[nopardons]

Ronald Reagan was not only " pragmatic ", he wrote an interesting speech about it; which you can easily find in the FR archieves. Was President Reagan a Conservative or not ?

Barry Goldwater, OTOH, was never pragmatic, could NOT get elected, and turned lefty in his later years. Go figure. :-)

[Gelato]

Ronald Reagan was not only " pragmatic ", he wrote an interesting speech about it; which you can easily find in the FR archieves. Was President Reagan a Conservative or not ?

Nixon is the best example of pragmatism--that is, doing things for political gain rather than for the good of society.

I think you're confusing Reagan's "pragmatism" for settling for less than he might have wanted. This doesn't mean he compromised principle, as his closest staff have maintained, even as late as now. Michael Deaver has said that Reagan's staff was pragmatic, but not Reagan.

Barry Goldwater, OTOH, was never pragmatic, could NOT get elected, and turned lefty in his later years. Go figure

You are correct, Barry did not win the presidency. But he was elected numerous times as an Arizona senator, and he set the stage for Reagan's elections. Many credit him for sowing the seeds for the conservatism of today.

The influence of both men of principle far outways the contributions of the pragmatic Nixon.