BOSTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Sunday that he was suspending "overtly political" campaigning in the coming days in observance of former President Reagan's death.
"Ronald Reagan and many of us disagreed on one issue or another, but he always disagreed with a smile, without partisanship," Kerry told reporters after attending church.
"I think he had a sense of idealism and a sense of optimism of the possibilities about our country that define leadership," Kerry said. "We will miss him, no matter what party, no matter what our beliefs. He was a leader, and we'll miss him."
Kerry was flying to Toledo, Ohio, Sunday to speak at the graduation ceremony for Bedford Senior High School. Although the school is in Temperance, Mich., the commencement is across the nearby state line in Ohio. Kerry's aides said he would make a tribute to Reagan in the speech.
Kerry was returning to Washington after the graduation, canceling a trip to Denver, where he was to have delivered a speech Monday morning.
"We're going to suspend any sort of overtly political rallies, events like that," Kerry said. He added that he would probably still have private meetings with advisers.
Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the campaign would determine later in the day how long Kerry would observe Reagan's death and which activities he would cancel, but he would not pull his campaign advertising.
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