Ronald Reagan 'appears to Nancy'

Mrs Reagan says the grief of her loss has not diminished with time

The former US First Lady, Nancy Reagan, says she still "sees" her husband Ronald, and talks to him.

She told Vanity Fair magazine: "At night time, if I wake up, I think Ronnie is there, and I start to talk to him... And I see him."

Mrs Reagan, 87, also spoke about how much she still missed her husband, who died in 2004.

And she mentioned that the present First Lady, Michelle Obama, called for advice on running the White House.

Mrs Reagan's suggestion was to hold more state dinners - the Reagans held more than 50, compared to just six while George W Bush was in office.

"Just have a good time and do a little business. And that is the way Washington works," she told the new first lady.

It was not her first phone call from the Obamas.

Consulted astrologers

Mrs Reagan has long been interested in astrology. In 1988, she was criticised and ridiculed when it was revealed that she had consulted astrologers during her time at the White House.

And it was this that got the newly-elected Barack Obama into hot water. In a news conference in November, he was asked whether he had consulted any former presidents for advice.

He replied that he had spoken to the living ones, adding: "I did not want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances."

Mr Obama called her almost immediately to apologise.

In her latest interview, Mrs Reagan is gracious about the Obamas, even though she admits to voting for the Republican candidate John McCain in the presidential election.

"I thought Obama ran the best campaign I have ever known," she said. "Disciplined, well organised, very, very good."

And she mentions that she approves of the measures President Obama has taken to allow the use of embryonic stem cells in scientific research into diseases such as Alzheimer's, which afflicted Ronald Reagan for some years before his death, aged 93.

She said that even though she hated travelling, she would have flown from California to show her approval of the policy change.

But she speaks most movingly about her love for her husband. "I miss Ronnie a lot, an awful lot.

"People say it gets better. No, it does not."