Parlaying the Summit

For all the questions swirling around Ronald Reagan’s performance at the Moscow Summit, judged from a PR point of view it can only help his understudy, George Bush. Recent head-to-head polls measuring Bush against Dukakis give the Massachusetts governor better than a 15 point lead. But on foreign-policy issues—namely, depth of experience in dealing with foreign leaders, ability to handle relations with the Soviets, and knowledgeability about top-level defense questions—Bush heavily outweighs Dukakis.

The Veep’s strengths in these areas are partly the result of his career experience: combat veteran, CIA director, envoy to China, Vice President. But they are also traditional GOP strengths. Asked whether Republicans or Democrats can better handle foreign policy and defense, voters habitually give an edge to the GOP. This Republican strength has attracted conservative, blue-collar Democrats to the GOP ticket in recent presidential elections, notably Nixon’s 1972 landslide and Reagan’s 1980 and 1984 wins. However, with Iran-Contra, some of this traditional GOP advantage has dissipated.

JM

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John McLaughlin

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Ronald Reagan

George H. W. Bush

Presidential Election

For all the questions swirling around Ronald Reagan’s performance at the Moscow Summit, judged from a PR point of view it can only help his understudy, George Bush. Recent head-to-head polls measuring Bush against Dukakis give the Massachusetts governor better than a 15 point lead. But on foreign-policy issues—namely, depth of experience in dealing with foreign leaders, ability to handle relations with the Soviets, and knowledgeability about top-level defense questions—Bush heavily outweighs Dukakis.

The Veep’s strengths in these areas are partly the result of his career experience: combat veteran, CIA director, envoy to China, Vice President. But they are also traditional GOP strengths. Asked whether Republicans or Democrats can better handle foreign policy and defense, voters habitually give an edge to the GOP. This Republican strength has attracted conservative, blue-collar Democrats to the GOP ticket in recent presidential elections, notably Nixon’s 1972 landslide and Reagan’s 1980 and 1984 wins. However, with Iran-Contra, some of this traditional GOP advantage has dissipated.