The list of reasons why this is a great place to live is long, although those mild, almost-snowless winters, a favorite reason of mine, are beginning to look more tenuous.

One of the more interesting reasons to appreciate what we have, maybe not at the top of everyone's list, is that we regularly get to host here the president of the United States, courtesy of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, a visit that has become a common spring ritual.

It's not a terribly old practice, as military traditions go, but we pretty regularly see a president, around the time the lilacs start to bloom, who comes to address the graduating cadets at the academy.

Actually, Lyndon Johnson became the first president to address an academy commencement, speaking in 1964, keeping a commitment first made by John Kennedy.

After that there was a presidential drought for a long time at academy graduations. Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter were no-shows.

But then Ronald Reagan revived the idea in 1988 and started the current tradition. He was followed by George H.W. Bush, who was followed by Bill Clinton, who attended twice, and George W. Bush, who also came twice.

Barack Obama arrives this week for his second Coast Guard Academy commencement.

To get a sense of what we might expect from President Obama this year I looked back at some of the many New London presidential speeches over the years. If history is any guide, Obama will lean more toward traditional words of congratulations and encouragement for graduates and steer clear of the kinds of broad policy issues some of his predecessors raised here.

"We know even the darkest storms pass" was one of the platitudes Obama delivered in a fairly light speech in 2011.

"Stay true to the lessons you've learned here on the Thames," Obama told graduates toward the end of his remarks.

Johnson, in contrast, waded onto pretty serious policy terrain, loudly sounding the sirens of the Cold War.

The president noted the fast pace of development of our nuclear arsenals and "our ability to deter nuclear destruction."

Johnson boldly quoted the Bible and talked about God in a way that now seems dated compared to blander political speeches of the 21st Century.

"No one can live daily, as I must do, with the dark realities of nuclear ruin, without seeking the guidance of God to find the path of peace. We have built this staggering strength that I have told you about not to destroy, but to save, not to put an end to civilization but rather to try to put an end to conflict."

It was a lot to swallow on a spring day alongside the Thames in New London.

Johnson also specifically addressed the "men" of the Coast Guard Academy class, surely never thinking the institution would one day be led by a woman.

Ronald Reagan, the natural speech giver, mixed in some humor with his broad warnings. His issues of the day were drug use and improving relations with the Soviet Union. Oddly, he hoped then for a liberated Afghanistan, free from Soviet interference.

"Illegal drug use is of the foremost concern in our country," Reagan said at the start of a long section of the speech about drugs. "And frankly, as I finish my final year in office and look ahead, I worry that excessive drug politics might undermine effective drug policy."

I wonder what he would think today about the trends toward decriminalization of marijuana and away from mandatory drug sentencing.

President Clinton had a pretty light touch at the lectern in New London, poking fun at himself as well as the cadets. He also made deft use of New London history.

He described a painting in the West Wing of the White House depicting the first battle of the War of 1812 off the coast of New London. That day, he said, a British frigate, the Belvidera, was chased by five American warships, three of them named the President, the United States and Congress.

"History tells us the fastest ship was the President," Clinton said. "But unfortunately, the Belvidera got away anyway, because at a crucial moment the President suffered significant damage.

"We're not sure what caused it, but I am curious to know where the Congress was at the time."

Clinton, who spoke May 17, 2000, also raised a worry that day about the possibility of terrorist attacks, even using the name Osama Bin Laden, well before the attacks of Sept. 11 made him the country's number one villain.

"Last December, working with Jordan, we shut down a plot to place large bombs at locations where Americans might gather on New Year's Eve. We learned this plot was linked to terrorist camps in Afghanistan and the organization created by Osama Bin Laden," Clinton told the commencement audience.

So, remember, you heard it first from Clinton, in New London.

I would like to hope Obama gives a shout out today to the development of the Coast Guard Museum in New London. It seems like an appropriate occasion to call for the success of the proposed museum.

It was Reagan who recalled in New London back in 1988 the kind of brave Coast Guard rescues that would be remembered and celebrated in a new museum.

Reagan, in his 1988 commencement address, told the story of a Coast Guard rescue of the crew of a Russian freighter that sent a distress call as it was sinking the year before, 200 miles off the New Jersey coast, with seas running 20 feet and winds gusting to 55 knots.

"Three helicopters came to the rescue," Reagan recalled. "The fuel was low; there was little time. And despite screaming winds and pitching seas, each helicopter managed to hover in turn above the ship's heaving deck.

"And the helicopter crews, with infinite care, lowered a wire basket and lifted up to safety, one by one, each of the 37 people on board.

"It was one of the most dramatic rescues in Coast Guard history and a heroic demonstration of what we mean when we say the Coast Guard is an 'armed service and more'."

Well said, Mr. President.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct