Baldacci praises Reagan’s leadership

AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci led a short ceremony that included a moment of silence outside the Blaine House on Friday to honor former President Ronald Reagan.

Before an audience of about 100 people, Baldacci read a proclamation paying tribute to Reagan’s “strong leadership and character.”

The governor credited Reagan for presiding over a political culture in which adversaries could retain personal friendships and suggested that, as “a special place,” Maine remains a harbor from ideological hostilities.

The Maine ceremony concluded just before the hearse carrying President Reagan’s casket arrived at Washington National Cathedral in the District of Columbia for a state funeral.

President Bush and former Presidents Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford were among the mourners at the cathedral.

Baldacci said he had asked former Gov. John McKernan – a Republican who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine’s 1st Congressional District during the 1980s while Reagan was president – to represent Maine at the funeral. McKernan is married to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican who also served in the U.S. House during Reagan’s presidency.

“Today is a national day of mourning as we honor the passing of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, a man who championed liberty and democracy around the world, while restoring our faith in the limitless possibilities of our nation. Jock and I extend our thoughts and prayers to his extraordinary wife, Nancy, and the entire Reagan family,” Snowe said in a statement after attending the Reagan funeral.

In his Blaine House remarks, Baldacci praised Reagan for demonstrating “vision, optimism and confidence.”

A Democrat serving his first term as governor, Baldacci previously served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

The governor proclaimed Friday to be Ronald Reagan Remembrance Day and urged all citizens to recognize the observance.

Attending the Blaine House ceremony were Baldacci’s wife, Karen, state workers, local schoolchildren and members of the public.

Baldacci had directed state agencies and supervisors to make flexible time available to employees, where possible, to allow attendance at the ceremony or enable workers to watch the televised funeral, the Governor’s Office said.

On Monday, Baldacci also had ordered that U.S. and Maine state flags be flown at half-staff for 30 days in Reagan’s honor.