WASHINGTON – Democrats who never liked Ronald Reagan’s policies nevertheless tipped their hat to the Gipper yesterday, turning out in great numbers for the funeral service for him at the National Cathedral.
President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton were among the mourners, as was Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as well as Democratic congressmen and ex-Cabinet officials.
After the ceremony, Kerry edged close to Clinton and spoke into his ear. Nearby, his wife Teresa Heinz talked with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
For Reagan’s old foes, like Kerry, the grand sendoff was a marked contrast to the years of enmity.
Back in 1988, while speaking at the Democratic National Convention where Michael Dukakis was nominated, Kerry described Reagan in harsh terms, calling his eight-year presidency a period of “moral darkness.”
“A Republican president once reminded us, ‘There is absolutely nothing to be said for a government of powerful men with the ideals of pawnbrokers,’ ” Kerry said.
He added: “That president’s name was Theodore Roosevelt. And today Theodore Roosevelt would be ashamed to be a Republican.”
Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), who attended the service, yesterday noted a “bit of irony about how so many people were praising him today were tearing him apart during the 1980s.”
Meanwhile, although both Kerry and Bush took the week off from campaigning, both men return to the trail this week, with the White House eagerly awaiting release of new detailed unemployment trends.
Deborah Orin contributed to this story