1. List several words/phrases used to describe Nancy Reagan in this article.

2. What was significant about Nancy Reagan’s role as First Lady?

3. How did Mrs. Reagan explain what she saw the role of the First Lady to be?

4. How did Ronald Reagan defend his wife when critics said she was involved in the decisions he made as president?

5. The reporter writes in para. 22: “Nancy Reagan acknowledged she had the ear of her husband.” Is there anything wrong with this? (Should Michelle Obama have the ear of her husband? Or Laura Bush of her husband?…) Explain your answer.

6. a) Read the “Background” below the questions. Some critics dismissed her “Just Say No” anti-drug efforts as simplistic but she became America’s most visible anti-drug crusader at a time when the crack cocaine epidemic was raging. What did she tell the UN General Assembly when she addressed the assembly in 1988?
b) What do you think of this assertion? Explain your answer.

7. Ask a parent (and/or a grandparent) to describe his/her view of Nancy Reagan when she was the First Lady.