A few weeks before the beginning of Ronald Reagan's first of two terms as President of the United States, TIME Magazine made him their "Man of the Year." Despite the magazine's usual ubiquitous stylings that place personality at the center of all historical activity, it succinctly described the three principle policy issues that would face the incoming Chief Executive:
That mandate is specific: To control inflation, to reduce unnecessary governmental interference in private lives and in business, to reassert America's prominence in the world. That is all there is to it, and that is plenty (Rosenblatt n.p.)
Indeed, that was more than enough. Outgoing President Jimmy Carter had been elected on much the same mandate in 1976 and had failed miserably. Or, more to the point, it was the perception of the American electorate that Carter had been an ineffective national leader. During his term Carter spoke of a "national malaise" (Schaller 19), wore frumpy sweaters as his response to an energy crunch, appeared indecisive and, in the words of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, could only "lurch from crisis to crisis" (Schaller 21). To which candidate Reagan utilized his actor's background and answered directly to the television cameras: "I cannot and will not stand by while inflation and joblessness destroy the dignity of our people" (Schaller 27), "it is time we recognize that ours, in truth, [is] a noble cause" (Schaller 29). During the 1980 presidential elections, President Jimmy Carter was the known quantity, offering nothing beyond good intentions, intelligence and a fatalistic acceptance of life's difficulties; challenger Ronald Reagan was the unknown factor, putting forth a vision of positive self-determination and the opportunity of hope for something better. Perception is what elected Reagan to office (Wills 1-4).
Perception and some very specific economic promises. The United States in 1980 was in the grip of "stagflation,"...