Ronald Reagan's well documented final battles with Alzheimer's disease were fought with the same conviction and courage that his many public battles were fought.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The battle for the mind of Ronald Reagan was like the trench warfare of World War I: never have so many fought so hard for such barren terrain.
One of the great changes wrought by the increased public awareness of Alzheimer's - and thank you, Nancy Reagan, you wonderful tough old dame, you - is that people in the early stages of the disease are now speaking out while they still have the capacity to do so.
Winners of wars get a standing start in the post-war stakes of remembrance.
A historian is battling all the time to remember as much as possible.
Mr. Reagan spent World War II, the global conflict fought and won by his generation, making training films in Hollywood.
Often dismissed or underestimated by political opponents, President Reagan had the most valuable weapon in the political arsenal: a bond with the people.
But despite their heroic acts, the Vietnam Veterans of America continued to struggle to establish a combat badge in honor of these brave pilots and medics.
Ronald Reagan's era can be defined, number one in most people's minds, by the Cold War and by the end of it - and by the strong principles he stood for.
I remember all the important fights. Vividly. In detail.
I don't remember a big fight between the Republicans and Democrats in the Nixon administration or President Gerald Ford and so on.