The Week

For many years, A Short History of the United States, by Henry Steele Commager and Allan Nevins, has been one of the most widely used university textbooks in its field. The updated new edition, published by Knopf in 1966, thus (p. 649) describes the Republican Presidential campaign of 1964: “Organized and directed by extremists and fanatics in the party who howled down all opposition, insulted all competing candidates, and even voted against a civil rights plank in the platform, that [the 1964 Republican] convention provided the first shock to the rank and file of Republicans throughout the country. . . . The campaign speedily took on a nightmare quality. In the gentlest terms and most reasonable manner, Senator Goldwater advocated what seemed like hair-raising policies and programs—‘seemed like’ because there was so little rationale or consistency in his campaign. … The recklessness of his advocacy, his seeming inability to formulate any real programs, his readiness to court extremists and the racists and the militarists, dismayed moderate Republicans everywhere.” A model, wouldn’t you agree, of objective scholarship?

They’re no longer referring to Ronald Reagan as a “former TV actor”. When the California legislature dispersed last week, just about everyone—from Time Magazine to Jesse Unruh—agreed that Reagan had won his political spurs. His budget, although a record-breaker at $5 billion, was $43 million less than the legislature proposed and contained many economies in state operations. It won legislative approval, as did his $933-million tax increase program—fulfilling Reagan’s campaign pledge that California’s income will equal her expenditures. What most impresses the political pros is Reagan’s ability to deal with a Democratic-controlled legislature: by compromising carefully, he managed to get much of what he wanted. He worked well with Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh (who, back in the old days, used to love to frustrate Governor Pat Brown at every turn), and when the session was over, Unruh admitted that “all in all… Reagan did very well.” A nationwide Gallup survey showed that Reagan can attract as many independent voters as Lyndon Johnson.

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Presidential Election

For many years, A Short History of the United States, by Henry Steele Commager and Allan Nevins, has been one of the most widely used university textbooks in its field. The updated new edition, published by Knopf in 1966, thus (p. 649) describes the Republican Presidential campaign of 1964: “Organized and directed by extremists and fanatics in the party who howled down all opposition, insulted all competing candidates, and even voted against a civil rights plank in the platform, that [the 1964 Republican] convention provided the first shock to the rank and file of Republicans throughout the country. . . . The campaign speedily took on a nightmare quality. In the gentlest terms and most reasonable manner, Senator Goldwater advocated what seemed like hair-raising policies and programs—‘seemed like’ because there was so little rationale or consistency in his campaign. … The recklessness of his advocacy, his seeming inability to formulate any real programs, his readiness to court extremists and the racists and the militarists, dismayed moderate Republicans everywhere.” A model, wouldn’t you agree, of objective scholarship?

They’re no longer referring to Ronald Reagan as a “former TV actor”. When the California legislature dispersed last week, just about everyone—from Time Magazine to Jesse Unruh—agreed that Reagan had won his political spurs. His budget, although a record-breaker at $5 billion, was $43 million less than the legislature proposed and contained many economies in state operations. It won legislative approval, as did his $933-million tax increase program—fulfilling Reagan’s campaign pledge that California’s income will equal her expenditures. What most impresses the political pros is Reagan’s ability to deal with a Democratic-controlled legislature: by compromising carefully, he managed to get much of what he wanted. He worked well with Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh (who, back in the old days, used to love to frustrate Governor Pat Brown at every turn), and when the session was over, Unruh admitted that “all in all… Reagan did very well.” A nationwide Gallup survey showed that Reagan can attract as many independent voters as Lyndon Johnson.