the American populace reeled from the effects of a recession that seemed impervious to New Deal-Keynesian economic solutions. This situation was set against a background of social reforms initiated in the 1960s and early 70s that promised a levelling of racial, sexual and cultural class divisions. In the late 1970s, then-President Jimmy Carter tried to publicly recognize the economic vulnerability of the populace, failing, in the process, to recognize also that a frightened electorate needs psychological support from its leadership as well as commiseration. Ronald Reagan provided the solution: a paternal reassurance that at once denied the sources of economic decline -out of sight, out of mind - while providing the psychological "shoulder to lean on" impetus for economic recovery (Blumberg, 1981).
That the "recovery" was superficial is evidenced by the Reagan Administration's own Budget Director, David Stockman, throwing up his hands in despair that their policy, dubbed "Supply Side Economics," was unworkable. Even as he did so, however, candidate-for-reelection Reagan coasted to 1984 victory on the basis of his economic achievements. What t
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