I was sixteen years old when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President of the United States. I remember hearing that he was the oldest person to ever take the oath of office...and worrying that he might not be able to fulfill his duties. I remember thinking Nancy Reagan was much too thin.....and that Reagan, despite his age, really looked good with the flag in the background. He was the picture of patriotism to my young eyes.

I have three especially strong memories of Reagan's time in office. The first, and probably the most positive, is the speech he gave after the Challenger space shuttle blew up in front of the eyes of so many Americans. I was in college at the time and I heard about the shuttle explosion during my first class of the day. I was an Elementary Education major and we'd all been following Christa McCauliffe's journey. Her loss was devastating to us. When I watched Reagan give his speech about the disaster I had tears streaming down my face. I can still hear his voice in my head...the comforting words of a grandfatherly voice saying, "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God."

I also remember the summit at Reykjavik, Iceland with then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. I watched with dread in my heart when reports of the summit began to emerge. The treaty they were trying to hammer out was held up when Reagan would not acquiese on the Star Wars Defense Initiative program. The missile defense shield was a sticking point for Gorbachev and he wouldn't relent. Neither would Reagan. At the time it was frightening....but in the end it turned out to be the breaking point for a struggling Soviet Union.

And then there was The Iran/Contra Scandal. Reagan was clearly struggling to deal with his falling approval ratings and perhaps the onset of his illness. I remember watching him give his speech to the American people on television:

Let's start with the part that is the most controversial. A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not As the Tower board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind. There are reasons why it happened, but no excuses. It was a mistake.

As a political liberal, I disagree with many of Reagan's policies. I also disagree strongly with those on the right who seek to canonize Reagan...to whitewash his record and to keep the whole truth of his life and his Presidency from being told.

I believe that Reagan will be remembered first as "The Great Communicator". I think he would want that most of all. Reagan was a man who, like President Bill Clinton, charmed his way into office and even managed to charm his most vehement foes. I hope that in a few years that it will finally be okay to remember Reagan as a whole...and not just the parts that come across as positive. He presided over a complex, difficult and great time for the US. His life and his Presidency should be remembered in that way as well.

Rest in peace, Mr. President