Nancy Reagan, who died at her Bel Aire home Sunday at age 94, was a model First Lady, dedicated to seeing that her husband’s presidency was successful, also made her own mark on society. Carnagie-Mellon Political Science Professor Kiron Skinner says she was a tough act to follow.
“She set a relatively high bar for First Ladies that have come after her. In addition to doing a really excellent job on the ceremonial side – having a White House that had culture and the arts – and she was always beautifully dressed. She was involved deeply in policy issues that she cared about.“
Skinner says one of those issues was the “Just Say No” campaign.
“She went to the United Nations on October 25th, 1988 and gave a speech about drug abuse in U.S. It was interesting because she didn’t finger foreign governments in Latin America. She said the problem starts at home with our legislatures, our mayors, our judges … men on Wall Street buying drugs. Many of her staff members said, ‘You cannot give this speech, claiming that America is partly responsible.’ She prevailed and did it anyway and it was very well received.”
Skinner is the author of “Reagan: A Life in Letters” and “Reagan’s Path to Victory.” She was a guest on 790 KABC’s McIntyre in the Morning Show.
