Upbeat Conservatism, Traditional Values Define Reagan Legacy

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Ronald Reagan didn't bother waiting for Dick Thornburgh.

The politicians met at a Republican Party dinner in Westmoreland County in 1977. Reagan lost a primary challenge to Gerald Ford the year before. Thornburgh was trying to decide whether to run for governor. After being introduced, the president-to-be took the podium and thanked Thornburgh as "the next governor of Pennsylvania."

It wouldn't be the last time Thornburgh watched him set the terms of a political discussion. Sunday marks 100 years since the birth of Reagan, the nation's 40th president and oldest occupant of the White House, popular still. An airport and an aircraft carrier bear his name, and his …