doc_text: For almost a decade, Margaret Thatcher was regarded at the White House as America's best friend, the trusted ally whose strong views reinforced the conservative tone of administration policies.
  Among Western allies, she was alone at Ronald Reagan's side in 1986 in supporting the U.S. bombing of Libya.
  In the Persian Gulf crisis, she boldly joined with George Bush in sending troops to the Middle East.
  "You always know where she was and what she believed," Bush said upon hearing of her decision to resign.
  "She has always been an outstanding ally of the United States," he said.
  "I will miss her."
  There were many doubters around the world when Reagan arrived in Washington with an economic program of free-market capitalism that seemed out of step with the times.
  Mrs. Thatcher wasn't one of the skeptics; she was advocating a similar program at home.
  They shared rocky relations with organized labor.
  Reagan successfully fired the nation's air traffic controllers, dealing a devastating blow to labor.
  She, too, smashed restive unions.
  On foreign policy, she frequently was more right wing than Reagan - certainly more so than Bush.
  Reagan never made any secret of his special affection for the British prime minister.
  They were ideological soulmates and called each other Ronnie and Margaret.
  At international gatherings, they usually were side by side.
  Two years ago as they met for the final time before Reagan left office, the president said he was leaving the White House with "considerable satisfaction in the knowledge that Margaret Thatcher will still reside at No. 10 Downing Street."
  She later wrote him a "Dear Ron" letter in which she praised him as "a great president, one of the greatest."
  Like Reagan, she was deeply suspicious of the Soviet Union.
  Together they advocated a hard line toward Moscow and championed military readiness - even though she was the first to recognize Mikhail S. Gorbachev as a leader she could do business with.
  Mrs. Thatcher encouraged the huge Pentagon buildup that Reagan nurtured under the theme of peace through strength.
  She was a big backer of U.S. efforts to install medium-range missiles in Europe and always seemed cautious - perhaps reluctant - when it came to disarmament.
  When Argentina and Britain clashed militarily over the Falkland Islands, the United States was forced to make a painful choice between two allies.
  Ronnie sided with Margaret.
  Washington's special relationship with London seemed to slip when Reagan left power.
  Bush and Mrs. Thatcher disagreed publicly last year over her government's decision to deport Vietnamese and Cambodian "boat people" who were fleeing their countries to Hong Kong.
  Bush, a veteran of world politics, knew many leaders around the globe.
  Mrs. Thatcher suddenly seemed to be just one of the gang.
  The Berlin Wall was collapsing and it appeared as if Bush found German Chancellor Helmut Kohl more interesting than Mrs. Thatcher.
  She was merely one in a parade of foreign dignitaries who got the prized invitation to visit Bush at Camp David this year.
  Nevertheless, Bush said he expected the "special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain to remain on a "steady keel."
  Mrs. Thatcher did her part, demonstrating her loyalty.
  For awhile she and Bush were seemingly alone in their suspicions of Gorbachev's unilateral cutbacks in troops and arms in Europe, and appeared uncertain how to respond.
  Under intense pressure from Congress, Bush began to warm to the Soviet leader.
  Now they seem almost best of friends.
  On the Persian Gulf, Bush said he would not rule out possible military force, and ordered a huge buildup of troops to make his threat credible.
  Mrs. Thatcher, characteristically, was tougher.
  She said that unless Saddam Hussein got out of Kuwait soon, the West would have to use military force to dislodge him.
  She called Saddam "a loser," and the state-controlled Iraqi news agency replied that she was an "old hag."
  Now, she is leaving.
  No one suspects that Britain's new leadership - whoever it is - will take a soft line toward Iraq.
  Yet, if the going gets tough, it might have been comforting for Bush to be able to hear the tough old line from Thatcher.
summary_text: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, considered America's best friend for almost a decade, has decided to retire.
  President Bush called her an outstanding ally of the United States.
  Her closest ties, however, were with former President Reagan..
  They were ideological soul mates who were usually side by side at international gatherings.
  Calling each other Ronnie and Margaret, they shared similar political and economic views.
  During the British clash with Argentina, the United States was forced to choose between two allies.
  President Bush was more experienced in world politics and knew many world leaders and Mrs. Thatcher became just one of the gang.