The Reagan detour.

• Author: Kinsley, Michael

The Reagan Detour.

The Reagan Detour. Richard Reeves. Simon & Schuster, $14.95. In this blessedly short book Richard Reeves, the respected political journalist (and--full disclosure--advisory board member of this magazine), distills his insights about politics and the American condition derived from covering the 1984 presidential campaign. There are no previously undisclosed memoranda or exclusive interviews or "inside' details of the events leading up to the tumultuous New Mexico straw poll. Instead, he presents a series of nugget-ladden mini-essays, all building up to a heartening prescription for the salvation of the Democratic Party.

The Reagan Detour pursue two somewhat contradictory themes about the nature of American politics. One is that "politics is about ideas' and that Ronald Reagan was merely the spokesman for "a conservative ideas industry' as he had been spokesman for General Electric in the 1950s. The other theme is that there is actually a consensus among the citizenry about the great questions of government and that people vote mainly on the basis of narrow economic interest. Reeves notes that in their presidential debates, Reagan and Walter Mondale could have been "standing at the wrong lecterns and reading from each other's briefing books,' as the conservative president bragged about subsidized housing and the liberal challenger promised "no new programs.' Meanwhile, election day exit polls showed that even among those who thought that Reagan's policies were unfair or economically disastrous, the subgroup who nevertheless felt that they themselves were better off voted almost three-to-one for Reagan anyway.

Reeves observes that conservatives have been far more effective than liberals in marketing their ideas. While Brookings ground out lengthy theoretical tomes, the American Enterprise Institute was "getting out pointed pamphlets on the issues . . . of the day,' and even zippier outfits such as the Heritage Foundation were producing briefing memos for politicians and journalists within 24 hours of breaking news. I know from experience that if you call Brookings in search of information on some issue, you're invited to peruse in their bookstore and show them the color of your cash. If you call Heritage, a messenger arrives within hours, loaded with goodies. It helps.

Reeves thinks things are changing. "The intellectual ferment has begun on the left now,' he says. If he means there are some new liberal think tanks, eager...