Laura and I have now spent 2 weeks in the house where you lived for 8 years. Everywhere we look, we find reminders of the great men and women who lived here and the achievements they left behind.
Your achievements, Mr. President, are clear to all Americans. They are found in the spirit of our Nation and the peace of the world.
You came here at a time when our country needed confidence. You told us we could be strong again, at home and abroad. And when you left, we were.
You came to the White House when the cold war was real. You told us, even when few believed it, that the evil empire would pass and that freedom would prevail. And your resolve made it happen.
In your time here, you never tried to seize credit, one of the traits we've always admired most about you. But tonight, on your 90th birthday, America knows where the credit belongs. America knows you came here 20 years ago and changed the world. America knows the good heart that always guided you, the unbending principles that always defined you, the kindness and courage and inner grace that makes you the man you are.
For all of that, your country thanks you, Mr. President. Your country honors you. And your country loves you.
NOTE: The President's remarks were videotaped at approximately 10:15 a.m. in Room 457 of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building for later broadcast on CNN's "Larry King Live." A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.
George W. Bush, Videotaped Remarks in a Tribute to Former President Ronald Reagan Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/215598
