BOOKS ARTS & MANNERS STOCKMAN’S DEBACLE

The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed, by David A. Stockman (Harper & Row, 411 pp., $21.95)

In The Triumph of Politics, David Stockman presents himself as a naive rustic from Michigan—a former divinity student, no less—betrayed by Washington politicians. This is a sham. So is Stockman. For whatever betraying was done, was done by him. First by confiding in William Greider, an editor of the Washington Post, whose Atlantic article was by no means based on minor, casual indiscretions or on vagueness about what might or might not be quoted. To the contrary, the article admittedly reflected lengthy and repeated interviews in which Stockman said everything he could think of to discredit the Reagan program in the public mind, ultimately calling it a “Trojan horse.” Unable to disclose any new and discreditable facts about the President’s program—for there weren’t any—Stockman simply revealed his own lack of conviction. Given his position, this was a bonanza for Reagan’s enemies.

EH

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Ernest van den Haag

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The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed, by David A. Stockman (Harper & Row, 411 pp., $21.95)

In The Triumph of Politics, David Stockman presents himself as a naive rustic from Michigan—a former divinity student, no less—betrayed by Washington politicians. This is a sham. So is Stockman. For whatever betraying was done, was done by him. First by confiding in William Greider, an editor of the Washington Post, whose Atlantic article was by no means based on minor, casual indiscretions or on vagueness about what might or might not be quoted. To the contrary, the article admittedly reflected lengthy and repeated interviews in which Stockman said everything he could think of to discredit the Reagan program in the public mind, ultimately calling it a “Trojan horse.” Unable to disclose any new and discreditable facts about the President’s program—for there weren’t any—Stockman simply revealed his own lack of conviction. Given his position, this was a bonanza for Reagan’s enemies.