Reagan Media's Influence On Politics

Nonetheless, in order to win any election, a candidate must campaign. While many presidential candidates were former Congressman or household names, others were less well renowned. For example, Reagan largely relied on the media to build his political following. As a GE spokesperson, he traveled around the country giving speeches on conservative principles, which led him to appeal to an emerging Republican Right voter bloc. Reagan also associated himself with a prominent name - Richard Nixon - by becoming “[the] vice chairman of the Southern California Democrats for Nixon” (Duffy and Gibbs ?). By mustering a political following and obtaining name recognition via association, the Reagan campaign was well underway. One of the cardinal grounds
One of the first means of doing so, according to the textbook, was introduced by radio broadcasts. In the late 1940s, Hoover and Truman gave joint radio speeches in order to facilitate their goal of ending the famine in Europe after the Second World War. Their perorations intentionally invoked patriotic sentiments that overlaid their main message - to urge Americans to ration their food so that more could be sent to the Europeans. These messages, because they were listened to by a large number of the populace, were largely effective in promoting the rationing efforts. Media were used effectively to spread information to the masses. Another type of media that brings about a similar product is interviews. Good Morning America had an interview with Ford and Carter on the plane ride back from Sadat’s funeral where they discussed foreign policy issues. These interviews promulgate and disseminate information that the general public would not otherwise have access to. Thus, the importance of the media is underscored here. They serve as linkage institutions between government officials and their constituents - the former are allowed to relay their specific plans to their voters, which they are not often able to do in short stock speeches or even
Many presidents determine the extent of their powers from that exercised by their predecessors. For instance, Johnson vindicated his actions in the Vietnam War by arguing that they were simply a continuation of his predecessors’ policies. Similarly, Kennedy attempted to legitimize his mistakes in the Bay of Pigs scandal, by explaining that Eisenhower, his predecessor, had originally planned the invasion. However, when no precedent exists, presidential powers are disputed far more. After the Watergate scandal arose, many surmised that Nixon would be impeached. They, and Congress, disagreed with Nixon’s long-held belief that “if a president does something, that means it’s not illegal” (Duffy and Gibbs ?). The American populace asserted that Nixon’s covert operations at the Watergate complex were an overreach of the powers of the presidency. This constitutional crisis culminated in Nixon’s resigning. Yet, yet another crisis began soon after. Many people viewed Ford’s presidential pardon of Nixon as an overreach despite the action being explicitly legitimized by the Constitution. In general, explicit presidential powers include those defined by the Constitution - such as the position of Commander-in-Chief (ex. Bush during the Iraq War) and the power to veto Congressional legislation (ex. Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley Bill) - but presidential powers can also be implicit, such as the