Reagans Popularity

A detailed Summary of Reagans Popularity

Ronald Reagan presided over the United States from 1981 to 1989. Even though the country was experiencing major economic and social problems, he was popular for the majority of the time he was in office. Throughout his presidency, he and his administration worked continuously to build his image as a true American. Partially because of his image, the public ignored the rise in unemployment, the drop in salaries, the increase of people living in poverty, the increase of children born out of wedlock, and the rising number of people in jail. Reagan was popular because the public was focussing on his image and his promises, not what was actually happening.

Ronald Reagan's inaugural speech had a patriotic theme. In it, he stated that the country, which had unlimited potential, was limiting itself by jeopardizing its future. Striving to create a sense of confidence, he pledged to "cut taxes and end deficit spending" and to restore the glory of the United States (35). He sensed what the public wanted, and he promised to achieve it. Throughout his terms, he wanted them to feel that life was improving, whether it actually was or was not.

Reagan's image played a key role in his popularity. To his oath taking on inauguration da

Along with his administration, Reagan's wife, Nancy Reagan, helped her husband with his job. After Reagan angered the public by suggesting that all who were killed in the World War II were equal victims of Nazism, she stepped in and arranged for him to give a speech at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Many people felt that "Hitler's true victims had perished" there (63). The public forgave Reagan, and his popularity resumed.

Reagan's quest to lower taxes also increased his popularity. Two of his goals were to decrease federal income and business tax rates by 30 percent over three years and to eliminate "bracket creep." Bracket creep pushed the taxpayers into a higher income bracket, forcing them to pay higher progressive income taxes. In support of Reagan, Congress lowered the taxes 25 percent, which was a staggering percentage. When Stockman confronted Reagan about the growing deficit, Reagan insisted that there was no need to decrease federal spending and to raise taxes. He blamed President Carter for the deficit, and he said that, in the future, the Treasury would have enough money to begin paying off the debt.

If the public had focussed on Reagan's actual achievements rather than on what he promised to do, he would not have been as popular. He promised to end deficit spending, but he actually increased it dramatically with his tax cut and increase of government spending. To protect his popularity, he blamed the rising deficit on Carter. Reagan also protected his popularity by avoiding issues that might offend the public, causing him to lose support. He captured the public with his image, which was constructed by his administration, and his personality, which allowed him to form a bond with his audiences. His administration's work was a major reason that Reagan was popular.

Some of President Reagan's decisions increased his popularity. Sometimes he stayed with his original decision, and sometimes he changed his unpopular decision to a more popular one. In August 1981, almost 12,000 air traffic controllers of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, even though they had agreed not to do so in their employment contracts. Reagan warned the controllers to end the strike, but it continued. He fired them and replaced them with military personnel. Reagan's firm stance had increased his popularity and given him a decisive image. Reagan also had a strong opinion that Martin Luther King, Jr. should not be honored with a federal holiday. However, when he saw that the public supported

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Category: History