Yes, Reagan showed us the way by being a squishy centrist, didn’t he?
Reagan won two landslides by being pro America, pro American, and optimistic. Other than that, he’d been an FDR Democrat most of his life, and held on to most of those principles while being a Republican. As America devolved, he became more conservative by comparison. Along with Jimmy Carter he was a Washington outsider and for the most part, led like one. He’s the extreme example of what the ruling class in both parties hate to the core.
The worst thing I can say about Reagan is that he had to make deals with the oligarchs and dynasties in the GOP, but what choice did he have? Selecting GHWB as his VP was probably the worst thing he ever did. But looking back, it’s amusing how he made GHWB the chief funeral attender throughout the world.