Reply #12: Oh yeah. He's a great example. Morning in America. Cowboy. Handsome.

[AP]

They had a great set of images they used with him.

He didn't go around advertising himself as the anti-Carter. Even while Republicans were sabotaging Carter on the nat'l security front with the Iran hostages, voters weren't thinking "Carter is dangerous, I'll vote for anyone to get him out."

They were thinking, we need someone who makes us feel good and proud to be an American, and here's someone who is defined by all those qualities.

Of course it was a lie. But people had a very coherent image of Reagan that was self-defined (and which contrasted well to Carter, thanks to circumstances under the control of Republicans -- the hostages, particularly).