Nostalgic Ceremony Opens Reagan Library : Presidency: Cold War’s end is among major themes of a day heavy with political praise and remembrance.

Five American presidents met on a wind-swept hilltop Monday to dedicate Ronald Reagan’s presidential library and celebrate what many of his faithful sentimentally regarded as their leader’s last hurrah.

The ceremony, heavily laden with congratulations about the end of the Cold War, marked the first time five presidents had ever been together in one place. They were joined by six first ladies, descendants of two other presidents and 4,200 invited guests reading like a who’s who of famous aides, wealthy friends and influential supporters from Reagan’s political and entertainment past.

“At one time or another, I’ve run against most of these gentlemen. Yet, here we are,” said the 80-year-old Reagan, his wife, Nancy, sitting nearby.

Actually, Reagan had run against each of the other four presidents--Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter and George Bush--losing to the first two and defeating the latter pair.

The library, at an expansive 153,000 square feet and bearing a $56.8-million price tag, is the largest and most expensive of the nine presidential libraries in the National Archives system. Built on 100 acres of donated land located halfway between the Reagans’ Bel-Air home and their Santa Ynez Mountains ranch, it will open to the public Wednesday.

The dedication ceremony prompted an unprecedented outpouring of American royalty. The Reagans and the other presidents shared the dais with former First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Pat Nixon and Lady Bird Johnson and current First Lady Barbara Bush.

Also in attendance were the relatives of other former presidents--John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, children of President John F. Kennedy; Luci Johnson Turpin, younger daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and descendants of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Although officials with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation had hoped to have several dignitaries from other nations, the single one was Mrs. Anwar Sadat, widow of the slain Egyptian leader.

Gov. Pete Wilson, who served as the program’s emcee, took advantage of his moment in the spotlight to heap lavish praise on each President, particularly the incumbent, during his introductions.

While they were brought together by the library dedication, the former presidents’ speeches turned the event into a celebration of America’s victory in the Cold War. And it was clear from the remarks of the presidential quintet, who spanned a 22-year period of White House occupancy, that they considered America’s Cold War triumph to be a team effort with plenty of credit for several commanders-in-chief--not just Reagan or Bush.

Nixon told of meeting Soviet leader Nikita S. Khruschev 32 years ago when he was vice president. “Khruschev jabbed his finger into my chest and said: ‘Your grandchildren will live under communism,’ ” Nixon said. “And I responded: ‘Your grandchildren will live in freedom.’ ”

When the applause died down, Nixon added: “At that time, I was sure he was wrong. But I was not sure I was right. And now we know--thanks in great part to the strong, idealistic leadership of President Ronald Reagan, Khrushchev’s grandchildren live in freedom.”

Ford, retracing the American presidency back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, said that “a common policy of peace through strength can be seen running through these years, under both Democrats as well as Republicans.”

“But perpetuating peace may be even far more difficult than waging war,” Ford cautioned. “Though the Cold War may be over, global competition has only begun. Europe without an Iron Curtain may dwarf the economic miracles of (World War II)-devasted Germany and Japan.”

Carter, who joked about never having met a Democratic president, indirectly answered Reagan campaign criticism from 11 years ago that he had allowed America’s military might to deteriorate. And, also indirectly, he took some credit for the sophisticated weapons that helped President Bush win the Persian Gulf War.

“All of us who have been in that office know that to plan, design, test and produce a weapons system as those used recently in the Gulf takes several presidential administrations,” Carter said.

Bush lavished praise on Reagan, who selected him as his vice presidential running mate in 1980. “Ronald Reagan was born on Feb. 6, but his heart is the Fourth of July,” the incumbent President said.

“And with his disarming sense of humor, President Reagan was something refreshingly different in Washington: a politician who was funny on purpose.”

Bush added that “as President, Ronald Reagan was unmoved by the vagaries of intellectual fashion. He treasured values that last, values that endure. And I speak of patriotism and civility and generosity and kindness.

“He predicted that communism would land in the dustbin of history. And history proved him right.”

The day’s historic photographs--particularly those of the five presidents together on the same stage--will be framed for the ages. And some of the speakers’ words also will be remembered for a while by the thousands who sat outside on folding chairs in a brisk breeze under a bright sun. More than 500 protesters who gathered to criticize Reagan and Bush were kept more than a mile away from the festivities, but they were generally peaceful.

During the ceremonies, Reagan was at his theatrical best, bringing a lump to his own throat and many in the audience by nostalgically recalling his simple roots in Dixon, Ill., his loving, inspirational parents, Jack and Nelle, his deep faith in God and the American spirit, and concluding as he had thousands of other times with a patented comment about “that shining city upon a hill.”

“Eighty years is a long time to live,” he said, “and yet within the course of only a few short years I have seen the world turned upside down and conventional wisdom utterly disproved.”

Then he took one more verbal shot at the old Kremlin that he used to love to vilify:

“Visitors to this mountaintop will see a great jagged chunk of the Berlin Wall, hated symbol of--yes--an evil empire, that spied on and lied to its citizens, denying them their freedom, their bread, even their faith. . . . The Iron Curtain has rusted away.”

But he warned that with the Cold War over, “our greatest enemy now may be complacency itself. . . . Let us joyously invade our former opponents with Yankee ingenuity, entrepreneurs selling their wares . . . spreading the gospel of human freedom. . . . What a happy challenge for those looking for something to do after the Cold War.”

Afterward, many of Reagan’s former advisers proudly exclaimed that their onetime boss had risen to the occasion, as in the old days.

Reagan’s last White House chief of staff, Ken Duberstein, called the event and its accompanying weekend parties “a happy last hurrah” for the 40th President and his aides. “That’s the sentiment of all the Reagan alumni who came out. It really was a ‘class’ reunion.”

Privately, some Reagan insiders had indicated that a goal was to get the octogenarian through this event without embarrassment.

Reagan these days is not always the “great communicator” that he was a decade ago. Not only is he older and hard of hearing, but--having been out of office nearly three years--he is rusty in the challenges of verbal give-and-take.

No spontaneous interviews--television or print--were permitted in conjunction with the library dedication. Reagan did not want to be bothered and this was just fine with people close to him, who were leery of any diversion from the script. Indeed, access to all of the former presidents was closely controlled on Monday.

Except for the brisk breeze that snapped flags and rustled the hair of those on the dais, it was a picture-perfect day, beginning with music from the Air Force Band of the West and the U.S. Army Chorus, which sang presidential favorites such as “Stout-Hearted Men” and “On the Road to Mandalay.”

Arriving guests were filtered through a series of highway checkpoints before they were put onto Universal Studios trams to be shuttled up the hill to the California mission-style library. Each had to pass through a security post that included airport-type metal detectors and hand screening devices.

The program closed after an hour and a half with a flyover of the type of military fighter-bombers that helped win Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.

After the ceremony, the presidents and their families--except for the Nixons--retired to a private lunch while guests lined up to view the library and museum. The Nixons left early because Mrs. Nixon did not feel well, a library official said.

Among the library browsers was Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who just returned from the Middle East peace conference in Madrid. Baker was Reagan’s first White House chief of staff and later his secretary of the Treasury.

The event had the aura of the ultimate political campaign event, reminiscent of Reagan’s reelection campaign in 1984 with its heavy doses of patriotism.

The crowd responded strongly to any allusion, direct or indirect, to the Persian Gulf War, including the introduction of Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

In spite of the preponderance of Republicans present, there was a genuine spirit of bipartisanship to this event.

Republican Sen. John Seymour said he felt “a great sense of pride, a great sense of their commitment--Democrat Jimmy Carter and all the others as Republicans, setting partisan politics aside.”

Schedul of Events

Wednesday, Nov. 6: Museum portion of the complex opens to the public. Ventura County residents admitted free until Nov. 10.

Monday, Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day ceremony sponsored by the library and the Conejo Valley Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars. The event is open to the public and veterans will be admitted to the museum free. The ceremony will begin with a flag-raising ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and will include a military flyover.

Tuesday, Nov. 12: Library portion of the complex opens. Official records, personal papers, photos and other documents will be made available to the public.

Admission:

Adults (ages 16 to 61): $2

Senior citizens: $1

Children (15 and under) free.

Operating Hours:

Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m

Holidays: Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.