Dissecting Reagan's paradoxical presidency

By Graeme Voyer, Special to The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, Sunday, July 10, 2005.

As president of the United States, Ronald Reagan defined the 1980s, politically and culturally. Love him or hate him, Reagan's impact on the nation - and, indeed, the world - cannot be denied. In "Morning in America," Gil Troy has produced an insightful, well-written analysis of Reagan and his decade in power.

Troy is a history professor at McGill University in Montreal with three previous books on presidential politics to his credit. This time, the author takes a detailed look at Reagan's two terms as president, incorporating the broader popular culture. Each chapter addresses a particular year from 1980 to 1990.

What emerges is a paradoxical presidency. Troy argues that Reagan articulated traditional values, but his constant emphasis on individualism fostered a culture of hedonism and excess, helping to undermine the traditional America Reagan idealized.

Ironically, under Reagan, American culture moved to the left. Innovations of the 1960s and '70s - environmentalism, feminism, the sexual revolution, the civil rights movement - were consolidated and mainstreamed. Reagan's style of governing helped this to happen. While his rhetoric promised to confront and overturn the legacy of the '60s, the president proved to be a pragmatist, a compromiser who played to the center.

"Addicted to polls, trying to remain popular, Reagan and his aides embraced the key revolutions of the last few decades they were supposedly seeking to repel," Troy writes.

Reagan entered the White House wanting to cut taxes, reduce governmental regulation and boost defense, Troy writes. After some initial legislative success, his programs stalled, checked by Democratic opposition in the House of Representatives.

In foreign policy, Reagan practiced a "mix of saber rattling and pacifism." He forged a close working relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but the president's commitment to the Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as "Star Wars," helped bankrupt the Soviets.

Reagan remains a controversial figure, so it is striking how balanced and evenhanded this book manages to be. Troy is critical, but he credits the man for his accomplishments.

The history professor's critique of Reagan's devotion to radical individualism is particularly trenchant. Reagan, Troy says, promoted "a politics of self and selfishness, wrapped in a gauzy patriotism. The result further devalued America's social capital and ac celerated the descent into individualism, alienation and cyni cism."

Citizens in Reagan's America wound up feeling "less engaged, less constrained, less interdependent than ever."

Troy is adept at making his political points with pop culture. He lists the top television shows of the early '80s and di vides them politi cally. Reagan's America was reflected in "Dallas," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Little House on the Prairie." Liberal notions were reflected in "60 Minutes," "Alice," "The Jeffersons," "Three's Company" and "M"A"S"H."

With "Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s," Troy crafts a nuanced analysis of ironies in the Reagan presidency.

Voyer is a critic in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

To reach Graeme Voyer:

books@plaind.com