General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Someday it will be crystal clear to all just what a terrible president Ronald Reagan was- [View all]wnylib
(21,446 posts)Presidential politics. Select a figurehead whose ability to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the public will get them votes. Let him be the puppet showman for the party while the VP, cabinet, and other members of the party actually make policies and decisions.
Bush the Elder won on the coattails of his association with Reagan but could not appeal to the public on his own against a Dem candidate who had both ability and
personal appeal.
So they repeated the Reagan formula with Bush the Younger as the frontman while his VP Cheney and the cabinet ran the country.
Some thought that Trump would follow the pattern. But he had his own puppetmaster. He rejected the people that the establishment Republicans sent him. The party went along since they still got much of their agenda with Trump. And as we know now, some of them were/are as committed to the Trump puppetmaster as he is.