Dianne Feinstein: “on Saturday, our Nation lost a strong leader and the State of California lost an adopted son. As a citizen, Ronald…”

“on Saturday, our Nation lost a strong leader and the State of California lost an adopted son. As a citizen, Ronald Wilson Reagan embodied the American dream. He personified the image of California--can-do, risk-taking, cutting-edge. Ronald Reagan was all of those things. As a President, he unified a country and helped bring an end to the cold war, the premier struggle of his time in public life. My fondest memory of President Reagan took place while I was mayor of San Francisco at a March 1983 dinner the President and First Lady hosted for Queen Elizabeth II in San Francisco. The Queen was thrilled to visit California for the first time and especially pleased to be welcomed by a President from California. During that trip the Queen quipped at one point that she knew England had exported many traditions to the United States, but she hadn't realized the weather was one of them. San Francisco's London-like weather aside, as Mayor I was enormously proud of the wonderful welcome we had provided for the Queen of England. Growing up in small-town central Illinois in the years leading up to the Great Depression, President Reagan was instilled with the values that would guide him as a person and as a leader. There he learned the importance of hard work and optimism as the key ingredients for success.”