The Great Crusade

A WOMAN sporting what had become a familiar "Reagan-Bush" button wandered up and down the aisles before the plane departing Detroit for Boston was ready to take off. Left behind were the glimmering towers of the Motor City's Renaissance Center, the "good" parties, the four days of unceasing rhetoric and unbridled optimism.

Infused with the spirit of the 32nd Republican convention, the woman spotted a passenger in the smoking section who had lit a cigarette before the "No Smoking" sign had been turned off. Perhaps inspired by vice presidential nominee George Bush's reference to "a great mission," or perhaps inspired by presidential nominee Ronald Reagan's call for a "renewal of the American compact," the woman swiftly and officiously told a flight attendant of the smoker's trespass against his neighbors.

As the attendant duly reprimanded the premature smoker, the woman's eyes shone, a self-satisfied smile wrinkling her face. Ahead was the great crusade, and it had only just begun.

EVEN THE MANY professional journalists in Joe Louis Arena Thursday night were somewhat stirred by the staged celebration of the Reagan-Bush ticket. Media types stood up on the specially-constructed wooden tables as the convention hall shook with paroxysms of Republican passion, watching the masses dancing and the two nominees waving. While none of the journalists cheered--they are, after all, paid to be objective or at least, discerning--several were seen to grin, infected by the spirit.

The orchestra launched into "I've been working on the railroad" on a number of occasions, presumably because if Reagan gets elected, the trains will run on time. But for the GOP to have such a united convention last week, there must have been a unifying factor, one thing that caused ultra-conservatives like Jesse Helms and moderates like George Bush and Henry Kissinger to abandon their "principles." That factor was the person of Ronald Reagan, a sincere, likeable, even comforting figure. Wherever he appeared, he conveyed a personal air of respectability and pleasantness.

In his acceptance speech, Reagan derided President Carter's "Trust me" style of government, the implication being that he, Reagan, does not need any more trust than he already has. Instead of resorting to the rousing rhetoric of others who addressed the convention, Reagan delivered his speech in a calm, reserved tone, the implication being that he, Reagan, could impassion his audience without overwhelming oratory; he directed the style of his speech at the cameras, knowing from his showbiz experience that subtlety of gesture is more expressive than exaggeration. Furthermore, he used Franklin D. Roosevelt '04 in his address, implying that he, Reagan, was above partisan labels. And he concluded by asking America to bow its head in prayer--the implication being that he, Reagan, had not developed an overweening sense of vanity through the week of excessive praise and a schedule designed to make his victory more coronation than nomination.

Beware, America: Ronald Reagan's great crusade is coming to your town this fall, and he wants you. And he'll get many of you. His broad appeal can be broken down into three theories:

1. Reagan as refounder: As classically expressed in Machiavelli's Discourses, every Republic needs a reconstruction every once in a while. By invoking a renewal of the American compact, and a "New Beginning," Reagan is merely offering a smooth solution to the woes that beset the country. Don't trust me, Reagan says, trust the country. Simplistic but powerfully attractive.

2. Reagan as surrogate parent: Here comes Ronald Reagan, speaking softly but brandishing the big stick. He is Big Daddy come to rescue his wayward children, and will not hesitate if necessary to spank the Soviet boys on the bloc. He projects a Freudian father image, comforting in times of confidence crises and national malaises.

3. Reagan as actor: Some might say Reagan as reactor is more accurate, but supporters claim he will restore that community of shared values, that pioneer spirit, that thrill of victory so evident in his many films. Family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom: the stuff from which good, sappy, Hollywood films are made. Reagan as president would simply have the lead role, and he would "show" the international arena a thing or two.

Yes, Reagan's manner and style reassure, and he symbolizes hope in a time of despair. But his form is not connected with his substantive stands on the crucial issues facing the country, any more than the iresponsible GOP platform that emerged from Detroit last week.

His strong stand against government waste has a certain intuitive appeal, based on the popular notion that our government controls our everyday lives. But there are no assurances he will be able to isolate the inefficiency, and to keep his pledge, he might purge valuable social programs. His stands on abortion and the equal rights amendment smack of regress--a renewal of some of the less fortuitous features of the "American compact." His palatable personality alone is not sufficient to dispel legitimate fears about his warped social priorities.

IN THE FIELD of economic policy, Reagan would loose the shackles of the oil companies in an effort to lessen dependence on foreign oil. While this might prove a partially effective short-term solution, it does not bode well for the U.S. 20 years from now, when depleted supplies--no matter how vigorous the exploration--will send shock waves through an economy even more deeply mired in crude. His dismissal of conservation as secondary shows that Reagan has little prescience, little desire even to consider the long-term. Increased emphasis on coal--also a finite resource, and the cause of acid rain to boot--and on nuclear energy (which has proved remarkably cost-inefficient, apocalyptic scenarios aside) show an unwillingness or inability to get a grip on the future destiny Reagan begs us to "recapture."

While selective tax cuts to stimulate growth and offset inflation would probably provide a needed dose of medicine to an ailing economy, Reagan's support of the Kemp-Roth plan, coupled with burgeoning defense spending, would severely irritate the inflationary spiral. And Reagan's preoccupation with "the growing menace from the East" in foreign affairs, together with his stated preference for superiority, shows a man burdened by a desire to return to the past, whose "new beginning" will have the same old ending.

In their quest to seize the White House, the crusading Republicans last week forgot their differences. Bush didn't "want to be nickel-and-dimed to death by details" lest he be forced to remember his principles; Henry Kissinger suddenly forgot about detente and linkage and all those things he so slyly sculpted while Secretary of State; even Bush-haters from Texas and North Carolina reserved their judgement until after the election.

Environmentalists, women, drivers, moderates and premature smokers beware: Ronald Reagan is coming to your town, equipped with the big Mo, the big stick and the big compact. This is one show that may not have a happy ending.