Following former President Ronald Reagan's death Saturday, some local politicians say the "Gipper's" charm and optimism enabled him to cross party lines and inspire Democrats and Republicans alike.
During Reagan's presidency, state Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, said he was a member of Adrian College's Democrat debate team, and he had friends who were members of the College Republicans.
"We would watch Reagan's addresses and we'd have heated debates afterward," Bernero said. "He inspired passion on both sides."
Bernero said he fought against some of Reagan's policies and disagreed with about 80 percent of what he said, but he couldn't help but respect him, mainly because of the man's optimism and patriotism.
"With Reagan it couldn't be personal," Bernero said. "You could disagree with him vehemently, but you had to admire him. He was a class act."
News of Reagan's death, due to pneumonia, was met with a sense of loss by U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
"President Reagan's leadership broke the back of communism in the Soviet bloc and brought democracy to millions," Rogers said in a statement.
As an Army officer during Reagan's presidency, Rogers said he remembered an inspiring speech from the president while the two were at Arlington National Cemetery.
"While his illness took him from us several years ago, word of his death reminds us of his optimism, his wonderful sense of humor and his commitment to a strong and free America," Rogers said.
Reagan has been credited with helping to topple what was then the Soviet Union, by convincing Russians the United States was winning the Cold War arms race and that the United States was more formidable than it really was.
But despite his positive influence, not all of Reagan's politics were met with open arms. Bernero said his main complaint with the country's 40th president was the way he tried to sell himself for his re-election campaign in 1984.
"He started this business of 'Are you better off today than you were four years ago,'" he said. "He reduced electoral decisions down to retail politics."
Shortcomings aside, Reagan was an admirable president and his effect was extraordinary, said Louis Hunt, an MSU professor of political theory.
"Reagan was, along with Margaret Thatcher, one of the most influential politicians of the post-war era," Hunt said. "He took it seriously in a way that previous presidents and politicians hadn't.
"He resurrected conservative politics in America, and forced the Democratic party to move in a more conservative direction."
Bernero said the thing he'll remember most about Reagan is his intense and seemingly endless belief in America.
"He just seemed to ooze, to breathe, this optimism about the country and its future," he said. "I always believed he meant the best."
