Inside the Beltway

Peace through strength

The nation’s 40th president continues to stand watch on the West Coast and couldn’t be on deck, but his first lady and an army of comrades came from near and far for Saturday’s commissioning in Norfolk of the super aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

“It’s a wonderful tribute to a terrific person and it’s great to see so many old friends and former colleagues,” said former White House Chief of Staff and Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III. “What a beautiful ship.”

“These are absolutely the greatest presidential tools,” agreed presidential historian and longtime Time magazine correspondent Hugh Sidey, among the many Reagan admirers standing in line for blue-and-gold USS Reagan flight caps that depict the former president riding a white horse across the carrier’s 4-acre deck.

“These ships are magnificent and they project power,” Mr. Sidey observed, adding with a wink, “and they are built to please former presidents.”

Mr. Reagan would be beaming from ear to ear. His is the most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world, which is only fitting given the former president made it his legacy to keep the U.S. fleet modern and strong. Although he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, he was given a model of the USS Reagan by Newport News Shipbuilding President William Fricks in April 1996.

“My husband’s enduring legacy of freedom lives through you and those who will serve aboard the ship named in his honor for the next 50 years,” the nearly-6,000 member crew was told by former first lady Nancy Reagan, who was escorted to Saturday’s ceremonies by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Others who came to salute “the Gipper” included former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and former U.N. Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick. Forever the diplomat, she encouraged this columnist to take note of France’s sophisticated high-tech contributions to the USS Reagan.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Reagan’s closest ally across the pond, couldn’t be on hand, but Frederick J. Ryan Jr., chairman of the board of trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, made it a personal point to present the newest Beanie Baby, “Ronnie the Bear,” to her representative.

She’ll no doubt be amused by the Ronnie doll, which is dressed in naval uniform, bears the name and hull number of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), shares Mr. Reagan’s birthday of Feb. 6 and contains a poem that reads in part, “As you sail out on your way, in our hearts you’ll always stay.”

Among the hundreds of other VIPs on deck was actress Bo Derek, who served on the ship’s national commissioning committee along with former President George Bush and former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, among others.

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, was on hand to declare it USS Ronald Reagan Day throughout the commonwealth, as did Democrat Gov. Gray Davis in California, where the Reagan will make its home port in San Diego.

Capt. J.W. Goodwin, a 28-year Navy veteran and native of Dublin, Ga., has assumed command of the USS Reagan, its red, white and blue seal bearing a recurring theme of the president’s life in public service, “Peace Through Strength.”

So nobody forgets, a piece of the Berlin Wall, which Mr. Reagan all but tore down by himself, greets visitors as they board the ship.

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