John Boehner, June 11, 2004

If you’ve had the opportunity to visit my congressional office in Washington, you may recall being greeted by a large portrait of President Ronald Reagan immediately upon walking through the door. I’ve displayed this portrait for years.

You might suspect that I’ve chosen to honor President Reagan in this way because he and I share very similar policy positions. Indeed, this is true: we believe in cutting taxes to grow the economy and create jobs; in working for a more accountable federal government; in building a strong national defense; and in improving the quality of our schools (in 1983, President Reagan commissioned the report "A Nation at Risk," which -- nearly two decades ahead of time -- embodied the same spirit as the No Child Left Behind education reform law of 2002).

However, public policy represents only a fraction of the reason for President Reagan’s visible presence in my office. The main reason he’s there is because when we look at him, we see ourselves -- collectively - as Americans. He was imperfect, yet optimistic. Principled, yet willing to listen. Always intent on the job at hand, yet never failing to flash a warm smile and make use of his quick wit.

It wasn’t just what he accomplished that made President Reagan my inspiration and an inspiration for millions of others - but the way in which he accomplished it. He was able to rally us as few have, telling Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." And he was able to comfort us as few could, recalling the moment the space shuttle Challenger crew "touched the face of God."

During the week between his death and funeral, a major point was made time after time: President Reagan simultaneously was a successful head of government and a respected head of state. He was revered, both in our nation and around the globe -- a success in the eyes of voters at home and his peers abroad.

For confirmation, just remember the hundreds of thousands who lined past his body in California and in the U.S. Capitol.

Or recall the dozens of world leaders who came to pay their final respects, including the same former communist leader whom he demanded tear down the wall -- the most improbable and important tribute of all. Before President Reagan’s Administration, who could have imagined one Cold War adversary mourning the death of another and -- as if that’s not enough - making the trip halfway around the world to do it in person? He was a unique man worthy of a unique final tribute. And that is exactly what he has received.

Now he is gone, leaving us in the same dignified manner in which he led us as Commander-in-Chief: starting with that straightforward and gracious 1994 letter announcing his battle with Alzheimer’s Disease - and ending at the side of his wife. His legacy is still to be determined by history, but we already have a glimpse of just what history will say. The Cold War is over, and freedom won. Our national defense is rebuilt after the malaise of the 1970s. And we’re currently re-learning the lesson he taught us in the early 1980s: economies succeed when taxes are cut.

Someday, his legacy will include a final accomplishment not yet attained. Late last year, I wrote a column in which I described the progress we’ve made toward finding a cure for the disease that ultimately ended his life: Alzheimer’s. In that column, I included a portion of President Reagan’s letter to the American people, in which he said of himself and Mrs. Reagan, "In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it."

Just as that letter shed more light than ever before on Alzheimer’s, so too has his death. This proves what he told us in his final presidential address to the nation: "I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things." From his views on government to his famous speeches on national security to his letter on Alzheimer’s, he has communicated -- and accomplished - great things. And we take comfort in the fact that even though the communicator has died, the messages he communicated live on.

Congressman John Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.