Constitution Wins Reagan Praise--So Does the GOP : He Says Party Will Regain Senate, Keep Oval Office

President Reagan, mixing politics with patriotism, joined in the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution today and then declared that any Republican running for President would be “a darn sight better” than a Democrat.

Reagan also predicted that the GOP will regain control of the Senate in 1988 and retain the White House.

The President spent 19 minutes at the Independence Hall gala marking the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, and then attended a fund-raising luncheon for Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.), who is seeking a third term.

At the historic hall where the nation’s charter was signed on Sept. 17, 1787, Reagan spoke to a crowd of several thousand people from a podium enclosed in bulletproof, see-through panels. Moments before Reagan arrived, a woman with a squeegee cleared the panels of raindrops from a morning storm.

Bell Interrupts Speech

His speech was interrupted by the ringing of a loud bell and the release of hundreds of doves--two events that were supposed to have happened when he finished speaking. They were repeated at the end of his address.

In his speech, Reagan said the Constitution’s authors had produced a document “that would profoundly and forever alter, not just these United States, but the world.

“In a very real sense, it was then--in 1787--that the revolution truly began,” he said. “For it was with the writing of our Constitution . . . that the hopes and dreams of the revolutionists could become a living, enduring reality.”

Reagan, whose support for forces fighting Marxist governments in Nicaragua and elsewhere has aroused controversy, cited George Washington and said the first U.S. President “knew . . . that the guiding hand of providence did not create this new nation of America for ourselves alone, but for a higher cause--the preservation and extension of the sacred fire of human liberty.

“That is America’s solemn duty,” Reagan said.

Calls for Restrained Judiciary

Without directly mentioning the battle over his nomination of Judge Robert H. Bork for the Supreme Court, Reagan called for an independent and restrained judiciary.

Bork, a favorite of conservatives, has argued at Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that judges must not substitute their views for those of the framers and ratifiers of the Constitution.

Reagan said: “Checks and balances, limited government--the genius of our constitutional system is its recognition that no one branch of government alone could be relied on to preserve our freedoms.

“The great safeguard of our liberty is the totality of the constitutional system, with no one part getting the upper hand. That is why the judiciary must be independent. And that is why it must also exercise restraint.”

Later, Reagan said at the fund-raising event for Heinz that Americans who have watched Bork testify at the committee hearings “are finding him to be intelligent, prudent, a firm believer in the Constitution and a strong defender of individual rights.”

While predicting his nominee will be confirmed by the Senate, he said, “As we can see by the high-pitched opposition to Judge Bork, our job is not going to be easy.”