Obama calls Margaret Thatcher 'a true friend' of U.S.

In this Feb. 20, 1985 file photo, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher meets with her friend and political??President Barack Obama on Monday mourned the passing of British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, saying ?the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.?

?Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history?we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will,? he said in a statement.

"As a grocer?s daughter who rose to become Britain?s first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can?t be shattered," Obama said.

Obama led a chorus of American politicians ? mostly conservatives -- expressing sorrow at the death of the ?Iron Lady.? Republican House Speaker John Boehner offered condolences on behalf of the House of Representatives. Thatcher ?stared down elites, union bosses, and communists to win three consecutive elections, establish conservative principles in Western Europe, and bring down the Iron Curtain.

?There was no secret to her values ? hard work and personal responsibility ? and no nonsense at all in her leadership,? Boehner said in a statement.

Thatcher ?reshaped Britain from the state of economic and social turmoil in which she found it to a place of opportunity and promise during three terms in office,? Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

The Kentucky lawmaker praised Thatcher as ?an iconic symbol of the transformative power of conservative ideas,? a ?trusted partner? of Reagan? and someone who ?never hesitated to remind Americans of their own obligations to the cause of freedom and of the need for political courage and confidence in the face of long odds. She ?set a standard of leadership that will be hard to replicate, but which will forever stand as a model for those who wish to change society for the better,? McConnell said.

Liberal lawmakers mostly kept silent. Thatcher?s critics on the left accused her of dismantling the social safety net even as she privatized previously state-run industry. In official Washington, at least, those criticisms seemed muted.

Here is Obama?s full statement:

With the passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend. As a grocer?s daughter who rose to become Britain?s first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can?t be shattered. As prime minister, she helped restore the confidence and pride that has always been the hallmark of Britain at its best. And as an unapologetic supporter of our transatlantic alliance, she knew that with strength and resolve we could win the Cold War and extend freedom?s promise.

Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history?we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will. Michelle and I send our thoughts to the Thatcher family and all the British people as we carry on the work to which she dedicated her life?free peoples standing together, determined to write our own destiny.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-thatcher-true-friend-u-example-women-144656995--politics.html

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