TO HIS CREDIT, George W. Bush made national defense an issue in his campaign. By raising the problem of military preparedness and, now, choosing a forceful defense secretary in Donald Rumsfeld, the incoming president has put himself in a strong position to follow through on an important policy priority and win a significant political victory.

To do so, Bush can take a page from The Gipper’s playbook by moving quickly to request a healthy supplemental appropriation for defense. Ronald Reagan, just seven weeks after his inauguration in 1981, sent a revised defense budget request to Capitol Hill for $ 12 billion — more than $ 22 billion in today’s dollars. By June 4, Congress had given him almost everything he’d asked for. Importantly, Reagan’s early victory on defense relied heavily on support from conservative Democrats.