SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Ronald Reagan’s name is enshrined on an airport, an aircraft carrier, belt buckles and highways.
Conservative activists make the pilgrimage to his presidential library in Simi Valley, a temple to all things Reagan. Presidential candidates debate there, hoping to be dubbed heir to the Reagan legacy. Even President Barack Obama invokes his name.
As the 100th anniversary of his birth approaches on Feb. 6, and a generation after he left the White House, the nation’s 40th president is held in higher esteem than when he was in office.
This week, the nation will celebrate Reagan’s life. A video tribute will be shown at the Super Bowl in Dallas and Sarah Palin will address a banquet in his honor in Santa Barbara, Calif.