Obama praises Nancy Reagan for pursuing cures for diseases like Alzheimer's during his radio address - one day after snubbing her funeral for SXSW

  • Obama credited Nancy Reagan with pushing forward medical research into diseases like Alzheimer's on his radio and internet address on Saturday
  • Mrs Reagan was buried on Friday after her death Sunday at age 94
  • The president didn't attend the funeral and spoke at SXSW on Friday
  • Hillary Clinton had to apologize yesterday for mistakenly saying the Reagans 'started a national conversation' about the AIDS epidemic

President Obama is crediting the late Nancy Reagan with spurring research into cures for diseases like Alzheimer's.

He says no one understood the importance of pursuing potentially life-saving treatments than the former first lady. 

She was buried Friday alongside her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

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President Obama praised Nancy Reagan for pushing the medical field to find cures for diseases like Alzheimer's 

President Obama praised Nancy Reagan for pushing the medical field to find cures for diseases like Alzheimer's 

The day before the address Obama spoke at SXSW about civic engagement, missing Mrs Reagan's funeral 

The day before the address Obama spoke at SXSW about civic engagement, missing Mrs Reagan's funeral 

Obama says Mrs Reagan was one of the first people he called after signing an order to resume federal stem cell research, which she had pioneered after president Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 

Obama says Mrs Reagan was one of the first people he called after signing an order to resume federal stem cell research, which she had pioneered after president Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 

Obama didn't attend the funeral and instead spoke at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, about the government collaborating with next generation technology and civic engagement.  

In his weekly Saturday radio and Internet address, Obama says Mrs Reagan was one of the first people he contacted after he signed an order to resume federal stem cell research, a cause she advocated following her husband's diagnosis.

Obama says administration efforts to tailor health care to the individual and to better understand the human brain are possible because of Nancy Reagan's tireless efforts.

While Obama was praising the Reagan's contributions to medicine, Hillary Clinton was apologizing for making a gaffe about the Reagan's legacy of medical contributions.  

The secretary of state made completely inaccurate comments about the role the Reagan's played in combating the AIDS epidemic that was gripping the United States in the 1980s

The secretary of state made completely inaccurate comments about the role the Reagan's played in combating the AIDS epidemic that was gripping the United States in the 1980s

Clinton was forced into making an apology (above) hours later about the mistake she made about the Reagans

Clinton was forced into making an apology (above) hours later about the mistake she made about the Reagans

Clinton claimed that President Ronald Reagan and his wife 'started a national conversation' about the AIDS epidemic when 'nobody would talk about it' while speaking to MSNBC.

'It may be hard for your viewers to remember how difficult it was for people to talk about HIV/AIDS back in the 1980s,' Clinton said. 

'And because of both President and Mrs. Reagan -- in particular Mrs. Reagan -- we started a national conversation. 

'When before nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it, and that too is something that I really appreciate with her very effective, low key advocacy but it penetrated the public conscious and people began to say, 'Hey, we have to do something about this too.'' 

Clinton issued a statement later in the afternoon Friday apologizing for her huge mistake about the Reagans.

'While the Reagans were strong advocates for stem cell research and finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, I misspoke about their record on HIV and AIDS. For that, I'm sorry,' the statement reads.  

President Ronald Reagan died of Alzheimer's in 2004 and Mrs Reagan died Sunday. She was 94.