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The Reagan years on 60 Minutes

Mike Wallace's classic interviews with the Reagans -- from their 60 Minutes debut in 1975 to their 1989 farewell interview from the White House
The Reagan Years 22:46

"Why hasn't this job weighed as heavily on you as it has on some other occupants of this Oval Office?" Mike Wallace asked President Reagan at the end of his second term. "Well, maybe none of them had a Nancy," he replied.

As the nation says goodbye to Nancy Reagan, 60 Minutes Overtime takes a look back at the best of Mike Wallace's classic interviews with the Reagans -- from their 1975 debut on the broadcast to their 1989 farewell interview from the White House. Watch the compilation video in the player above.

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Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1975 CBS News

The former first lady will be buried today next to her husband, who passed away in 2004, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. "Ronnie," as she called him, died at the age of 93 after a nearly decade-long battle with Alzheimer's.

Nancy Reagan spoke candidly about the cruelties of her husband's disease, bringing awareness to a condition that affects millions. "The golden years are when you can sit back, hopefully, and exchange memories. And that's the worst part about this disease, there's nobody to exchange memories with," Nancy told Wallace in 2002. "And we had a lot of memories."

The Long Goodbye 16:10

When Nancy's memoir "My Turn" was published in 1989, she spoke frankly with Wallace about her political life and the stinging criticism she often came under, video below. "Nothing can prepare you for living in the White House," she wrote, and it's that sentiment President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama referenced upon hearing of her death.

Nancy Reagan: The 60 Minutes interview 15:46

"She was right, of course," the Obamas' statement read. "But we had a head start, because we were fortunate to benefit from her proud example and her warm and generous advice. Our former First Lady redefined the role in her time here."

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