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What if Ronald Reagan had retained his mental faculties until his final days? How would his presence as ex-President, without the extended pre-mortem tribute to his legacy we saw during his illness IOTL, affect American politics? I came up with a few potential ramifications on this:

IOTL, before developing Alzheimer's disease, Reagan remained an effective speaker. (Love him or hate him, you could always count on Reagan to give an awesome speech.) He gave a well-received speech at the 1992 GOP convention. He may be able to serve as a distinguished elder statesman of the GOP and give speeches in support of Republican candidates through the '90s, including the 1996 convention. As his physical health deteriorates, this may be limited to California and the surrounding states. While a Reagan speech wasn't enough to save Bush in '92, having the Great Communicator give a boost might be enough to swing some House or Senate races. But...

... after Clinton won in '92, it came out that Reagan had voted for Clinton over GHW Bush. Without the outpouring of sympathy due to his illness, does this hurt his standing within conservative circles? Speaking for Bush at the convention, then voting against him, can't look good. Is Reagan likely to vote for Clinton in 1996 over Dole (or whoever the GOP picks instead)? IMHO his policies as POTUS would outweigh this, but do conservatives still come to revere him as the embodiment of everything they hold dear? (The Facebook group Being Conservative, last I knew, has Reagan's POTUS photo as its main profile picture.) This began while he was still alive, but mentally gone IOTL, and may have been partly a result of the sympathy for his Alzheimer's.

How are the internal politics of the GOP affected? If Reagan maintains his influence, even unofficially, the party could be more solidly conservative than it is IOTL.

And finally, to what extent do we see things done in his honor? I don't think he would get as much till he dies. There would still be a USS Ronald Reagan, but the one built OTL (CVN-76) would be named after someone else, and a carrier would be dubbed USS Ronald Reagan after he passes away. Without this precedent, there would be no carrier named after GHW Bush ITTL. (OTOH: Jimmy Carter actually had a submarine named after him before the Reagan was named. So you never know...) Along the same lines, Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC would receive its new name after Reagan's passing, and Houston's primary airport would not now be named after Bush without the Reagan precedent. Whether the push to put Reagan on money is as strong, your guess is as good as mine.

Thoughts?
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