Ronald Reagan was elected by a landslide in 1980 and was re-elected in 1984 by an even larger landslide carrying 49 states. When he left office, he left as the most popular outgoing President since Dwight Eisenhower. The Reagans retired to their home in Bel-Air, California. They did not move into their retirement house on St. Cloud Road until the house number had been changed from 666, considered unlucky because of biblical reference, to 668. Reagan vowed to continue to speak out for two constitutional amendments he favored, one to require a balanced budget and the other to repeal the 22nd Amendment limiting the President to two terms. In 1990, the former actor published his autobiography entitled “An American Life” making sure in his contract with Simon and Schuster to retain all movie and dramatic rights to his story. In 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opened in Simi Valley, California, containing documents and other items related to his Presidency. In 1994, Reagan revealed the he was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The disease causes an increasing loss of memory and other mental processes. Since then, although in good physical health, he has avoided public appearances and has been represented at some functions by his wife, Nancy.
President George Bush, after his defeat for a second term in the election of 1992, retired to Houston, Texas. Although an active speaker, he has refrained from criticizing his successor. He did take a more active role in the recent election, in which his son was elected President. He acted as an advisor to his son’s campaign and began making public comments on his son’s opponent, as well as some on the man who had defeated him in 1992. He made a very highly publicized parachute jump to celebrate his 75th birthday, but otherwise has kept out of the limelight.
Bill Clinton has only just begun his retirement, but already it has been active and controversial. The pardons made in the last hours of his Presidency as well as his initial choice of office space were prominent news stories. With his wife a newly elected senator from New York, he will remain more visible and active in politics than most of the earlier Presidents.
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