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Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The slow goodbye to the Reaganites
When Lyn Nofzinger and Cap Weinberger died last March, I noted that we would likely see many more Reagan officials passing on in the next couple of years. Sadly, it is happening.
Last week it was Merv Griffin, the great entertainer and businessman and Reagan friend, and now it is Michael Deaver, the man who created the image and persona of America's greatest president. He died of cancer at the too-young age of 69.
Many conservatives did not like Mike Deaver because he was very protective of Reagan and, according to many, hostile to conservatives. True, Deaver was not a policy person. He was principally concerned with presentation and public relations. So he was probably more indifferent than anything.
But the fact remains that the Reagan presidency would not have been possible without him. His relationship with The Gipper went back to the 1960s, when he began working for the then-California governor in his 20s.
As recounted by John Gizzi in Human Events today:
Yes, one needs a Mike Deaver, particularly if one is president. Sure, he was not very interested in policy but , in Don Regan’s words, “There was, of course, no reason for him to be interested in the substance of policy. His job was to sell the product once it was invented and ready to be marketed. Deaver was in charge of the Reagans’ public image, and judging by the results he had achieved, he deserved his reputation.”
Indeed, he did. Although neither holds the power in George W. Bush’s White House that Deaver did in Reagan’s, Dan Bartlett did and Ed Gillespie now does perform roughly the same function for the 43rd President as the man who died this weekend did for the 40th President. I daresay that, given George W. Bush’s current public image and approval ratings, neither Bartlett nor Gillespie holds a candle to the man Time once dubbed the “vicar of visuals.” And just as Republicans almost always say these days, “The party needs another Ronald Reagan,” it would not be a reach to say it needs a Mike Deaver, as well.
Michael Deaver changed the way politics is practiced and was the brains behind some of the greatest audio visuals ever seen in the political arena. His techniques (for instance, proper use of sunlight and eye-catching backdrops) are still taught at campaign training schools. Whatever his ideology -- or lack thereof -- Deaver will be missed.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:38 PM
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