Topic: Ronald Reagan

BALTIMORE, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Retired Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., a top official to three U.S. presidents, died Saturday at age 85 at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, officials said.

Haig was admitted to Johns Hopkins Jan. 28 with an infection and died at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, hospital spokesman Gary Stephenson told CNN.

Haig, a four-star Army general, served as commander of NATO and secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, and in 1988 ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination. Haig also served as a senior adviser in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon.

Haig gained notoriety in 1981 after President Reagan was shot and wounded and then Vice President George H.W. Bush was en route from Texas to Washington.

"As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the vice president," Haig declared shortly after the shooting.

Haig was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, and attended the University of Notre Dame for two years before transferring to the U.S. Military Academy in 1944. After graduation in 1947, he served in Japan and led combat units in Korea and in Vietnam.

Sarah Palin got a fervent reception Saturday as she told the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville "America is ready for another revolution."

Palin, the keynote speaker at the $549-a-ticket three day event, opened her speech by noting it was Ronald Reagan's birthday and greeted the attendees she called "soldiers of the cause," CBS News reported.

"I am a big supporter of this movement and believe in this movement. America is ready for another revolution and you are part of this," she said.

Palin, who resigned as governor of Alaska last year with more than a year to go on her term, gave no hint of her political plans. But many of the 600 attending the convention would be happy to see her run for president.

Supporter Fremont Brown, who had "Palin 2012" bumper stickers with him at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, told CNN Palin is "the right person" for the Oval Office.

"She has fervent heart and she's conservative," added the 59-year-old Brown, who owns a small business in North Carolina. "She was the only one truly qualified with executive experience of the four who ran in 2008. The others were glorified lobbyists."

Palin, who was reportedly paid $100,000 for the appearance, said this week any compensation would "go right back to the (Tea Party) cause." Her upcoming schedule includes appearances with conservative candidates, beginning Sunday when she will go to Texas to campaign for Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who faces a primary challenge from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.