>while listening to the latest archive of doug's radio program
>(perlstein), i was struck by the impression that even those on the
>left now consider reagan to be a "great communicator".
He was, in the sense of marketing and public relations, of sizzle not steak. As Rick pointed out, Reagan was much better at delivering the right-wing message than Goldwater; substantively they were the same, but BG came off as hostile and nutty, while Ronnie came off as smooth and charming. Rick rejected the label "optimistic" for Reagan, saying he was a nasty piece of work. Yes, he was nasty, but the affective qualities he radiated (and which Clinton radiated as well) were also ones of hope and boundless opportunity. It's a bit like J.D. Lorenz' description of the genius of Jerry Brown <http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Jerry-Brown.html> - to create "an ambiance of possibility." But with Brown, it was politically more neutral - left or right could grok on something Jerry-ish. WIth Reagan it was all from the right, but in most of his public performances, minus the snarl.
Doug