Ronald Reagan's children have mixed opinions on how far their mother should go to protect the former president, who has Alzheimer's disease.

Michael and Ron Reagan apparently believe Nancy Reagan is at times a bit overprotective, according to an interview in the July-August issue of New Choices magazine. Both disagreed with her decision to keep their father home with Secret Service agents instead of having him attend his 85th birthday party in February."I would have invited him to his own birthday party," Michael Reagan told the magazine, marketed toward older people. "I don't believe Ronald Reagan is capable of embarrassing himself. Those were his friends."

But Maureen Reagan said she and her sister, Patti Davis, "feel very strongly that this is a time when our parents are entitled to their privacy. I would err on the side of being overly protective."

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Though the former president sometimes has a hard time recalling words, Ron Reagan says, "He's actually been doing remarkably well."

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