Reagan, rhetoric, and the public philosophy: Ethics and politics in the 1984 campaign

Abstract

Ethical analysis of Ronald Reagan's rhetorical practice enables us to bring order to our recent political history. His 1984 campaign for re‐election is especially fitting as a vehicle for this analysis because Reagan is fundamentally a campaigner and because the campaign centered on normative issues. Appropriate ethical standards are grounded in the values and procedures of democratic decision making. When appraised by these standards—rules of disclosure, argument, confrontation, and public competence—the Reagan campaign is found deficient in upholding principles that undergird the political system within which he operated, and upon which the election process depends for its legitimacy and efficacy.