Reagan's Attack Takes Shape

The new president had to nurture this mood to "do something." Reagan thought that he could lead the public against the politicians; when he was governor, as he said, "on the major things I took the case to the people…. Sometimes it is necessary to make the legislature see the light, you make them feel the heat."^[2] His strategists agreed that only massive public pressure would overcome resistance in Congress. "To win this fight," declared Stockman with a bit of hyperbole, "the president is going to have to generate a million cards and letters a month to Congress."^[3]

While the administration was still working out the details of the plan, Reagan took to the airwaves on February 5 to gather public support. He began with a litany of economic woes, dramatizing inflation by displaying first a dollar bill and then a quarter, dime, and penny to show the how the dollar had shrunk to 36 cents since 1960. Then, in a gentle, unaccusing tone, he described how it had happened; the rhetoric is worth repeating:

We forgot or just overlooked the fact that Government—any Government—has a built-in tendency to grow. Now we all had a hand in looking to Government for benefits as if Government had some source of revenue other than our earnings…. Some Government programs seemed so worthwhile that borrowing to fund them didn't bother us…. We know now that inflation results from all that deficit spending.^[4]

The president sought to create the impression that his plan was nonpartisan—but opposing it would be partisan. He was setting up the presidency as the pubic interest and his opponents as the special interests.

To an aide surprised at the speech's tone, Reagan explained, "Listen, if I were making this speech from the outside, I'd kick their balls off."^[5] In a tactic from Greek drama that was to be repeated, the bringing of bad news was left to Stockman, the messenger.