The Need to Explain

The Need to Explain

The most successful Republican presidential candidate of the past half century-- Ronald Reagan, who was elected and reelected with landslide victories-- bore little resemblance to the moderate candidates that Republican conventional wisdom depicts as the key to victory, even though most of these moderate candidates have in fact gone down to defeat.

One of the biggest differences between Reagan and these latter-day losers was that Reagan paid great attention to explaining his policies and values. He was called "the great communicator," but much more than a gift for words was involved. The issues that defined Reagan's vision were things he...