LOS ANGELES, Feb 7: Former President Ronald Reagan celebrated his 90th birthday on Tuesday, with Alzheimer’s disease and a broken hip making him virtually a recluse from the good wishes of the nation - including praise from the current President and all the nation’s living ex-presidents.Leading tributes to Reagan, President George W. Bush, whose father was Reagan’s vice-president before succeeding him as President, said the achievements of the former actor turned politician were clear and monumental:"You came here at a time when our country needed confidence. You told us we could be strong again, at home and abroad. And when you left, we were. You came to the White House when the Cold War was real. You told us, even when few believed it, that the evil empire would pass and that freedom would prevail. And your resolve made it happen," Bush said in remarks shown on CNN’s "Larry King Live" before King interviewed Reagan’s wife, Nancy. Also delivering personal birthday greetings to Reagan were former presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. Meanwhile, hundreds of visitors and well-wishers crammed the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, North of Los Angeles, to sign a 90-foot (27-metre) long birthday card for the man known in the past for his wit and warmth.But in their Bel Air home, Nancy Reagan organised a "low-key dinner" including Reagan’s favorite chocolate birthday cake, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.No photos were released to mark the event which makes Reagan only the third former US President to survive to the age of 90. Herbert Hoover and John Adams both died at the age of 90.
