To the Point

Wartime Sacrifice on the Home Front

Here in Santa Monica, the remains of Ronald Reagan have left the funeral home and been taken to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, where he will lie in state there until the final trip to Washington, DC later this week. The former President is being remembered as a leader who unified the nation during the Cold War. Twenty years ago, Reagan visited Normandy and compared the Cold War to World War II. Yesterday, President Bush also went to the site of the D-Day invasion, where he invoked the Reagan legacy and compared his -War on Terror- to World War II. Warren Olney explores that comparison and the sacrifices demanded of all Americans with a historian who is completing a trilogy on World War II, a political analyst from the Heritage Foundation, and a former Navy nurse who is one of five generations of women to serve in the US military. Making News: Pentagon Report Says Bush Not Bound by Torture Laws In the wake of reports from Abu Ghraib and Guant-namo Bay, American authorities have insisted they have a responsibility to treat prisoners humanely. Yet, today-s Wall Street Journal reports that Bush administration lawyers concluded last year that the President was not bound by laws prohibiting torture. Jess Bravin, who wrote the story, says a Constitutional duty to defend the US exempt the President from the tenets of international treaties. Reporter's Notebook: Ronald Reagan-s California Connection Ronald Reagan-s remains have been taken to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, where they will lie in state until the final trip to Washington later this week. The former screen actor's political career began in January, 1967, when he was sworn in as Governor of California at a midnight ceremony in Sacramento. Bill Boyarsky, retired city editor of the Los Angeles Times, and John Micklethwait, US editor for the Economist, recall Reagan's political origins in California and his role in re-shaping the nation.