“Was there an existing belief that Reagan was stupid and ill-prepared, to the same extent as Palin is said to be, in popular culture?
I don’t seem to remember it being anywhere near as bad in the culture at large. Maybe in political and media circles, but not in the general culture.”
By general culture, I take it you mean flyover country. She is much stronger in flyover country which is why Palin is competitive in battleground states.
In addition to being stupid and ill-prepared, Reagan was also, because of his age, labeled as senile. It was absolutely pervasive through out the culture, except for conservatives. This was the prevailing view of the Establishment, just as it is with Palin. Reagan had not closed the sale with blue collar cultural conservatives by this time in 1978 either. He was still suspected as a friend of “the rich man”. Palin is much further along with this demographic (the blue collar worker) than Regan was aat the same point in the 1980 cycle.
Prevailing opinion about Reagan at this time is perhaps epitomized by what a sitting GOP President and his National Seccurity adviser thought of Reagan:
“Nixon on Tape: Reagan Was “Shallow” and of “Limited Mental Capacity””
“President Nixon: What’s your evaluation of Reagan after meeting him several times now.
Kissinger: Well, I think he’s a—actually I think he’s a pretty decent guy.
President Nixon: Oh, decent, no question, but his brains
Kissinger: Well, his brains, are negligible. I—
President Nixon: He’s really pretty shallow, Henry.
Kissinger: He’s shallow. He’s got no...he’s an actor. He—When he gets a line he does it very well. He said, “Hell, people are remembered not for what they do, but for what they say. Can’t you find a few good lines?” [Chuckles.] That’s really an actor’s approach to foreign policy—to substantive....
President Nixon: I’ve said a lot of good things, too, you know damn well.
Kissinger: Well, that too.
Later in the 24-minute-long discussion, the two discussed the possibility of Reagan running for president:
President Nixon: Can you think though, Henry, can you think, though, that Reagan with certain forces running in the direction could be sitting right here?
Kissinger: Inconceivable.
So much for Kissinger’s powers of prognostication. As they were finishing up—after discussing other matters—Nixon slammed Reagan again:
President Nixon: Back to Reagan though. It shows you how a man of limited mental capacity simply doesn’t know what the Christ is going on in the foreign area. He’s got to know that on defense—doesn’t he know these battles we fight and fight and fight? Goddamn it, Henry, we’ve been at—
Kissinger: And I told him—he said, “Why don’t you fire the bureaucracy?” I said, “Because there are only so many battles we can fight. We take on the bureaucracy now, they’re going to leak us to death. Name me one thing that we have done that the bureaucracy made us do.”
President Nixon: The bureaucracy has had nothing to do with anything.
Kissinger: No, no. They’ve made our lives harder. They’ve driven us crazy. But that doesn’t affect him.”
[end of transcript]
Shallow, negligible brains, limited mental capacity?
That was the conventional wisdom as well as the Establishment spin on Reagan then, just as it is on Palin now.