker was very interesting, because he said, in the most graphic terms, that I think we've heard, to date, not only that Ronald Reagan came much closer to death than had been previously appreciated, not just because of the bullet which lodged just an inch from his heart, but because of the staph infection that he developed 24, 36 hours after the assassination attempt, and it was deliberately kept from the American public.

And as Baker poses in the series of questions, well, why would we say that, people will then say, well, you know, how long will he live. What's going to happen tomorrow? What's his temperature today? And he said the nation and the world didn't need that.

ZAHN: And he might be right. Let's talk about something a lot of our audience won't be familiar with and that is the fact that the president apparently forgave John Hinckley?

SESNO: Interesting. Yes, a couple things come through, when we really look hard at Ronald Reagan. One is the role that faith played in his life. He talked a lot about religion. But as you recall, perhaps, the criticism during his presidency, that he didn't go to church very much, and, therefore, was it all just a lot of empty talk. Well, no, not really. He incorporated faith in a very profound way, though it wasn't sort of a bible-thumping way. And faith was a very important part, as was forgiveness. And both his daughter Patty and his minister Vahn Mumar (ph), and Mrs. Reagan, all talk about, while he was still in the hospital, he felt that his own recovery hinged upon forgiving John Hinckley, which Nancy Reagan says, to this day, she hasn't been able to do.

ZAHN: That is so interesting. What did Patty say? We had hoped to share that part of the tape with our audience, but the little gremlins have gotten into the tape machine.

SESNO: Oh, the gremlins, yes, the gremlins. Patty says, you know, she's still working on that, that she hasn't done it...

ZAHN: Oh, it was Patty that said that, not Nancy?

SESNO: Both of them.

ZAHN: Both of them.

SESNO: But she says that her father got it, and referred to John Hinckley as "the misguided young man."

ZAHN: In the documentary, you also address the timing of President Reagan's announcement that he had Alzheimer's. Share with us a little bit more about the back story?

SESNO: Well, his friends started noticing something amiss. And to be honest, I actually was at an event in the fall of 1993 and he looked, at that point, disoriented at times and as if things were starting to slip. But Michael Dever (ph) and others started noticing in early '94 that he was forgetting jokes that he'd told, as Dever (ph) says, 10,000 times. And they took him to the Mayo Clinic and that's where they, you know, examined him and diagnosed this thing.

And then he wrote this letter, this extraordinary letter, announcing that he had Alzheimer's in 1994, in November of 1994. And Mrs. Reagan talks about how the president sat in the library on his own and penned this letter. And then, of course, an extraordinary story with the secret service agent who rode horses with him.

ZAHN: That is a very sad story, because you actually interview him and he talks about the day that he confronted the president and said -- which I guess, you know, riding horses is the love of the president's life -- you can't do this anymore. What happened?

SESNO: He went out for this ride with the president. It was after the president had written his letter to the American public and the world, announcing his own Alzheimer's and he came back -- John Barleta (ph) is his name -- and he came and he went to Mrs. Reagan and he said, "Mrs., Reagan, the president can't ride horses anymore; it's too dangerous for him out there. He's forgetting too much."

And Mrs. Regan said, "I know, but I can't tell him, John, you tell him." And John Barleta (ph) breaks up, as he relays this story, because it was so emotional. He went to the president and he said, "Mr. President, it's just too dangerous out there." And he said the president stood up, put his hands on the agent's shoulders, looked him in the eye and simply said, "I know." And that was all he said, and that was the last time he rode.

ZAHN: You spent a lot of time with Mrs. Reagan, as you worked on this documentary. How is she doing and how is the president doing?

SESNO: Well, this has been very tough for her, this last, you know, since 1994 and, really, before that. She's now at a level of acceptance, obviously, but not ready to let go. This is the story book romance that we've seen. The family believes that the president is still around because he thinks he knows that Mrs. Reagan is still around and won't leave without a great fight. He's in rough shape. He's in the final stages of Alzheimer's. He doesn't know people. He's not communicative, but he's a strong man and he's still here.

ZAHN: Can we close with a 10-second upper -- something that will make people laugh....

SESNO: Sure.

ZAHN: ... the whole idea of president only wearing one contact lens, when he delivered speeches?

SESNO: All right. One contact lens. So they call him "the great communicator." He wore one contact lens to do monovision. So when he's reading his speeches, he can read his copy. But the other eye is looking out to the audience, always measuring the impact of the speech on the audience -- are they laughing, are they listening, are yawning, and that's how the man gauged his impact and that was the legacy of Hollywood and his own instincts and he was instinctual, not analytical.

ZAHN: Wow. And then you'll have to come by another time to share some of the 10,000 or so hand-written letters that this man penned himself.

SESNO: Any time, Paula.

ZAHN: Well, congratulations. This will be on the History Channel tonight. It is very well done and we are delighted to have you in the studio. And I wish the little machine hadn't gummed up on us, or else you would have heard some of that. But you did an excellent job of letting us know what Patty and Nancy and the secret service say...

SESNO: Well, we'll take on the gremlins next time.

ZAHN: Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com