Both Great and Right

Published June 10, 2004 4:35pm ET



“RONALD REAGAN was great because Ronald Reagan was right.” So declared Gipper speechwriter Peter Robinson, author of How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, on my radio program Monday. Robinson’s right, too, of course. There have been many gifted orators whose cause was evil; many “communicators” who dealt in death. Reagan’s greatness is anchored in his and his country’s goodness. Reagan used the term “evil empire,” and sent the intelligentsia into shock. Because he stood with the good, however, Reagan could use the language of absolutes and move public and world opinion as a result.

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