LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 1984 (UPI) -- A triumphant President Reagan, handed a landslide re-election mandate of near record proportions, hailed the success of his final campaign Tuesday night and declared: ''This is not the end of anything. It's the beginning of everything.''
''You know, so many people act as if this election means the end of something,'' Reagan told cheering partisans at a gala victory celebration. ''But the vision that we outlined in 1980, indeed the passion of the fire that we kept burning for two decades, doesn't die just because four years has passed.''
Reagan, fortified by a victory that came close to the 50-state sweep his advisers had sought, asked Americans to unify and ''build together'' in the aftermath of the longest and most expensive presidential campaign in history.
Standing in the jammed ballroom of the Century Plaza Hotel, where he claimed victory over President Carter in 1980, Reagan dedicated himself to completion of an unfinished agenda promising continued economic growth, jobs for those who want them, a further return to traditional values and an adherence to the principle of peace through strength.
''To each one of you, I say: Tonight is the end of nothing. It's the beginning of everything.''
For Reagan, the climax came during a traditional Election Night dinner with friends and family members at the home of steel magnate Earle Jorgensen. Vanquished Democratic nominee Walter Mondale telephoned the president to concede defeat and offer his congratulations.
Reagan later acknowledged the gesture to the boos of his loyalists at the Century Plaza hotel, stressing that Mondale had told him ''the people have made their decision and therefore we were all Americans and would all go forward together.''
But that was the last mention of Mondale. The jubilant, flag-waving crowd went wild when Reagan, in response to relentless chants of ''Four more years!'' quipped, ''I think that's just been arranged.''
''It seems we did this four years ago,'' Reagan said, ''and let me just say good habits are hard to break.''
Reagan portrayed the election as a continuation of the conservative ''prairie fire'' he helped ignite in California 20 years ago and spread across the country during a decade-long quest for the White House.
''Four years ago, when we celebrated in this same room, our country was faced by some deep and serious problems,'' Reagan said. ''But instead of complaining together, we rolled up our sleeves and began working together.''
Reagan, standing with his wife Nancy and three of his four children and their spouses, credited his political lieutenants with assembling ''the finest campaign organization, I think, in the history of American politics.'' He singled out Vice President George Bush and campaign chairman Paul Laxalt for special thanks.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan described the minute-long phone call from Mondale as ''very gracious.'' While Mondale did most of the talking, Speakes said, both expressed a desire to work together toward post-election unity.
Earlier in the evening, as he and Mrs. Reagan watched the initial returns, Reagan said he felt sorry for Mondale, but added, ''I'm quite sure that there isn't anything I could say that would make him feel any better.''
Indeed, while Reagan stressed the need for unity, his speech repeated the major themes of his campaign and offered little in the way of conciliation toward his defeated opponent and his supporters.
Reagan told his loyalists the election triumph ''belongs to you and the principles that you cling to -- principles struck by the brilliance and bravery of patriots more than 200 years ago.''
White House officials found their elation dampened somewhat by reports that Soviet-built MiG fighters might have been aboard a ship destined for Nicaragua. With the administration on record warning against the introduction of any such sophisticated weapony in the region, Speakes voiced concern about a possible ''escalation'' of tension, but cautioned reporters to not ''jump to any conclusions.''
