Understanding the nature of his profession prior to politics (specifically, the blending of his profession with politics: look up what he was doing in the 1950s) tells us a lot about how he was perceived by the public (along with the later construction of his "legacy"-a myth, narrative, and personality construct that could be used and manipulated by right-wing ideologues). It's fascinating to me that he could sell economic and political policies to Americans in ways that both played to the idealized hopes and latent prejudices of his audience (white "middle-class" America, broadly speaking) while simultaneously, actively and aggressively increasing economic and social inequality through said policies.
Reagan (or more specifically, his inner circle/team) blended ideological zealousness, shrewd political maneuvering, and self-interested governance in a remarkably skillful manner, providing a template and blueprint for every Republican Party project since. Moreover, he convinced Americans across the political spectrum that the United States is a "conservative" country-and he had the simple definition of political conservatism that this country still uses today.
This.
Also HP.
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