by Wayne--Ed. Valis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1981
This preview of the Reagan Presidency by supposed insiders--the publisher's hopes obviously fizzled when none of the 14 contributors was given a high Administration post--is hardly more than campaign rhetoric applied to the problems of governance. Sometimes the consequences for rational reflection are disastrous, as in the piece by Harvard Institute of Politics Fellow Aram Bakshian, Jr., on Reagan's style; President Reagan, Bakshian predicts, will not appoint a national security advisor who looks ""like Woody Woodpecker."" (The same piece extolls the virtues of hard liquor over wine, and golf over jogging; and holds out the hope that government officials will start opening doors for their secretaries again.) John Lenczowski, legislative aide to Republican Congressman James Courter, finds the opportunity to note, in an essay on moral leadership, that if the people freely elect McDonald's hamburgers over veal cordon bleu, that decision must be respected. The few recognizable policy proposals are thoroughly familiar. Congressman Kemp lays out yet again the wonders of the ""Laffer curve""--which is supposed to show that tax cuts will result in greater productivity and overall wealth so we can spend more money on defense. Kemp stands out for his effort to convince his fellow-Republicans that they will be turned out of office if they don't face up to what he sees as an economic crisis (the New Deal is the situational model, if not the ideological one). The rest trot out platitudes--such as the need to check Soviet and Cuban aggression and stop worrying about human fights, or the desirability of cutting welfare back to those who ""truly"" need it. And when it comes to deregulating business, provision is made for aid to the businesses injured--government aid, of course. Nothing new--or promising.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1981
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Arlington House
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1981
Categories: NONFICTION
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