Posted by
Publius North on Thursday, February 07, 2008 5:55:54 PM
If President Ronald Reagan can speak kind words to the worst President of the 20th Century, then I hope all Republicans can quickly and intelligently now support Senator John McCain as the Party's nominee.
Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony for the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia
October 1, 1986
President Reagan: President and Mrs. Carter, reverend clergy, Governor, Mr. Mayor, the distinguished guests here, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know that I often get invited to library dedications. There aren't that many people still around who knew Andrew Carnegie personally. [Laughter] But President Carter and Mrs. Carter, it is indeed an honor for Nancy and me to be here. None of us today need feel any urge, in the name of good will, to downplay our differences. On the contrary, in a certain sense we can be proud of our differences, because they arise from good will itself -- from love of country; for concern for the challenges of our time; from respect for, and yes, even outright enjoyment of, the democratic processes of disagreement and debate. Indeed, from the time of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, frank debate has been a part of the tradition of this Republic. Today our very differences attest to the greatness of our nation. For I can think of no other country on Earth where two political leaders could disagree so widely yet come together in mutual respect. To paraphrase Mr. Jefferson: We are all Democrats, we are all Republicans, because we are all Americans.
To this all of us who have serious concerns about the Democrat Party alternatives, we now need to agree that "we are all Republicans."